I thought James was fantastic in his presentation yesterday at SEC Media Days. It was typical James. Serious, but personable. Excited about his football team and believing in his group. We’ve got the best group we’ve had maybe ever. I see us with five first team All-SEC players on this team by the end of the year in left tackle Wesley Johnson, wide receivers Jordan Matthews (JMatt), and Chris Boyd, cornerback Andre Hal and safety Kenny Ladler. Really think these guys are special players.
I see nine wins for us this year, possibly 10. Of course, James, the coaches and the players are in to win them all. I believe in’em. The first order of business in worrying about our football team for the first two weeks of training camp, according to James, and then digging in for Ole Miss, though I know we’ve been gearing up for the Ole Miss Black Bears (whatever happened to that nickname?) for a while. It’s going to be an epic. Thursday Night, August 29th, 9:15 PM ET/8:15 CT on ESPN. It’s a real showcase for Vanderbilt football. It’s perfect. People are home from work and ready for football to get started. South Carolina-North Carolina is the first game at 6PM ET/5 CT on ESPN and then we’re up. Can’t wait.
JMatt spoke about senior and first year quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, who will in all likelihood be our starter this year. JMatt and Austyn will be rooming together this fall in JMatt’s last semester as a student-athlete. He’s getting his degree and with another stellar season this year, could be a top first or second round draft pick come next April in the NFL draft. I expect it from Jordan. Jordan and Austyn are rooming together this fall have been working together all summer and are very good friends. Like their chemistry. Jordan pointed to the fact that Austyn had a lot of success as a freshman quarterback at Wyoming four years ago. Austyn has leadership skills that are out of sight. He’s confident, poised and according to JMatt has a rocket for an arm. Austyn can make a lot happen with his legs too. Austyn reminds me a lot of Connor Shaw of South Carolina, but he’s a better passer. Expect big things from ACS. With Chris Boyd on the other side and five talented freshmen coming in along with some backup upperclassmen, wide receiver should be a good position for us. Really like four-star freshmen Carlos Burse (6’2″, 202), four-star Jordan Cunningham (6’1″, 175) and high three-star DeAndre Woods (6’3″, 212). Think they can be exceptional players for us in the future and could be pretty good for us this year.
Wes Johnson will anchor the line at left tackle. Total leader in Wes. Tough, smart, great guy. He’ll bury people. We’ve got around 15 guys on the oline now, so we’re deep there. And according to James, for the first year ever, we have 300 pounders up front. That’s good. Wes Tate, BK (Brian Kimbrow) and Jerron Seymour will man the running back positions. I like the three of them. Freshman Ralph Webb is another back who can add depth and ability. Fitz Lassing will give us good work at fullback/hback.
Tight end is a little bit of a concern. Still trying to find the playmaker/dominant blocker there, but there is potential with Chris Kentera back for a second season, Dillon van der Wal (6’6″,260), Steven Scheu (6’5″, 255) and freshmen Mitch Parsons and Nathan Marcus. So tight end should be fine maybe a pretty effective position for us. Expect a couple of those guys to have good years.
Our defense will be anchored by Andre Hal at corner, Kenny Ladler at safety, Chase Garnham at middle linebacker (6’3″, 236) and Walker May at defensive end (6’5″, 250). I like our defensive line a lot. We don’t have a ton of depth, but defensive end Caleb Azubike (6’4″, 265) is going to be a beast. I love Vince Taylor (6’2″, 308) and Jared Morse (6’2″, 302) at tackle. Vince is awesome. Great kid, fun, and a tough, hard-nosed player. You’re gong to love the interviews with Vince if you catch them. He’s hilarious. And he’s quite a defensive tackle. Jared is tough and physical too. Adam Butler (6’4″, 305) has moved over from offense to defensive tackle, so he’ll give us a lot of help. Good, tough football player. Barron Dixon (6’4″, 305) and freshman Jay Woods (6″3″, 292) will also be key players. Barron is another beast and I’ve heard great things about Jay. Don’t think we can redshirt Jay. Need him immediately to help us. Barron could be a dominant player. Need to keep recruiting at defensive tackle. That position is at a premium in the SEC, and we’ve got a good group; just need to stay healthy. At defensive end Stephen Weatherly (6’5″, 252) had an incredible spring and looks like a dominant player. Some other guys are going to have to help us there like Jimmy Stewart, who looked good in the spring, and freshman Landon Stokes. Linebacker, besides Garnham, is not overly experienced, but tough and talented. Darreon Herring (6’2″, 228) got a lot of playing time last year and should be a very good player for us. Steady and reliable Karl Butler could be a starter on the outside. Larry Franklin (6’1″, 214) is a very good linebacker. And Harding Harper (6’2″, 240) and Ja’kari Thomas (6’1″, 225) are going to be excellent linebackers for us. Look for four-star freshman Nigel Bowden (6’1″,235) and high three-star Oren Burks (6’3″, 21o) to get some playing time. Those two are going to be excellent players for us and could give us immediate help at lb.
In the secondary Kenny and Dre are the staples and the leaders. Steven Clarke has a chance to man the other corner and Javon Marshall gives us another solid safety with Kenny. Need Torren McGaster, Paris Head and Taurean Ferguson to give us some depth in the secondary. Look for Andre to have Casey Hayward-like numbers this year. I’m looking at six or seven ints for Andre. Kenny will give us that playmaking/gamechanging ability also.
So we’ve got a lot of good football players. Need some more depth at certain positions. If the talented freshmen can give us some help at wide receiver to go along with JMatt and Chris, and that’ll he a huge lift. The running backs should have good years, and Austyn should play well. Really like our guys up front with Wes leading the way and guys like center Spencer Pulley (6’4″,300), Joe Townsend (6’4″, 305), Kevo McCoy (6’5″, 295), Barrett Gouger (6’4″, 285) and Blake Fromang (6’7″,295) being key guys. Look for freshman Delando Crooks (6’5″, 290) to maybe make and impact early. This should be a potent offense because we have an excellent offensive line and very good skilled guys. I forgot to mention Jonathan Krause as our slot receiver. Jonathan can help us both in the passing game and in the punt return game. He took a couple to the house last year. BK will probably return kicks. Carey Spear will be an excellent kicker for us. Punter is to be determined. Need to figure that out this summer. I’m sure we will. Defense should be excellent. Need to stay healthy up front on defense. It’ll be good to stay healthy everywhere.
After Ole Miss, we play Austin Peay at home, then go to South Carolina, go to UMass, have UAB @ home, Mizzo @ home, Dawgs @home, @ A&M, @ Florida, Kentucky @home, @ UT and home against Wake Forest. Ole Miss is critical. @South Carolina, @Florida, home against Georgia and @ A&M are all tough. But if we can get two or three of those five games, nine or 10 wins is realistic. I think this team has it in’em. They of course, want to win every one, like we all do.
Will have more as August comes about.
Dave Price on the hill tonight @ Toronto. Dave and the Rays need to get started fast out of the gates in the second half. Two and a half back of Sox in AL East and leading the wild card race. Have three key series coming up @Toronto, @Boston and @Yanks. So critical stretch coming up. Like where Dave is right now. Big start tonight.
Pedro and Bucs @Cincy Reds tonight. Bucs a a game and a half behind Cards and lead wild card race. Key series for Bucs as Reds right behind them in NL Central. Pedro hit six homers in the home run derby contest Monday Night. Thought he availed himself very well. Got in in All-Star game and was the last batter in the game for the NL. Popped out but had some good cuts. Thought it was a great experience for him. Very proud of him. Now let’s go Rays and Bucs in this second half. Will keep you posted on Mike Minor as well. Mike trying to put together another strong half of pitching for Braves, who are in the World Series hunt like the Rays and Bucs are.
Recruiting going very well. Will have an update if anybody pops in the next couple of days.
Brandt tied for third at 142nd Open Championship at -3. Zach Johnson leads at -5. Brandt looks like he’s got his game back. Tees off at 9:12 AM ET/8;12 CT today. Pumped for B.