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College Football Week 2 looks terrific

September 8, 2022

College Football transitions into week 2 with some nice matchups led off by the Crimson Tide traveling to Austin to face the Longhorns. Auburn has a home game with San Jose State and there are a couple of nice matchups within the SEC. The UAB Blazers hit the road to try to avenge an embarrassing defeat at Protective Stadium last season. Some national tilts look fascinating as well. Here is this Saturday’s lineup along with predictions.

Last Week, Straight up, 18-4, ATS, 12-10

No.1 Alabama @ Texas

DKR-Memorial Stadium, Austin

11 AM CT

FOX

Gus, he’ll be more amped up than ever if that’s possible, Joel, Jenny

Crimson Tide by 20

Surprisingly, Texas leads this series, 7-1-1, with the one loss to the Crimson Tide coming in the 2009 National Championship Game. Mack Brown is still complaining that if Colt McCoy hadn’t been injured early in the game by Marcell Dareus, there would have been a different outcome. Guess we’ll never know, but could have been closer. I don’t know if you saw Brown’s locker room dance from last Saturday after the Tar Heels defeated App State, 63-61, but it was embarrassing. Wish he hadn’t done that. You’re not going to confuse Mack with Mickey J. UNC gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter. Gene Chizik’s defenses strike again. He may be better in the broadcast booth than he is on the field. We’ll see how Chiz’s defense develops. As for this game, Bryce Young is looking electric as usual, rushing for a hunge last Saturday against Utah State. He’s developing some excellent targets on the perimeter in Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton and Traeshon Holden. I liked what I saw out of freshman Kobe Prentice as well. Jahmyr Gibbs looks to be headed for a big year at running back if the line can block for him. This will be a good test for the Crimson Tide O Line on Saturday. Will Anderson Jr. looks better than ever, and can wreak havoc on Texas QB Quinn Ewers. Texas is going to be better this season and Sark is an excellent offensive coach and stellar recruiter. They are No.2 in the 247 Sports recruiting rankings for 2023 behind the Crimson Tide. They have 3, 5 stars committed, including all world quarterback Arch Manning, Peyton and Eli’s nephew, Cooper’s son, Archie’s grandson. But I like the Tide here. I see Bryce having a big day, and the defense clamping down on Ewers, though I believe in Bijan Robinson, the stellar tailback for the Horns. See him peeling off some nice runs. But the Tide advances in week 2.

Crimson Tide 42, Texas 21

San Jose State @ Auburn

Jordan-Hare Stadium

6:30 PM CT

ESPNU

Brian Custer, Dustin Fox, Lauren Sisler

Tigers by 23

The Tigers had an OK performance last Saturday. The running game was tremendous, with Tank Bigsby rushing for 147 yards and Robbie Ashford, who came on in relief of TJ Finley at quaterback, rushing for 68. Finley threw two interceptions, one right to the safety, hitting him in stride much like Tom Brady does with Mike Evans. However, Finley’s pass went to the wrong team. Ashford did a pretty solid job coming off the bench. Where is Zach Calzada? What’s happened to the guy? What has he not even been considered for the starting job? I’ve looked for it, but nobody is reporting on it. I’ll keep digging to find out. I don’t understand Bryan Harsin’s thinking here. You listen to Harsin talk and there is a lot of boring coach-speak coming out of his mouth. He’s articulate, somewhat, but there’s just not much substance there. I like the Tigers here, but they’ve got to get a lot better if they want to have a successful season. Penn State comes to the Plains next Saturday for a 2:30 PM CT kickoff on CBS.

Auburn 34, San Jose State 10

Samford @ No.2 Georgia

Sanford Stadium, Athens

3 PM CT

SEC Network

Taylor, Matt, Alyssa

Dawgs by 52

Kill.

Georgia 62, Samford 3

No.20 Kentucky @ No.12 Florida

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville

6 PM CT

ESPN

Tess, Gregory, McShay, Katie

Gators by 5

I’m bullish on Billy Napier, quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Gators after last Saturday’s 29-26 victory over then No.7 Utah. I’ll take Billy and Anthony in the Swamp on a Saturday Night over a pretty solid Kentucky team.

Gators, 31, Wildcats 24

South Carolina @ No. 16 Arkansas

Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville

11 AM CT

ESPN

Bob Wischusen (questions every coaching decision imaginable) Dan Orlovsky, Kris Budden

Hogs by 8

Early start, so I like a hard nosed, physical, very good game.

Arkansas 24, South Carolina 21

No.24 Tennessee @ No.17 Pittsburgh

Acrisure Stadium, PIttsburgh

2:30 PM CT

ABC

Sean, Todd, Molly

UT by 6

I like what Hendon Hooker is doing at quarterback for Josh Huepel and the Vols. I’m bullish on this group.

Tennessee 31, Pitt 24

App State @ No. 6 Texas A&M

Kyle Field, College Station

2:30 PM CT

ESPN2

Anish Shroff, Brock Osweiler, Taylor McGregor

A&M by 19

Never sure what to make of A&M under Fish. Haynes King has talent, but he’s erratic like all quarterbacks are under Fisher. I like the Aggies to win, but they need to improve significantly if they want to have a successful season, and that means double digit wins out there. Might not be attainable unless King can develop quickly.

A&M 35, App State 10

Mississippi State @ Arizona

Arizona Stadium, Tuscon

10 PM CT

Fox Sports 1

State by 10 1/2

Give me Leach and his Bullies against a PAC-12 team after dark.

Bullies 38, ‘Zona 24

Missouri @ Kansas State

Bill Snyder Family Stadium, “the Little Apple,” Manhattan, KS.

11 AM CT

ESPN2

Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Stormy Buonatony, always a mouthful

K State by 7 1/2

I was tempted to pick the upset here, but I’ll stick with the favorite in a tight contest.

Kansas State 31, Mizzou 28

Central Arkansas @ No. 22 Ole Miss

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford

6 PM CT

ESPN+

Rebels by 34

I like Lane and his charges to get the job done at the Grove. Ole Miss has an excellent running game led by former TCU five star Zach Evans, who rushed for a buck 30 last Saturday against Troy. If they can develop one of their quarterbacks, it could be a really nice season for the Rebs.

Ole Miss 45, Central Ark. 10

Georgia Southern @ LSU

Tiger Stadium, Baaton Rouge, Louisiana, as Howard used to say

6:30 PM CT

SEC Network

Tom, Jordan, Cole

Tiguhs by 47 1/2

After Brian Kelly’s inauspicious start last Sunday with his special teams costing him the game, he needs to get it back together or there are going to be some upset Cajuns. Interestingly, Southern defeated Florida Memorial? 86-0. Southern University is also located in Baton Rouge.

LSU 52, Southern 3

No. 23 Wake Forest @ Vanderbilt

FirstBank Stadium, Nashvegas

11 AM CT

SEC Network

Dave, Deuce, Andraya

Demon Deacons by 12 1/2

The Demon Deacons welcome back quarterback Sam Hartman this week. He had a blood clot in August and was considered out indefinitely, but he’s full strength now. He accounted for 50 TDs last season, 39 through the air and 11 on the ground. He did throw 14 interceptions though, so if the Dores can get some pass rush, maybe that will create opportunities for their secondary. Mike Wright accounted for 6 TDs last Saturday Night in the Dores’ 42-31 victory over Elon, but the Commodores were not overly impressive in the second half as Elon very much outplayed them. It’s always a process for a new coach at Vanderbilt. Clark Lea is doing some good things, but I don’t see the Dores as good enough to prevail over Wake.

Wake Forest 35, Vandy 21

UAB @ Liberty

Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, VA.

5 PM CT

ESPN+

Blazers by 6 1/2

I had a couple of Blazer fans get on me last Thursday for not writing about their team, so here goes. UAB looks to be a strong outfit with a chance to win a lot of games this season. With their navigable schedule, they can get to double digit victories. There’s a a lot of talent on this squad. I like them to prevail on the road over Hugh Freeze and his Flames, that don’t look as good as usual.

UAB 28, Liberty 21

National games

USC 31, Stanford 21

Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA.

6:30 PM CT

ABC

Reece, Chris at U.S. Open, Kirk, Holly

Trojans by 8 1/2

I’m not declaring them back yet, but this program looks promising again under Lincoln Riley.

Clemson 42, Furman 7

Memorial Stadium, Clemson

1:30 PM CT

ACC Network

Clemson by 44 1/2

Not a buyer of Clemson, yet. Not sure their starting quarterback is that good, but maybe their 5 star freshman backup is. Not selling them either. Just holding them for right now.

No.3 Ohio State 41, Arkansas State 7

Ohio Stadium, Columbus

11 AM CT

Big Ten Network

Buckeyes by 44 1/2

Not sure I’m a believer in this group, either. A decent Notre Dame team kept it close. I’d say Notre Dame is barely above average, if that. The Buckeyes aren’t very impressive at this point.

No.9 Baylor 35, No.21 BYU 34

LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah

9:15 PM CT

ESPN

Mark Jones, RG III, Quint Kessenich

BYU by 3

This is one I might have to stay up for. Should be a classic. I’ll take the Bears in a slight upset in a hostile environment.

Oklahoma State 49, Arizona State 35

Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK.

6:30 PM CT

ESPN2

Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore, Tiffany Blackmon

Cowboys by 12 1/2

Derek Mason’s defense gave up 44 points to Central Michigan last Thursday Night. Central Michigan? I know about MACtion and all that, but come on, Mason. The Pokes score a lot, but Mason’s defense looks very questionable.

The spectacular Tim Corbin and his amazing team, MLB guys

June 7, 2017

Corbs' decision to start Matt Ruppenthal proved to be a highly prophetic one (Photo courtesy of D1Baseball.com). — Corbs’ decision to start Matt Ruppenthal proved to be a highly prophetic one (Photo courtesy of D1Baseball.com).

Jackson Gillis closed the door on Clemson (Photo courtesy of Twitter).

The greatness of Tim Corbin was no more evident than Monday Night in our regional championship game versus Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C.

Corbs went with Junior Matt Ruppenthal as our starter. Some people questioned the decision. I questioned it slightly. I was wrong as were the others. Corbs and Pitching Coach Scott “Brownie” Brown believed in Rupe 100% and “trusted” him, as Corbs said during the game to the ESPN3 commentators. And did Matt ever deliver.

Corbs and Brownie also trusted “freshman,” Jackson Gillis, and I put that in quotation marks because this young gun pitched like Mariano Rivera. Did he ever.

All in all, it was a sensational performance not only by our team, but also by our coaches. Corbs has had so many special seasons in his 15 years as head coach at Vanderbilt University, and this one ranks up there as one of his best, however it ends up. I’m optimistic that it’ll be in Omaha, but whatever transpires the rest of the way, it’s the way Coach Corbin has developed this group of players from a group that didn’t look very good in the fall, according to Tim, to one that has developed into one of the best teams in the country.

We’ll absolutely be tested in Corvallis this weekend versus Oregon State, but I really like where this team is at right now. They’re not playing distraught over Donny Everett’s passing, though I know there is still sadness, but they’ve now got the passion to play “with” number 41, as Corbs said to me three weeks ago. It’s greatness. It’s really phenomenal. It’s strength through belief, strength through passion, strength through dedication to their late teammate, his amazing parents, Teddy and Susan, an amazingly focused discipline to be the best, and a passion for each other. It all starts with head coach Tim Corbin. It’s been an amazing transformation of a college baseball team.

And it really didn’t totally click until last Friday. There were signs during the season that this team was very talented. But over the weekend in Clemson, they showed what type of team they can be. And it culminated with an absolutely terrific performance from Matt Ruppenthal, Will Toffey, and Jackson Gillis. But our other players were hugely clutch throughout the weekend. Here’s what happened in the penultimate game on Monday Night.

Matt was called upon by Corbs and Brownie to give us 6 good innings or so, and that’s exactly what he did. Matt didn’t rely on his 12-6 curve as much, though he did use it, but he was also throwing it 88-90 MPH with his fastball and throwing strikes and getting outs. Matt went 6, gave up only 6 hits, 0 runs, with a walk and 5 K’s. He threw 80 pitches with 51 for strikes against 29 balls. He was electric and dominant against a terrific hitting team in a very hitters friendly ballpark. It’s almost like Coors Field in Colorado where the Colorado Rockies launch long ball after long ball. With the short porches in Clemson, guys like DH Seth Beer (16 homers), catcher Chris Williams, who hit but didn’t catch due to a shoulder problem (14 homers), and shortstop Logan Davidson (12 homers) launched many balls into the seats this season. But Matt held them in check throughout his six innings of stellar work. He was phenomenal. Reed Hayes, our usual closer, came on in the 7th, as Corbs made a prescient decision to go with a guy who throws it 93-95 to mix it up from Matt’s slower stuff. Reed got’em out 1-2-3 in the top of the 7th, but then had some struggles in the 8th. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th with one out , and the powerhouse hitting Beer coming to the plate. Corbs went to Gillis out of the pen. Jackson not only has the demeanor of a veteran pitcher, he has the look. He just looks tough. Jackson struck out Beer on a 93 MPH heater. Then he got Chase Pinder, another .305 hitter with 7 homers, to ground out to third for the final out. Jackson got them out 1-2-3 in the 9th to clinch the 8-0 victory and a trip to Corvallis to face No.1 Oregon State.

It was a masterful pitching performance by Matt and Jackson. Jackson could have earned Corbs’ and Brownie’s trust as our closer. He sure looked spectacular against a very good hitting team in a major pressure cooker situation.

Meanwhile, Will Toffey continued his masterful hitting in the postseason with a 2 run shot and a 3 run shot. Wow, Toff is hitting on another level. Those were home runs 10 and 11 for Will, and with the 5 RBIs, he now has 62 on the season. He is hitting .350.

Will was selected as Regional MVP. He was 9-for-19 over the weekend, a .474 average. He scored 8 runs and drove in 10. Ro Coleman was 3 for 5 in the game and freshman right fielder J.J. Bleday had a super game going 3-for-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. J.J. had 3 singles. Ro and Jeren Kendall were named to the All Tournament team. Jeren drove in 8 runs for the weekend, and Ro was spectacular, going 7-for-14 over the weekend. Ro played phenomenal left field as well, making highlight reel catch after highlight reel catch. He and Jeren were very instrumental in helping us win the Clemson regional. But the other guys, catcher Jason Delay, Reed Hayes as DH, second baseman Ethan Paul, and first baseman Julian Infante were also major reasons we advanced to the Super Regional. You can’t forget the superb starting pitching performances of Patrick Raby on Friday, and Kyle on Saturday. Just an awesome team Regional victory.

Now we head out to the great Northwest to play the No.1 seed in the entire tournament and the top ranked team in the country, the Oregon State Beavers. They are 52-4. The Beavers also went 27-3 in the PAC-12. We are now 36-23-1. We’ve got our hands full. Game 1 is Friday Night at 8 CT on ESPN 2. Rabes gets the ball for us. Saturday Night’s game is also at 8 CT, and that will be televised by ESPN. Sunday’s game, if there is one, hope there’s not, is to be determined for time and network if we split the first two games with the Beavers.

Will have more on this ultra talented Oregon State team, and more on our ultra talented team coming up on Friday as I preview this blockbuster matchup.

David Price, Mike Minor, Sonny Gray, Pedro Alvarez

David

I watched David Price’s performance from Saturday this morning and was very impressed. David had total command of the game leading his Boston Red Sox team to a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. David went 7, gave up 3 hits, 1 run, with 1 walk and 7 K’s. David threw 92 pitches, 55 for strikes against 37 balls. Craig Kimbrel came in and closed it out for Dave and the Bosox for his 16th save.

David hit 94-95 some with his heater, but was using his cut fastball quite a bit, throwing it 88-90, and hitting his spots perfectly. He also used his change up quite a bit and it was a very effective pitch as well. He gave up a homer to Manny Machado, but giving up a homer to the star third baseman for the O’s is something a lot of pitchers have to live with sometimes. But David was terrific overall.

The Red Sox also defeated the Yankees last night in the Bronx, 5-4, to move to 32-25 on the season, 1 game back of the Yanks in the American League East. So the Bosox are heating up. David pitches again tomorrow against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium @ 6 PM CT on ESPN. David will square off against Michael Pineda, who is 6-3 with a 3.76 ERA. In Pineda’s last outing, he went 5 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits, so he’s hittable. The Yankees have some lumber though, so DP will have to be really on his game. David is now 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, he has walked 3 and K’d 11. His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) is 0.67 which is fantastic. Like where the man is right now.

Mike Minor

Mike came in last night in the 9th for the KC Royals and pitched a really solid inning, giving up 1 run and striking out 1 with no walks, getting the victory to move to 3-1 on the season with a 2.12 ERA. Mike was hitting 95 with his fastball. He was throwing his slider 88 to 89, and pitched spectacularly well. Mike looks like he’s back to being the pitcher he was when he was really cookin as a starter for the Braves in 2013. Mike has an 0.91 WHIP, so he’s been terrific as well. Would love to see Mikey get another shot as a starter for KC. The Royals actually won it on a walk off homer by designated hitter Mike Moustakas in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Houston Astros, which are 42-17 and uber hot, 9-7. The Royals moved to 25-32. They’re in last place in the AL Central but only 5.5 games out of first place. The Minnesota Twins lead the Central at 29-25, so that division is up for grabs. The Astros are 13 games up on the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners in the AL West, so they are really dominating right now. Tony Kemp plays for the Fresno Grizzlies, the Astros triple A team, and he’s been up to the big club this year like he was last year. Would really like to see Tony get a shot somewhere. He’s just an injury away. He’s hitting .288 for the Grizzlies, and playing outfield and second. Tony’s such a super player.

Mike is really hitting his stride right now for the Royals.

Sonny Gray

I thought Sonny pitched really well for the A’s last Sunday in Oakland against the powerful Washington Nationals. He went 7, gave up 4 hits, 3 runs, with 3 walks and 6 K’s. He threw 104 pitches with 63 for strikes against 41 balls. Sonny’s fastball was hitting 93-95 and he hit 96 a couple of times. He located his fastball well, and his curve was outstanding. The Nationals are a tough group to pitch against, the best team in the NL at this point and a hitting machine, so I was impressed with Sonny’s performance. There has been a lot of talk of Sonny being on the trade market. If that’s the case, I hope he can land with a contender. The Cubs are interested from what I’ve heard. There are some other contenders he could go to. Would like to see Sonny on a team that is seriously in the playoff hunt. Sonny will pitch again Saturday at Tampa Bay against Erasmo Ramirez, who is in his first start for the Rays and has a 4.09 ERA. Sonny is now 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA and has a 1.21 WHIP, but I was very encouraged by his performance last Sunday against the best hitting team in baseball.

Pedro Alvarez

Pedro is still playing for the Norfolk Tides, the triple A club for the Orioles, and last night he went 1-for-2 with an RBI double to deep central field. That was his 41st RBI of the season, to go along with 13 home runs and a .235 average. That average doesn’t look that great, but it’s come up so much the last couple of weeks. Pedro has been tearing it up with the bat recently. He needs to get a shot with Baltimore. He’s too valuable of a hitter and he can play first or in right field if the O’s need him to. He’s just an injury away, or if Chris Davis keeps striking out 44 percent of the time he’s at the plate (88 strikeouts in 198 at bats), maybe he can take Davis’s spot at first. Pedro’s a better player in my opinion, and has a ton more heart than Davis does. It should happen soon. I don’t know what I’m seeing differently than the Orioles brass is seeing, but I see a much better first baseman at Norfolk than I do in Baltimore.

Tomorrow

Feature on one of our VU baseball superstars, who has an incredibly moving, powerful story.

Friday

Vanderbilt@ Oregon State

A preview of our Super Regional series at Corvallis, Oregon which promises to be a classic college baseball playoff series.

Astra Sharma’s fascinating journey

May 18, 2017

I had great intentions to write a deeply thought out feature on Vanderbilt women’s tennis redshirt junior Astra Sharma, the phenomenal Vanderbilt player, but then I spoke with Coach Geoff McDonald and Astra on Tuesday and their comments were so captivating that I decided to make this a Q&A with these engaging two people. This is Geoff’s account of Astra, her background, what type of player she has become, and most importantly, the development of her as a person. I also got Astra’s riveting comments about her life as a Vanderbilt tennis player, and as a student at one of the most academically demanding schools in the country. Here are Geoff and Astra.

DW: Tell me about Astra’s backstory?

Geoff: We lost a recruit to Stanford. It’s incredibly hard to recruit against Stanford. They have the best tennis tradition in the country. So we lost a kid to them. I got an email from a coach in Australia that said I’m coaching a really good student, and on top of that she has really high aspirations to play the game. She wants to be a pro if she can. He said she was the best athlete he’d ever seen on the court. He said she was a phenomenal athlete. My associate head coach, Aleke Tsoubanos, is married to an engineering professor, Jason Valentine. She is a co-head coach with me and was a 3 time All American here. She came to me and said Jason has a conference in Melbourne, Australia in December and what do I think if she took 10 days off and went with him to Australia. Sure enough the Australian juniors were at the same time. I said not only can you go, but we’ll pay for it. It’ll be a recruiting trip.

So she went and recruited Astra. She saw a lot of potential. Aleke said Astra was a bit raw, but her athleticism was off the charts. Not only that, Aleke said she was well spoken, respectful, just a good person.

So Astra came to us and in her first year she suffered a hand and wrist over-use injury and it didn’t heal. We wanted to rest it for 6 weeks thinking it would flare up again if we pushed her. So we redshirted her and what impressed me was I would give her a book to read and she’d read it. If I gave her an article or youtube clip, she’d read or watch. I had her, even when she was injured, practicing things that didn’t hurt her hand like her toss, things you did that wouldn’t hurt her injury but maybe help her game a little bit. She did every single thing I asked her to do with just a remarkable attitude.

It’s hard to be redshirted. You feel like you’re not part of things and you also wonder if you can ever get over the injury. But she began to play in the summer and she did solidly. My timetable for her was she’s going to develop in a year or 2 and she’s going to be quite good. The next spring (her sophomore season), she just took off and she was the story of the 2015 national championship team. Just an amazing effort by her.

DW: Geoff, where have you seen the most improvement in her game?

GM: Understanding how to play, decision making. It’s like baseball, there are a lot of nuances. There’s a lot of stuff that if you don’t understand, you’re not going to do very well. Some matches you have to be really patient and play points out, and others you have to be more aggressive. It’s a blend. What we’ve tried to teach is what we call, ball-court game. Most of the women’s game is modeled on aggressive baseline play, but that’s not a lot of variety and not a lot of net play, etc.. We try to teach her all court tennis which takes the longest to develop.

DW: How is she doing with that?

GM: She’s improving by the week really. It’s just kind of fascinating, this year she was SEC player of the year and a lot of it was in difficult situations against the best players in the conference. She was able to come through.

DW: Will Astra be returning next season?

GM: She will come back, yes. She’s going to play the pro tour this summer as an amateur from June to the beginning of the second semester (2018). You don’t say this often, but she’s good enough to get to the next level. She’s got an extraordinary work ethic. She graduates next spring and she’ll finish her course work. She’s ahead on hours, and she has that season of eligibility because we redshirted her. Back in 2014, that was hard to do. We were tempted to play her, but I’m glad I held off because it’s been good for her development.

DW: Where do you see Astra’s future in the pro game?

GM: I think Astra is good enough to become a top 50 player and become someone who plays in Grand Slams. I think she can do it. It’s a hard journey, but she loves the game, she has the work ethic, she has good feet and she also has a really big heart. She’s got pretty much what you need.

DW: What’s your read on your team heading into the Sweet 16?

GM: I know what I’m going to get in terms of competitiveness. You don’t know about winning and losing because everybody is so good at this level. But she’s going to bring her all and that’s all we focus on as a team. You can’t control winning and losing, you can control your effort, your resiliency, the way you work at tennis. This team has done remarkably well. They’re an overachieving group. We’re excited for the opportunities before us Friday. There are 8 matches on Friday and we’re down to that 16 (teams) and that’s pretty exciting.

DW: How does Astra’s opponent look from Cal?

GM: Maegan Manasse. She’s a very good player. Each day, there’s no such thing as a good draw. Everybody’s good, you just go into that match and battle. If somebody beats you they really have to be good. We’re a tough opponent as well. Maegan has been in the top 10, but has been a little down recently (she’s at No.34). We tell them the rankings are a good sign post but that doesn’t matter when you’re playing. It doesn’t matter who’s seeded higher or who’s ranked. It’s a contest.

DW: Can Astra reach No.1 in singles nationally?

GM: She is certainly capable. You can get hung up on rankings. Let the computers do that and you just focus on getting better and improving and have a mindset that you can keep improving in tennis and that’s what we’re working on now. We talked to the team a lot about let’s get ready for this tournament not as a maintenance thing, but let’s play to get better. We were on the court today from 8 AM to 3:30 PM with 5 players focusing on the little things to see what they can do to play a little bit better.

DW: You really like this team.

GM: Yeah, they’re good. There haven’t been many teams I didn’t love. They have a 3.6 GPA. With all the traveling in the college game and missing classes and your team gets a 3.6, that’s amazing.

DW: How has Astra done academically?

GM: She got a 3.8 this time. She has a 3.4 overall GPA (majoring in Health, Medicine and Society). Her grades have gotten steadily better. When you’re younger you have to take classes like Organic Chemistry and that makes it harder to get a good grade. She’s done very well.

After speaking with Geoff, I got Astra on the phone. Here are Astra’s comments.

DW: How does it feel to get to another Sweet 16?

AS: It was great to get by Clemson. They were a tough opponent.

DW: Tell me about your family?

AS: I have an older brother, Ashwin, who just graduated from the University of Pacific (Stockton, California). My younger sister, Tara, goes to a good university in Perth, Western Australia. She majors in Physics and Biology. She’s a smart cookie. My parents are Dev and Susan.

DW: How was it growing up in Perth, Australia?

AS: We actually moved over when I was little from Singapore. It was my dad and mom’s decision because they wanted us to have a more well rounded life in sports and stuff which was a really good call. I enjoyed playing a lot of soccer and tennis, track and field and swimming. I was very active. It was just loads of fun.

Perth is actually pretty similar to Nashville. It’s a mediumish city (population 2 million). We lived in the suburbs. It’s kind of a quiet, laid back sore of town (in southwestern Australia). It’s not as busy as Melbourne or Brisbane. Still it can get pretty active. But I remember my childhood in Perth being pretty quiet. It’s a very good family town, a really good place to raise a family.

DW: What was your favorite sport growing up?

AS: I always really liked soccer, and I really liked track and field events. I liked the long jump, the triple jump, that sort of thing. I was actually a pretty good runner but I didn’t enjoy it as much. I thought it was a bit boring. Growing up it was usually soccer and tennis. I narrowed it down to soccer and tennis when I was 13 or 14, and only chose tennis when I was about 16.

DW: What attracted you to Vanderbilt?

AS: Actually I didn’t know much about college tennis until I was in Melbourne and the assistant coach came to Australia. She talked to my coach and offered me a spot. Initially, I didn’t want to come because I wanted to try my hand at the pro circuit. Then I decided to try college for a year and see how it goes because I was interested in getting a good education.

DW: What has been the key to your development as a tennis player?

AS: The main reason is the coaches, Coach McDonald and Coach Tsoubanos. They’re the best coaches I’ve ever had in my life. I think I hit the jackpot with the right coaches. I’m very driven intrinsically. They just guide me and have challenged me to grow within myself and push myself more. Not so much physically, but mentally, and I think that’s the biggest gain in my tennis, the mental aspect. Coach, from day 1, has been grooming me, I guess, with the books, and the lessons I learn every day. it’s not a repetition, it’s something different, something new. That’s what I love. I’ve learned to appreciate so much more about the mental side, how to be a tennis player is what I’ve learned the most.

DW: What would you say are the strengths of your game?

AS: I’m a pretty good athlete and I move very well. On the court I cover quite well. My biggest strengths on the court are my serve and my forehand. They’ve always been my go to weapons. I’m trying to develop my volley and I’m getting there right now. It’s movement, serve and forehand that are my strengths.

DW; How hard is it to handle the academic demands at Vanderbilt and be an elite tennis player?

AS: It comes in waves. It can be really busy. It takes big time management and discipline. The day is really busy. I train twice a day. I get up in the morning, train, gym, class, lunch, come out again, hit, dinner. It’s just non stop. The key is finding pockets of time (to study). The normal student can take off for a couple of hours and watch NetFlix. That’s not an option when you know you have a paper due in 2 days, and you can’t really take time off and waste one day. There’s a lot of discipline and I think a lot of student athletes come out stronger from the college experience. I’m so much more aware of what it takes to do well in both areas.

DW: How much better is it to be done with school and just be able to focus on tennis now?

AS: It’s so much easier. There’s so much more time to catch up on your sleep. My team, we’ve caught up. You always have a little bit of a sleep deficit during the season because you’ve gotta study. People aren’t always going to have that 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Right now, everyone is feeling really great. Everything seems so much easier without having to do 2 to 3 hours of school work every night. We now go to practice, go to lunch, take a nap, come out again. It’s so much better. I love it.

DW: What do you know about Cal and how do you think you stack up against their singles player (Maegan Manasse)?

AS: We haven’t played them in recent memory. It’s more about attitude and focus. I’m not too worried about how I stack up against someone.

DW: Where do you see your tennis future?

AS: I definitely want to try my hand at the pro circuit. I’ll do a lot of that in the summer. I want to see different parts of the world and get to play the best tennis players in the world. So I’m very excited this summer to try that and see how it goes.

DW: What does it mean to get a degree from Vanderbilt?

AS: This has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It’s the best decision I could have made. Getting my degree will mean so much.

DW: How has the experience shaped you?

AS: It’s a very challenging academic school and it’s not easy playing in the SEC and having the demands of an Ivy League. I’ll be so proud and happy with this accomplishment. I’m very excited to get a degree.

Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University Athletics

Scott Limbaugh has built eliteness into the VU golf program, and they proved it over the weekend in Sea Island with more eliteness hopefully in store

April 28, 2017

Coach Scott Limbaugh leads his team to the SEC Championship with more goals ahead

True freshman John Augenstein was beyond clutch on Sunday and Monday

Vanderbilt University has made some superb hirings in the past several years. The hire of Tim Corbin in 2002 was spectacular. Tim is the best college baseball coach in the country and an institution, not only in the college game, but throughout baseball. Coach Corbin has built an phenomenal legacy at Vanderbilt. The hiring of Derek Mason by Athletics Director David Williams in 2014 is proving to be a genius move again as Derek is ready to take his Commodore football program to new heights, greater than the program’s ever achieved. Two thousand seventeen looks electrically exciting for football. Commodore football is in tremendous hands. The hiring of Geoff McDonald for the women’s tennis team back in the ’90’s has been a beyond spectacular. His program is as elite as it comes in college tennis and will be playing for its second national championship in the last 3 years in the next 2 weeks as the women’s team starts NCAA tournament play. Williams’ hire of Bryce Drew was superb. Bryce will have us competing for championships both in the SEC and nationally as soon as next year. The future couldn’t be any brighter for Vanderbilt basketball with Bryce at the helm.

And golf has been nothing short of sensational under 5th year Coach Scott Limbaugh, who just led his amazing team to an SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club last weekend. The 36 year old LImbaugh got stellar play from freshman John Augenstein, who sank a birdie putt on the 20th hole to beat Florida last Sunday and win the semifinal match. Then, on top of that on Monday, the cagey freshman with all the pressure on the line, beat the Texas A&M player on the 23rd hole to help the Commodores capture their first SEC championship in the program’s existence.That’s some stellar stuff from John.

But most all of the credit goes to Coach Limbaugh, the Childersburg, Alabama native, who was the lead recruiter at the University of Alabama and recruited Tide standouts Justin Thomas, Trey Mullinax, Bobby Wyatt among other, all 3 of whom are on the PGA Tour. Justin is having massive success. Alabama won the national championship in 2013 and 2014 with many of the players Limbaugh recruited. And he’s continued that stellar tradition in Nashville, and that, along with his superior coaching ability, led the Commodores to the pinnacle of the SEC, the toughest conference in the country in most every sport imaginable, with the best athletes, the best competitors, the best coaches. Coach Limbaugh said he got congratulations from everybody, Tim Corbin and Bryce Drew sent texts, as did Justin Thomas and Trey Mullinax. He said the most meaningful thing though was seeing his wife Kate, his two young daughters, Malley and Annie, and his year and a half old son, Thomas, after the team’s amazing victory. Scott Limbaugh is not only a superb coach, he’s an even better person. He’s the personification of a Vanderbilt man. And we are fortunate and grateful to have him.

Now, while the players take a break and get ready for finals, but also get a chance to relish this phenomenal victory, Scott and I talked on Wednesday about the performance of his team last weekend, what this means for him and his program, and what lies ahead with the NCAA’s, as capturing the national championship is next the next goal on the agenda for this tremendous team and their superior leader.

DW: How’s this week gone for you?

SL: “I just now started today to get my feet on the ground. Monday Night I had to hit the road recruiting, so I didn’t get back till last night. But it’s been overwhelming. I’ve had so many people reach out to me, it’s awesome. All good stuff.”

DW: Talk about the clutch play of John Augenstein, the clutch putt on Sunday against Florida and Monday, his play on Monday, how clutch it was.

SL: “I tell you what, it was the stuff you dream about. You talk to young kids, you try to sell’em on a vision. When we talked to John as a youngster, we sold him on doing a first time thing, and him being a crucial part of that her with him as a freshman. My gosh, the shots he made and the putt he made against Florida on the 20th hole, that was not an easy putt. It was about a cup outside on the left, fast, and he absolutely buried it. And then the final day, when Matthias lost control of his match a little bit and things started not looking as good for us as they had been, we talk all the time about, don’t wait for somebody else to do the job that you can do yourself. Always know your match will matter, always know your score is going to count. Don’t sit back and think somebody else is going to do the job. For us, we had a freshman. And I’ll tell you what, I can’t say enough about our assistant coach, Dusty Smith, the job he’s done. He’s been with us the whole time here and the job he’s done and the development we’ve had with our younger players, that stuff just doesn’t happen without Dusty. Dusty walked every hole with John and watched every shot this week. And obviously, the shot John hit on the 23rd hole (on Monday vs. A&M in the championship match), No.14 is the hardest hole on the course. The tour, when anybody plays there, it’s the hardest hole on the course. The wind was blowing 30 off the left. You can’t hit it left, you can’t hit it right. The Texas A&M kid gets up there first and strikes it right down the middle. Honestly, John didn’t have his A game this week, he had his A game in his heart, but he didn’t have his A game because he is an absolute ball striker, and he didn’t hit it that well. He won those matches on sheer resiliency and toughness and fight, because it wasn’t always pretty. The one place you can’t hit it on 14 is on the left, but you have just a little bit of room on the right. He hit it off a tree (off the tee) and it bounced off the cart path and I didn’t think he had a shot, but I was allowing Coach Smith and John to do their thing, I just turned into a fan at that moment. I had walked the final round with Patrick (Martin, who won his match handily). The shot he hit, wind off to the left with a front left pin, it’s a shot that’s going to go down in our golf memory banks for a long, long time because it changed Vanderbilt golf. He hit that thing 12 feet from no man’s land, and this other kid in the middle of the fairway, John had just tightened up the hole for him, and he just kind of scooped a pitching wedge short right of the green and he didn’t hit a great chip. John almost made the birdie putt, left it a little short, and that kid had a par putt that was breaking about 2 feet and you just couldn’t hardly make it. We were really fortunate that the ball just bounced our way that way that day, and that’s just the way sports works isn’t it?”

DW: How long was John’s putt on Sunday, his birdie putt to beat Florida?

SL: “I’d say that was about 10 feet, downhill left to right. The boy from Florida almost made a birdie from about 15 feet, it hit the edge. John just knocked it in.”

DW: Coach, what is Dusty’s background?

SL: He was an All American (player) at Lamar and he was here for a year with the prior coach before I got here and honestly, when I got the job, I felt like I needed to do things to make my own program. But when my wife (Kate) and I met him we knew it was right. My wife is a former athlete, she played basketball at Alabama, and I trust her a lot in what we do here. We came up here to look at homes, and met Dusty and he just kept doing his job no matter what the future was, and he was just the right guy for me. He does an unbelievable job of relating to the players, an unbelievable job of player development, and just his and my personality work really well.

DW: Coach what are the players up to now, are they in exams?

SL: No, there is a dead period right now, their exams start Sunday or Monday and they’re enjoying things right now. We’ve got good leadership on this team. Am I worried about our focus going forward? Yeah I am because that’s my job as a coach, because as Geoff McDonald has said to me, “Success is also adversity,” and I’m well aware of that. We’re getting an awful lot of pats on our back, so I kind of give them time after the SEC’s, I follow the same model Coach (Jay) Seawell and I had at Alabama. There’s a 3 week break between SEC’s and (NCAA) Regionals and we’re going to give our guys a break, to kind of catch their breath, focus on academics, and come the end of next week, it’ll be time for us to reconvene and get going again. That’s been our model here for my first four years here and we’re not going to change that.

DW: When is the selection Show?

SL: “It’s Thursday, May 4th.”

DW: Do you have any idea where we’ll go?

SL: “We feel good. We moved to No.2 in the Golfstat poll which is what the NCAA uses for the regional seeding, and I would say there’s an outside chance we could end the regular season No. 1 depending on how (No.1) Southern Cal, (No.3) Oklahoma State some of those type teams do. But we feel good, and we’re hopeful that we can get in the regional in Murfreesboro. Middle Tennessee is hosting it and we’re hopeful we’ll be able to gain the No.1 seed at that regional.”

DW: What does this mean to you personally?

SL: “Oh it’s big. You sell a vision to young people and you think about it 4 1/2 to 5 years ago when we started here, the program was ranked 80th in the country and you sell a vision. I tell you the amount of support we’ve gotten from our athletic department, our administration has been truly nothing short of amazing. They have believed in me and what I’ve told them we’d have to do, what the vision I sold them on if they wanted a championship golf program. We needed a lot of things and we’ve had no pushback. So you’re thankful to a lot of people, David Williams, and my former boss, Rod Williamson, and all of these people play integral parts in what we’re doing. It was special for me. I had my wife, and my 3 little kids there. And I never thought about it being the first (SEC Championship for VU). I told Golfweek that was not a burden I carried with me, even though it’s never been done. But I’ve done this long enough to know that knocking down that door after knocking on the door several times, was amazing. I’m just thrilled to death for our boys. Those guys on this team that bought into my vision because there was nothing that said I need to believe in him other than they just took a leap of faith in me and what we were trying to sell. And my gosh, it’s such a thrill to see them hold up that trophy.”

DW: Coach, that’s awesome, really excited about the NCAA’s but want you to enjoy this right now.

SL: “That’s right. And that’s the kind of mentality I’ve got. I’m a process guy and you want them to have the time to enjoy this one.”

DW: Coach, finally, do you feel like the SEC’s were really good preparation and do you feel good about the NCAA’s?

SL: “Well when you look at it, David, my goodness, we had 10 of the teams in that SEC Championship ranked in the top 30. And we started the week saying, let’s leave no doubts, this is our tournament, it’s about us and what we need to do. We didn’t just want to limp through stroke play and ease into match play. We wanted to dominate and that’s what we talked about, and that’s the kind of leadership our guys have, and that’s the mentality we had all week. And I’m proud of that. We went into the final day of stroke play, we were in third place and our guys really dropped the hammer on the last 9 of stroke play (which we won), and any time you plant seeds like that in your competition’s minds, in my opinion, it makes a huge difference. And we planted seeds in that stroke play that allowed us to really compete in every one of those matches.”

Vanderbilt basketball has tremendous postseason opportunity, baseball, football, men’s golf, women’s tennis

March 13, 2017

Our Vanderbilt basketball team finished the season 19-15 after beating A&M and Florida in the SEC tournament, both teams for the third time. With those key victories, and a key victory on the road over Arkansas, and a strength of schedule that was No.1 in the country overall, the committee awarded us with a well deserved 9th seed in the West Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

We will play 8th seeded Northwestern in Salt Lake City, Thursday at 3:30 PM CT/4:30 PM ET on WTBS, which is channel 247 on DirecTV and channel 780 on Charter Spectrum.

This is a classic matchup of two very elite academic schools that have done pretty darn well at sports. Interestingly though, this is Northwestern’s first tournament appearance in its history. Northwestern has been playing basketball since 1904, 111 years. The NCAA tournament is in its 79th year. So, it’s a huge deal for the Wildcats. But it’s just as big of a deal for us.

Northwestern finished their season at 23-11 overall and 10-8 in the BIg Ten. They lost to highly seeded NCAA tournament teams Butler and Notre Dame in their pre-conference season. But both games were close. They lost to Butler, the No.4 seed in the South, 70-68 in Indianapolis. They lost to Notre Dame in Brooklyn at a preseason tournament, 70-66. Notre Dame is the 5th seed in the West Regional. They have a road win over Wisconsin, then ranked 7th in the country at the time and an 8 seed in the tournament in the East, 66-59. They also defeated Michigan at home on March 1st, 67-65, on an electric full court heave and score at the buzzer. Michigan just won the Big Ten tournament and is a 7 seed, which seems a little low, but the committee seems to value the regular season and the early tournament games more than the final games.

The Wildcats reached the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament in D. C. with victories over Rutgers, and a 72-64 upset victory over No.25 Maryland in the quarters. Maryland is a 6 seed in the West. The Wildcats lost to Wisconsin in the semis, 76-48, but I suspect, much like us, they were out of gas by that point.

The Wildcats are led in scoring by 6’3″, 185 junior guard Bryant McIntosh, who averaged 14.4 ppg. and 6’5″, small forward Scottie Lindsey, a junior, who averaged 14.2 per game. Their other double figure scorer is 6’7″, 205 redshirt sophomore forward Vic Law, who averaged 12.4 ppg. Six-foot-8, 235 pound sophomore center Dererk Pardon averaged 8.5 points and 8 rebounds.

They averaged 71 points a game and held opponents to 65 ppg. They out-rebounded opponents 36.2-35.4. They averaged 15 assists on the season against 10.5 turnovers. They shot 44% from the field, 34% from 3, and 75% from the line.

They have a good mix of veterans and younger players and their players are all experienced. We have our work cut out for us to win this ballgame. But we can absolutely win it.

We averaged 71 points and gave up 68. We shot 43% from the field and 38% from 3. We also shot 78% from the stripe, which is outstanding. We averaged roughly 35 rebounds per game. MFD led us in scoring at 13.6 ppg. Luke was next at 13.2, Jeff was at 11 ppg, and Riley averaged 10.5. Riley was so good at the end of the season, and really all year. He shot 49 percent from 3 for the year, 68-for-138, that’s outrageously good. He also led us at the stripe at 87%. Luke shot 85%, MFD shot 82% and JRobe shot 79%. We’re outstanding from the stripe and from deep.

Nolan Cressler, Joe Toye and Payton Willis were very valuable players for us too. Djerry Baptiste and Clevon Brown will be very valuable pieces for us underneath in the postseason as well. They’re both going to be very good players for us, and they need to step up for us now. Djerry can really help Luke out and Clevon can help Jeff out with some valuable minutes off the bench.

The keys to victory against Northwestern are, first, sinking several 3’s. I don’t want to put an absolute number on it, but 8 or better would help a lot. We have to hold our own on the glass with Luke, Jeff, Joe and our guards boarding well. We need to take care of the ball like we’ve done such a better job at the end of this season. We need to get some turnovers ourselves. We need to drive and score, which Nolan, Riley and Joe have been so good at and MFD can do. We need to pass it well to set up shooters and get some more backdoor scores, and we of course need to defend well. Keep them at 40% or less from the field and 34% or less from trifecta.

If we do all or most of these things well, particularly shooting, defense and the glass, we’ll move on and face the Gonzaga- South Dakota State winner on Saturday. Gonzaga is a prohibitive favorite in that game which tips off at 1 PM CT/2 PM ET in Salt Lake City on TBS.

So gigantic opportunity for our talented team that has improved so much throughout the season and is playing their best basketball right now, which is what you want. So can’t wait.

Here is the video of the team’s reaction to the NCAA announcement yesterday on CBS. It’s pretty electric.

***NOTE, This is from an email I sent out last night after the Northwestern game, Olivier Sarr is our 4 star 6’11’, 225 recruit who we are pursuing intensely. I spelled Olivier’s name Oliver. Apologize for the error.

Baseball splits a doubleheader

Our No. 25 baseball team is now 11-6 on the season after splitting a doubleheader with St. Mary’s yesterday, losing the first game 5-1, but winning the second game, 9-1. In the first game, Patrick Raby pitched a beauty of a game, but didn’t get enough offensive help, hardly any, and had a couple of miscues in the field that didn’t help either. Raby went 8.2 innings, throwing 118 pitches with 80 for strikes against 38 balls, an outstanding strike-ball ratio. Patrick gave up 6 hits, 5 runs, 3 earned, with 1 walk and 11 K’s. Tough luck loss for Patrick, but like where he’s at.

In the second game, the bats came alive and we got another stellar outing from freshman Drake Fellows. Jeren Kendall was 2-for-3 with a stolen base, his fifth, and three runs scored. Julian Infante was 2-for-2 with a ribbie and two runs scored. Third baseman Will Toffey was 2-for-4 with 4 Ribeyes, including a three-run triple. Super work by Will. Ro Coleman was 3-for-4 at the plate.

Fellows went 8, throwing 101 pitches, 69 for strikes against 32 balls, an over 2 to 1 strike-ball ratio, so he was outstanding. Drake gave up 2 hits, one run, which was unearned, walked none and struck out 8. Reed Hayes finished it off in the 9th giving up a hit, no runs with a K. Drake moved t0 3-0 on the season and he now has a 1.00 ERA, which is superb. Raby has a 1.40 ERA and he’s now 2-2.

Infante is leading us in hitting at .359. Ro is next at .311. We’re playing better, but need to brush up on our fielding. We’ve committed 22 errors in 17 games. That improvement will happen as we keep developing this season. We’re always good in the field and we’ve got good defensive players, good players period.

Corbs seemed OK with the split. It was hard to hear him in his interview because Born in the USA was blasting out of the speakers at Hawkins Field. Good song, but the volume was intense. He liked the efforts and performances of Raby and Fellows and thought we got it going pretty well with the bats in the second game as we had 12 hits. Overall, he’s cautiously optimistic about his team. That’s my read on his thoughts.

Next up is Western Kentucky tomorrow @ home, 4:30 PM CT. SEC Network+ will carry the game. Then we open the conference season @ Ole Miss with a weekend set. Friday’s first pitch is at 7 PM CT, Saturday’s game starts at 1:30 PM CT, and Sunday’s game starts at 3 PM CT and will be televised by the SEC Network. Should be pretty electric as we get into the conference schedule.

MLB guys

Some super news; Pedro got picked up by the Orioles on a minor league contract, meaning he’ll not start out on the 40 man roster this spring but can get on the team with a good performance during March in the Grapefruit League. There is talk that Baltimore will try Pedro out in the outfield some, and then, when he makes the team, use him out there and at first some to spell starter Chris Davis. Pedro had a good year for the Birds last year, so I’m glad they picked him up again. He has been working out on his own and with a coach on his outfield skills and Pedro is an awesome athlete, so I see him getting the outfield down. He can really play some first, so I’d like to see him still get a shot there, too. His bat is too good not to be in the lineup frequently. I expect Pedro to be an Oriole when the season starts April 3rd.

Mike Minor could be in the KC Royals’ rotation this season. I thought Mike looked good in the minors, and his stuff is ML:B starting material. David Price got a scare when his throwing elbow was having a lot of discomfort a couple of weeks ago. But Dave got it checked out and he’s OK, and will be ready when the Red Sox open the season in April. ***Note, 3-17, David looks like he’ll start on the 15 day DL, so we’ll have to wait to see David start his 2017 season. No major injury though which is the good news. David will be back probably late April.

Sonny has been injured a little for the A’s, some sort of lat issue, but he should be fine for the season. Dansby has had a little back problem, but he’ll be ready when the Braves open the season. Braves are really building for the future. If they play .500 ball this season, that would be good, and get them ready for a big 2018 at their new stadium, SunTrust Park in Cobb County, which opens this season. Should be awesome.

And I expect Carson Fulmer to be a starter for the White Sox. I’m saying very likely this season.

There will be some other guys who might be in the big leagues this year. Ryan Flaherty should be back with the Orioles. Will keep you posted.

Football

Sorry I’m late to report this but better late than never and certainly in this case. Alex Stump, a 2015 4 star wide receiver, has transferred to Vanderbilt from Ohio State. Alex is 6’3″, 210, and his film in high school is superb. He played a game last year for the Buckeyes and caught a pass for 8 yards. But watching his high school film shows me that Alex is going to be exceptional for us. He will have to sit out this year, but will be eligible in 2018 and 2019. That’s good news because we’ll be losing C.J. Duncan, Trent Sherfield and Caleb Scott after this season. We have some young studs on the perimeter in Kalija Lipscomb and Donaven Tennyson, and we have some freshmen studs coming in, 6’4″, 212 Chris Pierce and 6’3″, 200 James Bostic. And with Jared Pinkney and Sam Dobbs at tight end, we should have some good weapons on offense in 2018 as well. But 2017 is here and we’ve got Duncan, Sherfield and Scott set for big senior seasons.

I spoke with Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig about 3 weeks ago, but have decided to wait until after spring practice is over and talk to him then, so he’ll have a better handle on how the offense looks coming out of spring. We are having a Spring Showcase instead of a Spring game this year. It will be held Saturday, March 25th at 10 AM in Vanderbilt Stadium. In the past we’ve done kind of a goofy offense versus defense format, and coach Mason wants to get more out of the workout. So we will practice and do some scrimmaging. Excited to see what this team can do in 2017. We have a lot of good players back, and should be stellar on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, we’ll keep improving in special teams too. We open the season Saturday, Sept. 2nd on the road against Middle Tennessee, in Murfreesboro. No time or TV yet. We play Alabama A&M at home, Kansas State at home and then open the SEC schedule at home against Alabama. Will be tough, but I just say bring it on. I have confidence in our coaches and our players.

We’ll also play @ Florida, @ Ole Miss, @ South Carolina and @ Tennessee. We’ll have home games against Georgia, Western Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. If things go right, we’ll go 8-4, though we want to win’em all.

Here are highlights of Alex Stump. We’re going to like him.

Alex Stump

Men’s Golf

The No.1 Men’s Golf team will be in Statesboro, Georgia this weekend playing at the Schenkel Invitational. No.2 Florida will also play with a host of other teams including Kentucky, North Carolina State, Notre Dame and UAB, Should be super competition for the team as they keep matriculating towards the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. The SEC Tournament will be held in Sea Island April 21-24.

We won this event last year as Will Gordon shot a 63 on the final day and we finished -41 to win by 10 shots over second place finisher Wake Forest. Matthias Schwab, Patrick Martin, Will and company will have to play well as we face a tough field led by Florida. Note***Matthias is playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week. He is close to making the cut. Matthias earned the exemption by getting the sportsmanship award handed out by the tournament. Great stuff for Matthias.

PGA guys

In the pros, Luke List finished tied for 27th at the Valspar Championship yesterday, shooting -2 for the tournament. Adam Hadwin won at -14. Luke is now 21st in the Fed Ex Standings so in really good shape, and with a victory before the Masters, Luke will get in the Masters. So you never know and Luke’s been playing better this year after starting off the season really well at the end of 2016. Brandt is 35th in the standings and both Brandt and Luke will play this weekend at the Arnie Invitational at Bay Hill. Jon Curran is not playing and stands 154 in the standings, so he has work to do. The top 125 qualify for the 2017-18 season, and there is a lot of golf left, so several opportunities to make up ground. Luke plays all the time, Brandt plays a lot for a star on the tour, and Jon probably needs to pick up the workload to get back to relevance on the Fed Ex list.

Women’s Tennis

The No.10 women kept the machine rolling this weekend with a 5-2 victory over No. 23 Ole Miss. We improved to 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the SEC. That’s outstanding. We won the doubles, and in singles, No.5 Astra Sharma got her 80th career victory at Vanderbilt, and Georgina Sellyn, Fernanda Contreras and Emily Smith all won.

Next up, we’ll be on the road @ No. 20 Kentucky 4 PM CT this Saturday.

D Mase gets a couple more huge anchors, Zach, Bryce, team, Corbs, baseball

December 17, 2016

Coach Derek Mason landed a couple of more commits yesterday and these are two huge gets for Derek and the staff.

2017, 86 three-star Cole Clemens, a 6’5″, 290 pound offensive linemen and first team All-State selection out of South Jordan, Utah, dropped anchor on Friday morning. Clemens just won his third Class 5A state title at Bingham High in Utah leading his offense that generated 4,788 total yards and 72 touchdowns with 3,097 yards and 51 of them coming on the ground. Clemens was a standout at a couple of Nike Camps this past year and had a really good camp at VU last June.

Cole chose us over offers from Virginia, BYU, Utah and several others. Those are all quality football programs. Utah and BYU always play hard-nosed, physical, solid football and are always good. Cole fit their profile and ours, so I like who we’re getting.

Watched Cole’s film. He played right tackle for Bingham, and loves to bury people. He’s got a super mean streak. Likes to get an opponent on the ground and keep’em down. He is a superb run blocker. Didn’t see him doing much passing blocking because Bingham didn’t need to pass that much because they were so good on the ground, but if you can run block, you can pass block. Work with Coach Dobson in the weight room and Coach Norcross on the field will have Cole ready to go. He looks like he could be a three year starter for us. Again, he just buries people. A typical Coach Mason player. Physical, hard-nosed, an excellent football player. Love Cole.

Rocket Armed 2018 quarterback out of New Jersey

And we got a spectacular pickup in the 2018 class as 90, 4 star quarterback Allan Walters, from Peddie High School in Highstown, New Jersey, also committed yesterday. Walters chose us over Alabama, Michigan, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Louisville. Allen, a 6’2″, 205 pound signal caller, threw for 1,373 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore at Paramous Catholic in New Jersey. Then, after transferring to Peddie School in New Jersey for his junior year, Allen completed 58-of-80 passes, 73%, for 870 yards and six TDs as well as rushing for 103 yards in the first three games before sustaining a hairline fracture that cost him the rest of the season. Not sure if it was in the leg or the arm, but Allen will be fully recovered for his senior season.

Watched film on AW. Wow, he’s got a cannon for an arm and he’s so accurate. Superb with the deep ball and intermediate throws. Handles the pocket really well, doesn’t get sacked, steps up and hits his targets in stride. His arm and his accuracy are phenomenal. We’re going to love Allen Walters. Just gotta keep him in the fold until signing day in February of 2018. We get a super quarterback every year. We’ve got a stellar one in Kyle now, with Wade Freebeck and the talented freshman Deuce Wallace waiting in the wings. Deuce is being redshirted. Jacob Free is coming in this ’17 class, and Allen will be coming to the West End in 2018. Coach Mason and Ludwig are going to have fun with these quarterbacks.

So we have 13 commits right now. Cole joins 6’5″, 290 pound high three star tackle Bryce Bailey out of Indiana, and three star tackle Grant Miller out of St. Thomas Aquinas Florida as our offensive line commits for this class. We did lose cornerback Adam Sparks. Adam decided to open his recruiting up. Sorry to see that, but we still have some really good opportunities at cornerback for this class. We already have 86 three star corner Randall Haynie out of Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale and 85 three-star safety Tae Daley out of Warner Robbins, Georgia committed to this class. We’ve got some strong possibilities in 89 three-star corner Yusuf Corker out of Stockbridge, GA, and some others. We’re also in it for some more offensive linemen as 6’8″, 294 three star offensive tackle Jonathan Stewart out of Lawrenceville, GA., and 6’5″, 270 pound offensive guard Jax Wacaser, an 85 three star out of Scottsdale, Arizona are both very interested. We’ve got some stud wide receivers we’re looking at who are very interested in our program in 85 three star Austin Connor, a 6’0″, 180 pounder out of Dutch Fork, SC, and solid three star Chris Pierce, a 6’4″, 212 pound out of Smithfield, Virginia. We have other linemen, receivers, some linebackers and d ends, and a defensive tackle or two who are also very interested in the program. Will keep you posted as Coach Mason and the staff fill out what is a special class and keeps building for the 2018 class. Allen Walters is quite a start there.

The man just keeps on piling up the awards

Zach Cunningham

Zach became Vanderbilt’s first unanimous All-American on Wednesday after he was named first team All American by the American Football Coaches Association. Along with the AFCA honor, Zach was named Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News All American. Wow. Zac was also named first team All American by CBS Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Phil Steele and SB Nation. The hits just keep on coming with Zach. And the good news is, we at least have one more game with Zach. Zach led the SEC in total tackles with 119, which ranked him 11th nationally. Zach also posted 16.5 tackles for loss, finishing second in the SEC behind Myles Garrett of A&M, and 22nd nationally. Zach’s four fumble recoveries led the SEC and were second in the country. And Zach made two of the best plays in college football this season. His stop of lightning fast Georgia wide receiver Isiah McKenzie was epic and his leap and block of Auburn’s Daniel Carlson’s kick to give us a chance to win the game was beyond superb. What a phenomenal football player and an even better person. Can’t wait to see Zach compete December 26th.

What a huge day December 26th will be when we face the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. at 4 PM CT/5 PM ET on ESPN2. I’m having withdrawals from missing watching this electrically exciting team play. Can’t wait to see the guys line it up again in Shreveport. More on the Independence Bowl leading up to the game next week along with any more recruiting or team news.

Bryce aims to get his team on track tonight in Memorial

Basketball

Bryce and the team host Chattanooga at Memorial tonight at 7:30 CT/8:30 ET on the SEC Network. Big game for us. Chattanooga is 8-2 and took Tennessee to the wire, and the Vols just took UNC to the wire in Chapel Hill last Sunday. This is a good basketball team we’re playing, so we need to really play well and kickstart our season. Unfortunately, Cam Justice has decided to transfer. Sorry Cam made that decision. Hoping for the best for Cam in the future. We’ve got a pretty short bench with just 9 scholarship players, but they’re good players and I believe in them. Know Bryce will get this team going. We’ve got good talent, we’ve just got to win games late, which we haven’t been able to do so far. Shooting is pretty good. Matt Fisher-Davis and Riley are shooting it well, and Luke is playing pretty well. J Robe is doing a good job, and we’re getting super play from freshman point guard Payton Willis. Joe Toye, Clevon Brown, Nolan Cressler and Djery Baptiste are all doing a good job off the bench. We’re a good team, we just need to win tonight and get some momentum going as we head closer to the SEC opener December 29th @ LSU at 8 PM CT on ESPNU. We’ll play a very good Dayton team before that at 6 PM this coming Wednesday at Dayton. Just need to win tonight. Will have a postgame on Monday.

Corbs, Baseball

The Commodores baseball team will play in at least 11 nationally televised games this coming season. We’ll be playing the likes of Ole Miss, A&M, Florida and South Carolina on the SEC Network and other ESPN family of networks. Ready to see Jeren Kendall, Will Toffey, Kyle Wright and company compete in the 2017 season as we aim for another deep run in the postseason. Don’t know a lot about this 2017 team yet. There are some unfamiliar names as we have a lot of youth on this team. But Corbs’ recruiting has been through the roof good, so there is plenty of talent. May take some time for our team to develop and hit their stride, but the leadership is good with the three guys I mentioned along with super sophomores Alonzo Jones, Connor Kaiser, Ethan Paul, and Julian Infante. I like this makeup of this group the more I think about it. Will talk to Corbs in mid to late January for a preview of another riveting season in Vanderbilt baseball. Looking forward to catching up with the man. The baseball facility is fully funded and it’s a go as we have secured our place as the premier baseball program in the country.

Will never forget you Number 41. You will forever be with the program. This season is for Donny.

Zach, team, Bball

December 9, 2016

The best linebacker in the country resides on the West End

Zach has reeled in the awards nationally and I couldn’t think of a better player or person to win these awards. Zach, of course, was a first team All-SEC selection, but he also won four national awards, and I’d say they are counting. Zach was named Walter Camp First team All-American, USA Today first team All-American, Sports Illustrated, the Sporting News and SB Nation first team All-American.

Zach led the SEC in total tackles with 119, which ranked him 11th nationally. He also posted 16.5 tackles for loss, finishing second in the SEC, and 22nd nationally. Zach’s four fumble recoveries were first in the conference and second nationally.

Reuben Foster is a super linebacker for Alabama, but I thought Zach deserved the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker. Not only for the national numbers he put up, but also for the two massive game changing-season changing plays he made this season. Zach made a couple of the finest plays in college football this season. Zach had the huge tackle on Georgia’s fourth and one, when the Dawgs handed it to lightning fast Isiah McKenzie to take it around the corner and get the first down late in the game and either tie it up with a kick or win the game with a seven. Zach came out of nowhere and laid the lumber on McKenzie, knocking him down for no gain and catapulting his team to a huge 13-10 victory in Athens and an epic finish to the regular season. Then, against Auburn, Zach made to me the best play made in the country this season, certainly the best in the SEC. With Auburn leading us 23-16 late in the fourth quarter and superb kicker Daniel Carlson set to kick a 28 yard game clinching field goal, Zach charged in from the second level, leapt over the Auburn snapper and blocked Carlson’s kick in an amazingly, epic, transcendent play. So memorable. It gave us a shot to win that game. It didn’t work out for us, but it was a tremendous effort by Zach and the team on the road in a hostile environment against an Auburn team, that at the time, was one of the hottest teams in the country. To me, Zach will always be the Butkus Award winner. What a career this fine young man from Pinson, Alabama has had at Vanderbilt University. And he has at least one more and a stellar career in front of himself in the National Football League.

Up next for our seniors and our team, the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA. on Monday, December 26th @ 4 PM CT/5 PM ET on ESPN2 versus the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Ready to see our team compete one more time this season and see our guys like Zach, Will Holden, Ralph, Adam Butler, Torren McGaster, Barrett Gouger, Oren Burks, who may be back next year, and our super seniors and our super young players like Kyle, wide receivers Caleb Scott, C.J, Duncan, the awesome Trent Sherfield, the young, explosive Kalija Lipscomb, the emerging Donaven Tennyson, sophomore linebacker Josh Smith, junior safety Emanuel Smith,. Josh’s brother, junior tight end Nathan Marcus, freshman cornerbacks Joejuan Williams and Donavan Sheffield and many other young guys compete. Want to see our older guys get a victory and impress the NFL scouts and our younger players win and gain valuable experience as we succeed on the field and get charged up for a potentially stellar 2017.

The coaches are all over the country recruiting. Coach Mason and his coaches are everywhere looking at offensive linemen, wide receivers, defensive backs and some linebackers. Looks like we’re set at running back next year. Ralph could be back, Dallas should be back, hopefully, the awesome Khari Blasingame, Josh Crawford, and potential all star in Jamauri Wakefield are waiting to create their legacies. Like what our backfield looks like next year. Other key players who will be back are defensive lineman Nifae Lealao, safeties LaDarius Wiley and Arnold Tarpley, awesome tight end Jared Pinkney, super young linebackers Jordan Griffin and Caleb Peart, emerging defensive end Dare Odeyingbo and so many others, many of which I listed above. The 2017 recruiting class is shaping up really well, and I’m extremely hyped up about the future, but also stoked for the bowl game and having our seniors go out as champions, which they are already. Will have a ton more on the Independence Bowl coming up in the next couple of weeks. Hope we have a huge contingency of the Vanderbilt family in Shreveport to pull on this terrific team.

Basketball

We lost a tough one last night in Murfreesboro to Middle Tennessee, but we’ve got an outstanding man leading our basketball program. Bryce will get us there. We’re 5-5 right now, but we have good players and a super coaching staff. We’ll keep improving this season and matriculating through March. Believe in the man running the program. He’ll make us great again.

We were the better team; got robbed by a blown replay call

November 6, 2016

Zach Cunningham is the best linebacker in college football in my opinion

Coach Mason said he was going to talk to Commissioner Sankey and Steve Shaw, head of SEC refs, about that blown overturn by the replay ref in our game with Auburn. The SEC has always strictly interpreted the “indisputable evidence,” rule in determining whether to overturn the call on the field. There was no doubt that was not indisputable evidence that would lead to an overturn. I mean right as Kam Pettway was going to the ground he fumbled. Zach made another superb play. More on Zach later. It was pretty deflating and pretty hard to recover from when I was watching the game. I know it was hard on the players.

But it didn’t go our way. Still a phenomenal effort by our football team. Zach’s leaping block of Daniel Carlson’s field goal attempt with Auburn leading 23-16 and trying to put the game away, was as good as it gets in football. Kam Chancellor did that for the Seahawks back in 2013 when they won the Super Bowl. He did it a couple of times that year. He, Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch and all those superb players on the Seattle Seahawks were key to the Seahawks winning Super Bowl 48. But Chancellor’s amazing play at safety and blocking field goals using that jumping over the center technique was off the charts football IQ and athletic ability. Zach has that phenomenal football intelligence and super gifted athletic ability as well. He’s amazin. He should be heavily considered for the Butkus award and Bednarik Awards. Zach is a sensational football player, a total game changer on defense. As safety Ryan White said after the game, “I’m glad he’s on our side.”

Our whole defense fought and Coach Ludwig called a super game on offense. Coach Cameron Norcross has done a tremendous job with our offensive line. He’s awesome. Our line is so good. Barrett Gouger, Will Holden, Justin Skule, Bruno Reagan, and Ean Pfeifer are awesome football players.

Kyle Shurmur played a tremendous game. Kyle was pinpoint accurate with his passing. C.J. Duncan was terrific. Jared Pinkney caught a beautiful touchdown and made a super sprint into the end zone for a 7. Caleb Scott made some clutch catches. He played great. Trent Sherfield did some good things. Darrius Sims played well. Ralph and Khari had OK games, maybe not their best, but they ran hard against a good defensive front hard to run, and played their hearts out like the whole team did. They’re both due good games next week against Missouri.

Kyle’s interception was just a quarterback fighting hard to win a football game. That happens sometimes. I remember when I was a 7th grader, I was the quarterback for our team, and we were playing a rival to win our elementary championship. We were deep in our own territory with the ball, and I looked for my cousin, who was a very good wide receiver and whom I had hooked up with for six or seven TDs already that season. I didn’t see a taller linebacker in the area. He stepped in front of the pass and made a pick six. I was pretty devastated after the game. My dad, who didn’t say a lot, but always said something powerful and significant when he spoke, said to me after the loss, “You got a good arm.” It was nice to have a great father. My cousin and one of my other best friends, who played on the team, have always kidded me about saying the guy was “too tall.” It’s something we’ve laughed about through the years.

So it didn’t work out this time. Kyle is still a superb quarterback with a tremendous future in the game. And we’ve got a Missouri game and two more, and most hopefully, three more games. So it’s time to put this behind us and get back to work.

But an awesome effort by our football team. We were better than Auburn yesterday, and I’m personally excited to see what our team can do the rest of this season. We’re @ Missouri next Saturday at 2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on SEC Network. Time to get to work on the Mizzou Tigers this afternoon. Hope you had a great weekend. Have a piece coming up tomorrow on my conversation with our basketball coach, Bryce Drew.

What a drive, what a victory, super Bball news, NFL players, DP, guys in the majors

September 27, 2016

Kyle Shurmur (above) Jared Pinkney (middle) and Trent Sherfield (bottom) got it done when it mattered the most

Very proud of Coach Mason and the players for getting it done late on the road at Western Kentucky as the Commodores scored on the last play of regulation on a clutch Ralph Webb 3 yard run/dive and some clutch play by the offensive line, and the team scored a 7 in overtime and prevented Western from converting a 2 point conversion after their TD in a tremendous 31-30 victory.

With the victory, the team moves to 2-2 on the season and head into this Saturday’s matchup with the Florida Gators at 11 AM CT/ Noon ET on the SEC Network with tons of momentum.

The final drive of regulation with 1:02 left in the game and the team down 24-17 was Elway-eske in a way. It was beautiful. With the ball on our own 25, Kyle connected with tight end Jared Pinkney for 22 yards. Then Kyle connected with stud freshman wide out Kalija Lipscomb for 12 yards to the WKU 39. Kyle then hit Trent Sherfield for 24 yards to get the ball to the Western 15. We had no timeouts left and Kyle and the receivers still showed so much poise. After 2 incompletions, Kyle threw it for Trent close to the goal line. It was incomplete but Western was flagged for a pass interference penalty, so the ball was placed at the 2 yard line, first and goal. But there were only :03 left.

Western called two timeouts on defense before we ran our last play of the game. Coach Mason said afterwards that Coach Ludwig asked him what he wanted to do run or pass. Coach Mason said to run it. We ran it over the right side of our line and Ralph leapt into the end zone for the six. Tommy Openshaw connected on the extra point and we were going into overtime tied at 24.

We got the ball first in the OT, and Kyle hit Jared, who was super down the stretch, for a 14 yard gain to the Western 11. Ralph rushed for 7 yards to the Western 4. Ralph then rushed for 3 more yards to get us to first and goal at the one. After a couple of loss of yardage plays, we had the ball third and goal at the Western 5, Kyle rolled to his right and found tight end Nathan Marcus open in the end zone for the 7. Tommy connected. We were up 31-24.

Western scored on an 8 yard TD pass, and, somewhat surprisingly, Coach Jeff Brohm went for 2. Our line batted the pass in the air and our defensive backs knocked it down to secure the gigantic victory, that puts us at 2-2 overall as we head back into conference play. We are 0-2 in the SEC, but a victory over Florida could really jump start this football team for the rest of the season. Last Saturday was a huge momentum and confidence builder for the team.

Ralph ran for 95 yards and three 7’s, Kyle was 18-of-29 for 279 yards a TD along with an int, but was super clutch when it counted the most. C.J. Duncan caught five passes for 66 yards, Kalija caught 3 passes for 56 yards, Jared caught 3 for 41 yards, and Trent caught 2 for 38 yards. Our offense looked tremendous on that last drive and in the overtime period. Tons of credit goes to Coach Ludwig, Coach Mason, of course, for making the courageous run call on the last play of the game. Kyle and his awesome receiving corps and the awesome play of our offensive line were huge keys to the victory. We just wore them down at the end. Center Barrett Gouger, right guard Bruno Reagan, right tackle Justin Skule, left guard Delando Crooks, and left tackle Will Holden got the job done and done extremely well in the clutch. Really proud of our offense.

The defense may not have had their best game against Western, but there were some super individual efforts and some really good turnovers. Cornerback Torren McGaster finished with 9 tackles and a fumble recovery. Linebacker Zach Cunningham, as usual, had 9 tackles. Zach is just all over the field every game. He gives it max effort every time out, and he is a superb football player. Linebacker Ja’karri Thomas also had 9 tackles. Star linebacker/safety Oren Burks had four tackles and a tackle for loss. Zach and Ja’karri also had a tackle for loss. Zach had 1 1/2 TFL’s. Taurean Ferguson had 5 tackles and a forced fumble. Tre Herndon played a super game with five tackles, a fumble recovery, that was caused by Taurean’s strip on the Western running back at the goal line that popped into Tre’s arms and he ran if back for 27 yards, and Tre also added an interception. While we gave up 496 yards of total offense, which is too much for our defense, we made some big plays. I know we’ll be better against Florida.

Huge victory for a team that has now realized they can win these toss up games. Now it’s onto Florida. Huge test for the team on Saturday, but I see us playing well and we could very well pull this out. The Gators lost to Tennessee, 38-28, in Knoxville last Saturday after squandering a 21-3 halftime lead. Florida is playing their backup quarterback, Austin Appleby, and he was pretty good for a while against the Vols finishing 23-of-39 for 296 yards and 3 TDs, so he’s very capable. They’ve got a pretty good running game and a good defense, so it’s a major test for our football team. Florida’s stud receiver Antonio Callaway caught 4 passes for 134 yards against UT, but was hobbled some, so he could be a little banged up heading into Saturday. Anyway, we’ve just got to believe we can get this done and we will.

Tremendous victory for Coach Mason and the team. So proud of them.

Huge news on the Basketball front

Superb new basketball commit Ejike Obinna

Vanderbilt basketball Coach Bryce Drew landed his third commitment for the 2017 class. Six foot-nine, 220 pound, 4 star power forward Ejike Obinna from Ashburn, Virginia has committed to VU. Watched Ejike on film and he looks tough, talented offensively and athletically, an enforcer on the defensive end, a ferocious rebounder, and a shot blocker. Huge pickup for Coach Drew and the staff. Ejike chose us over Clemson and Florida, who were other final contenders. Ejike had offers from close to 30 programs including LSU, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Missouri, Seton Hall, Miami, Texas A&M, West Virginia and Xavier. So Ekije is a huge get for the program. Well done by Coach Drew and the staff.

Ekije joins four star point guard Saben Lee out of Tempe, Arizona and 4 star combo guard Maxwell Evans out of Bellaire, Texas. Pumped about football, but also getting pumped about basketball. Not sure if Coach Drew is through yet. I believe he’ll be looking for another power forward or a center before this recruiting period is over. The early signing period for basketball starts November 9th, that’s a Wednesday. So, we’ll get these three studs in the fold and maybe add another before then as well. Will keep you posted.

NFL guys

Jordan Matthews caught another touchdown on Sunday in a 34-3 Philadelphia Eagles victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. JMatt caught a 12 yard TD pass from super rookie quarterback Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State. Wentz has energized this football team, and they’re playing superbly on both sides of the ball. JMatt already has 15 receptions for 204 yards and a pair of 7’s. He’s been terrific. The Eagles moved to 3-0 on the season and head into their bye week with major momentum. Love to see the man doing well once again. He’s so consistent. Hoping JMatt will be at the game Saturday to help our emerging receiving corps like he did this past summer when he spent a major amount of time with them and told Coach Mason they were ready for SEC football. They look like it now. JMatt is a total stud and his presence on the sideline would mean a lot to our receivers and our entire football team. Love what the man is doing in Philly. The Eagles do, too.

Casey Hayward doing a tremendous job at corner for the San Diego Chargers. Casey signed with the Chargers in the offseason and already has three interceptions this season. The Chargers are 1-2, but look pretty competitive and Casey is playing tremendous football.

Andre Hal is a staple in the Houston Texans secondary at safety. Andre has one interception this season, it was actually off Jay, and 10 tackles. They love Andre in Houston. He’s a real pro just like JMatt and Casey.

Wesley Johnson has played center in all three games for the Jets. Wesley was one of the best linemen to ever come through VU, and I’m hopeful he’ll be the Jets or somebody’s starting center down the road. I know he can get the job done and done well.

Zac Stacy hasn’t been picked up yet. He suffered a tough broken ankle last year and was waived by the Jets before the season started. But I believe Zac will land somewhere this season. Zac is a really good player, and with the injuries at running back in the National Football League, several teams will need a running back probably sooner rather than later. Will keep an eye on Zac’s status.

Jay Cutler is having a tough year so far. His team is 0-3 and he struggled mightily last week against the Eagles at home before spraining his thumb. Hopeful Jay can come back and rally his team and get them back in the NFC North race. Jay is tough and comes back from injuries as quickly as possible, so he could be back this Sunday as the Bears host the Detroit Lions. The Bears are still playing hard, but they have five or six defensive starters who are out with injuries right now, and Jay is hurt, so it’s been a struggle. They lost to the Cowboys Monday Night, 31-17. Brian Hoyer is doing a good job in relief of Jay. Hopefully Cut can come back on Sunday.

David, Pedro Dans, Tony, Sonny

DP, BoSox, stellar; Sonny (below) giving it one more go tomorrow night — DP, BoSox, stellar; Sonny (below) giving it one more go tomorrow night

David Price is 8-0 in his last 9 starts with a 2.91 ERA. David has been superb and so have the Red Sox. The Sox have won 11 in a row, and now, at 92-64, have the best record in the American League as Texas lost last night. With six games to go, if the Sox can hold off the Rangers, they would have the home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs and would get the home field in the World Series as the American League defeated the National League in the All-Star game and earned the home field due to that, if they can win the AL pennant. With Big Papi, Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts, Sandy Leon, and super rookie Andrew Benintendi, the Red Sox have some amazing lumber in their lineup. The Sox are playing stellar defense and getting outstanding starting pitching. The bullpen has become very reliable. David earned the victory last Thursday over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, 5-3, going 7, giving up six hits, three runs, with 2 walks and 5 K’s. David threw 99 pitches, 72 of them for strikes against 27 balls, an excellent strike-ball ratio. His fastball was hitting 92-93, but he did hit 95 in the bottom of the 5th. His change up and cutter were stellar, particularly his change up. It’s a circle change, meaning there is movement as it moves into a right handed hitter and away from a left handed batter. It’s a really awesome pitch. It’s effectively a curve ball with more velocity, coming in at 85-86. Dave’s cut fastball has good movement on it too. David moved to 17-8 with the victory and now has a 3.91 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP, getting closer to the walks and hits per innings pitched that he wants. His ERA keeps going down, too. The Sox are sizzling right now. Like where they’re headed as we matriculate into the postseason which starts next Tuesday, Oct. 4th with the AL Wild Card game Tuesday Night and the NL wild card game next Wednesday Night, Oct.5th. TBS will televise the AL Wild Card game and ESPN will have the NL wild card game. I will have my predictions for the playoffs on Monday, Oct. 3rd on my all sports blog. I’ll send out an email to you guys as well to alert you when it’s up.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today has already coronated the Cubs the World Series champions, but I’m not buying the Cubs yet. They have to get through the Nationals and/or the Dodgers in the National League postseason, and face hopefully the Sox in the World Series if they get there. So there is plenty to be decided and nothing is given. I really like that Nationals squad too, and the Dodgers, and I’m still not discounting the Mets if they can make it in as a wild card. In the AL, the BoSox, the Rangers, the Indians and the Blue Jays look like the best teams, and the wild card is still wide open with the O’s hanging on.

Pedro Alvarez is playing some. Still want to see him get more of a shot, he’s had a really good year with the bat and deserves more of a shot, but don’t get me started. Pedro needs to be somewhere where he is valued as the stellar player that he is. Maybe the O’s will give him more of a shot the rest of this season and in the postseason if they make it. Chris Davis is still striking out at a tremendous rate and he’s a terrible first baseman. Seems like Showalter would give Pedro a look at first to see what he could do. Still unclear why Showalter continues to play Davis and not give Pedro an opportunity. I’m still really ticked off about it.

Dansby Swanson is doing a super job for the Braves at shortstop and hitting over .300. Like where Dans is. He’s the shortstop of the future for a team that looks like they could break through as a playoff team, if not next year, in 2018.

Tony Kemp is playing left field for the Astros and doing well. Tony was 2 for 3 on Sunday, and the Astros are hanging on by a thread in the AL wild card race. They are 3.5 back of the second place O’s with 5 games left. Tony looks like he’ll have a good future in the majors, whether it’s with the Astros or somebody else. Like Pedro, somebody needs to put Tony in the lineup and stick with him. They’ll be happy they did.

Sonny Gray is going to make one last start for the A’s tomorrow night @ the Los Angeles Angels. Sonny has been out for a month and a half with a forearm injury, but wanted to pitch one more time this season for the A’s. He’ll probably go for a short period of time according to the San Francisco Examiner, anywhere from 2-3 innings, but it’ll be good to see him out there competing, and hopefully have a good outing and get some momentum for next year. Sonny should be back with the A’s next season. Not positive with the way they move players in Oakland, but just ready to see Sonny back out there full time in 2017.

David pitches tonight against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The next six games mean a lot to the BoSox for the division title and the home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Just need to start the week off right by taking care of business tonight in the Bronx. David will face Luis Cessa, a right hander who is 4-3 with a 4.30 ERA. The Yankees have to win out and hope for help to make the playoffs, so they’ll be locked in. Dave will have to pitch well. I expect him to. Will have a report tomorrow.

David lost a close friend to cancer a week and a half ago and he learned about it a couple of hours before his start against the Yankees. David’s former roommate and close friend, Terry Wanthalangsy, lost his battle with cancer. David didn’t have his best start against the Yankees which was understandable. He competed hard, but it’s really tough when you lose somebody you care a lot about and try to do your job to the best of your ability. He’s still been stellar.

David’s lost a couple of close friends in the past five years. That’s tough, but David is strong and resilient. I know he misses his great friend though. Rest in peace, Terry.

Coach Mason

August 5, 2016

Just a word on Coach Mason.

He’s my coach for life. Just like Corbs is the best thing that could have happened to Vanderbilt baseball, Coach Mason is the greatest thing that has ever happened to Vanderbilt football. He has his team pumped up for 2016, he has the fan base ecstatic about this football team both this year and in the future, and he believes Vanderbilt football can be as good as anybody in the country. I love it.

He’s done so much to make this program excel both on and off the field. For example, last night before the first practice, the players had a solidarity walk with the Nashville police. That’s awesome. The players had some super internships this summer. Coach Mason is not only trying to win football games, he’s also helping our guys win at life. He wants complete winners.

We’ve got a great team with really outstanding young coaches and some super veteran coaches. Our players are outstanding, under the radar, and Coach Mason is a superb spokesman and leader for Vanderbilt football. He’s an amazingly good football coach.

I believe the same thing about Bryce Drew in basketball. Super excited about Coach Drew and what he can do for our basketball program both next year and after that. Feel the same way about Geoff and the awesome job he’s done with our women’s tennis team, and Scott Limbaugh and the exceptional job he’s done with men’s golf. We have other superb coaches.

But football season is upon us, and I love our leader. He is the man to lead this football program to greatness. I’m a one hundred percent believer in that and Derek Mason.

Will have a piece tomorrow on our pro baseball players, as many as I’ve thought of today. Some incredible stuff going on with those guys. Pedro is totally on fire. His bat is ballistically hot. Will have comments on the man, Dave, another one of the main men, Sonny, Mike Minor, and quite a few other guys. Mike making a rehab stint for Omaha, the triple A club for the KC Royals. Could be back up to the bigs pretty soon. Pitched well so far at Omaha.

Also, will list some more of our football players who will help us excel this season. Not only will I list them, but I will talk about them, too, what they can do to help this football team have a super successful season. South Carolina not far away, September 1st, 7 PM CT/8 PM ET, ESPN. We need to have Vanderbilt Stadium rockin. Can’t wait myself.

Fresh Tweets:

Vanderbilt women’s tennis player Astra Sharma 1 on 1. https://t.co/D0WS0rVnqG @VandyMeg @mmhamlett @Vandywtennis @ManOfVandy @SkipPrince
May 18, 2017, 2:34 PM

Vanderbilt women’s tennis Astra Sharma 1 on 1. https://t.co/D0WS0rVnqG @astrasharma @markNwhitebluff @vandy_62 @warehouse1987 @dbc5361
May 18, 2017, 2:33 PM

Previewing 2017 Clemson Tigers football team. https://t.co/1JH1cPGQkp @markNwhitebluff @vandy_62 @clayphillips27 @warehouse1987 @dbc5361
May 15, 2017, 2:13 PM

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