Looking Ahead to Thursday-Offense

Three Days, four hours, and 6 minutes from this very moment the Vanderbilt Commodores will kick off their 2008 campaign at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio against the Miami University RedHawks. In the return game of a home and home series the Commodores will make the trip to open the season after downing the RedHawks 24-13 late last October.

Vanderbilt looks to improve over last season's 5-7 (2-6 SEC) mark despite replacing the entire offensive line and SEC all-time receptions leader Earl Bennett while Miami enters 2008 as the favorite to win the Mid-American Conference boasting an excellent defensive front seven in addition to a very capable offense.

Today I will break down the offense heading into Thursday’s game, and I will hopefully talk about the defense and special teams tomorrow. I will also begin writing my weekly commentary for VandyMania starting this week, so be sure to look for that over at their place as well.

Vanderbilt also enters the season with a huge question mark at quarterback as coach Bobby Johnson has declined to name a starter for the game. R-Senior Chris Nickson is expected to "start" the game but there has been much speculation over how much patience Bobby Johnson will have with the notoriously inconsistent Nickson. Do not be surprised to see R-Junior Mackenzi Adams early if Nickson struggles with his accuracy or decision making. The Commodores can ill-afford many mistakes from the quarterback position as they will rely primarily on a stout defense keyed by secondary playmakers CB D.J. Moore and SS Reshard Langford to put themselves in a position to win games.

Issues at quarterback could be minimized by the Commodores’ enigmatic ground game. R-Senior tailback Jeff Jennings figures to be the feature back in what appears to be a platoon approach for Vanderbilt. Jennings thrives in short yardage situations, but does not provide the breakaway speed or elusiveness necessary to demand the full workload. Enter R-Junior Jared Hawkins and R-Sophomore Gaston Miller. In limited playing time in each of the last two seasons Hawkins has earned the role of Vanderbilt’s most prolific, if not productive, running back posting averages of 6.9 YPC in 2006 and 4.5 YPC in 2007. Hawkins appears to have dedicated himself to improving in the off-season and reported to camp visibly larger and quicker than last season in hopes of increased playing time this fall. The third among the expected three pronged backfield attack figures to be the diminutive Miller who at 5’7” looks to work his way around opposing defenders rather than going through them. Miller will look to fill the role of the quick and elusive back to complement the more North and South mentality of Jennings. To experience any sort of sustained offensive success this season Vanderbilt simply must find ways to get it done on the ground. While it would be ideal for one of these three individuals to step up and become the SEC caliber workhorse running back the Commodores have notoriously lacked over the years a combined effort netting the same results will do just fine. Forcing opponents to respect the running game will take at least some of the pressure off the quarterback and allow the new Commodore offensive line to utilize their athleticism in run blocking rather than attempting to subdue massive SEC Defensive Tackles every play.

Wide Receivers also find themselves as the topic of some intense scrutiny following Earl Bennett’s decision to forego his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. While things seem to have worked out so far for Earl (Drafted by Chicago in the 3rd round of the draft) the Commodore coaching staff has worked tirelessly to prepare for LAE (Life After Earl). Similar to the platoon approach at running back, prepare to see a cavalcade of receivers early this season as the staff hopes the cream will rise and a new generation of playmakers at wide receiver will emerge. The stage was set for 6th year Senior George Smith after being named a team captain and representing the Commodores at SEC Media Days in late July, but after surgery to repair a stress fracture sidelined Vanderbilt’s primary threat at receiver for four to six weeks the coaching staff has been forced to look elsewhere. Sean Walker has a knack for making big plays (UGA ’06 comes to mind) but has been nowhere in the neighborhood of consistent enough to provide a steady target for his quarterback. R-Junior Justin Wheeler must also improve consistency in route running and timing in addition to coming off the line of scrimmage with a sense of purpose. R-Freshman Jamie Graham was moved to WR during fall camp primarily to increase the number of touches he gets per game. Graham possess more raw athletic skill than any of Vanderbilt’s other receivers, but his biggest hurdle will be understanding his role in the offense after spending his entire red shirt year and the spring session playing corner back. R-Freshman Udom Umoh has also impressed coaches, but questions concerning his off-season work and conditioning plague the young receiver. Rounding out the picture at receiver is true Freshman John Cole, who has rocketed up the depth chart after posting monster numbers in his high school career in Kentucky. Cole is apparently as explosive as advertised and could potentially provide a new spark to an offense desperately in need of one.