Spring Practice 2009- The Best and Worst in Nashville's Springtime Weather Patterns

The 2009 Vanderbilt Commodores opened spring practice at The John Rich Practice Facility on Tuesday afternoon. The players and coaches were treated to record high temperatures (80 degrees) and not having to answer the normal "is this year the year you go to a bowl?" line of questioning after knocking off Boston College 16-14 to win The Music City Bowl on New Years' Eve 2k8. Three months later the 'Dores seem eager to put it all behind them and get back to work, and who would blame them? Vanderbilt returns 19 starters from a year ago including the entire offensive and defensive lines. The biggest task for coaches this off season will revolve around replacing the play-making ability of departed CB/WR/PR D.J. Moore, who elected to fore go his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. BoJo & Co. find themselves with another difficult decision at QB for the second consecutive year as R-Sr. Mackenzi Adams and R-So. Larry Smith figure to compete for the starting spot. Though the WR corps will certainly miss departed seniors George Smith and Sean Walker, UCONN transfer Terrence Jeffers will look to make an impact this fall with his freakish combination of size (6'2", 225lbs) and speed (4.4 ). Speedy WR John Cole will also return to action after missing nearly his entire freshman year due to a knee injury sustained in the Commodores' first game last season. The increased depth at WR this season allowed coaches to return do-it-all player Jamie Graham to his natural CB position to address depth issues there.

Despite the nearly ideal weather for practice on Tuesday, today's session was cancelled due to inclement weather. Temperatures are in the 30's and Nashville has been bombarded with a lovely concoction of snow and ice all day. Friday's session is still slated to take place.

This spring seems to be all about getting reps in for the younger players in an effort to help the coaches evaluate players that they haven't seen as much, as well as to help the players who don't normally get first team snaps. Several key returning players including DE Broderick Stewart, RB Jared Hawkins, and CB Myron Lewis will miss part or all of spring practice as they rehab injuries. Lewis' absence is of particular importance as CB's such as Alan Strong and Casey Hayward will have ample opportunities this spring to earn some playing time next fall. Coaches have also stressed the importance of using the spring sessions to help the players gain a greater theoretical understanding of Vanderbilt's offensive and defensive schemes.

From what I've gleaned from various interviews with coaches and players is that it's back to business for the team. They understand that winning the MCB was a watershed moment for this program, and for the first time in forever they have momentum going into next year, but that was all last year. This is 2009 and for Vanderbilt to capitalize on the hard work from the guys last year, this year's team needs to go out and work even harder.

As Always,

Go 'Dores!