Vanderbilt Football Opens Spring Camp: “The Train Is Not Gonna Stop”
Vanderbilt Football is Keeping the Standard High
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Spring practice fired up this morning for the Vanderbilt Commodores and the big focus was on freshman quarterback Jared Curtis. Curtis came out in the No. 2 that Diego Pavia wore in his time at Vanderbilt, and went to work.
While Curtis has garnered a ton of attention, and rightfully so as a five-star signee from Nashville Christian School, this team as a whole was fired up for competition on day one. The Commodores are much more than one quarterback and more than their success over the last couple of years especially.
Even after departures such as Pavia, Eli Stowers, and others, don’t expect the Commodores to drop off the face of the Earth. Head coach Clark Lea made that clear when addressing the program’s identity heading into the spring. They are not afraid of any challenge. They are embracing it, as it is why you come to Vanderbilt and the SEC.
“I think this is a group that says, this program’s bigger than one person, bigger than two people. And that’s gonna be a special kind of drive for us as we form to say, this is about Vanderbilt football and about us sustaining success and in this league, that’s really hard. But that’s the challenge, and it’s great. And so we’re excited for that,” said Lea.
There were some noticeable new faces flying around practice this morning, and one that I watched closely was Clemson transfer Ricardo Jones at safety. Jones, the All-ACC selection in 2025, and coming off a six-interception season along with nine pass deflections, six pass breakups, and 39 tackles, looks to bring that energy and aggressiveness to Nashville.
I love to watch action in the secondary, and with Jones, CJ Heard, and others roaming around, I already like the Commodores’ ability to defend the intermediate to deep pass.
Heard, who isn’t new, is tied for the leading returning tackler with 71 total in 2025 along with Bryan Longwell. Heard also has no issue whatsoever bringing it to opposing offenses, and makes tackles behind the line as well as he totaled 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks last season.
Vanderbilt has more playmakers on that side of the ball as well, but today I just observed the intensity, competition, and excitement to be back on the field again; and you could see it.
Afterward, I asked senior wide receiver Junior Sherrill about the competition and intensity he’s seen from the defense on the other side of the ball. He knows firsthand what they bring, and we should expect nothing less than for them to bring it with no hesitation.
“I feel like our defense is gonna bring it each and every day. We are very physical. We’re very physical at the break, at the tackle point. And I feel like people need to know that we play at one speed only. You know, it is a hundred percent,” said Sherrill. “It’s full speed each and every day, and they’re gonna bring everything they got, each player.”
Sherrill, who is entering his final season with the program, spoke on his veteran leadership role. He will not leave anyone behind, and wants to make sure everyone is on board to have a strong season.
“Bringing everybody on my back and carrying everybody up with me,” Sherrill said. “You know, just being that ultimate leader that I need to be.”
He also has no doubts about where this program is headed without Pavia and Stowers, and has the ultimate belief in where Clark Lea is taking this program.
“I would say even though Diego and Eli were very great players, and they did contribute a lot to this program, I feel like just Coach Lea being such a great coach, that this train is not gonna stop and it’s only gonna be up from here.”
Clark Lea has this program going in a continuous upward trajectory, as the Commodores have accomplished a lot of milestones in his time at the helm. For those that like to discount Vanderbilt football or even the athletics department as a whole, this is a place that’s thriving and will continue to do so.
Lea spoke on the perception and how hard work day by day shapes those results.
“The perception shifts happen on the back end of results. And what drove those results is day in, day out investment, independent of whatever external opinion is or isn’t,” Lea said.
As for Curtis specifically, the QB competition isn’t expected to be rushed. Lea was transparent and thorough when laying out exactly how he sees this thing playing out.
“I think, to be honest with you, what is ideal is the sooner the better. We’re not, we don’t have that luxury right now. A year ago we did. We have to get through scrimmages,” Lea said.
“It goes at least through the end of spring, in my mind. And possibly through the summer and into training camp. I don’t think that’s ideal, but you want to make sure that you’re seeing it clearly, because that position is the one that changes everything.”
Lea made clear this isn’t just about finding a starter. It’s about building the whole depth chart, and making sure it’s all done right.
“Blaze and Jack and Whit and those guys have put so much work into this. They’re all four gonna give it their best shot and I’m glad we have all four of ’em,” Lea said. “At the end of the day, not just the one, but who’s the two, who’s the three, how are we gonna split the reps?”
“The closer we get to game one, obviously you want to have somebody who is kind of taking that lead role and building chemistry with the first group. We don’t have to concern ourselves with that right now.”
Senior offensive lineman Cade McConnell put it perfectly when I asked about the naysayers that continue to discount Vanderbilt and throw dirt on the name. They don’t worry about the outside noise, just watch the tape.
“We have a saying, it’s, we don’t listen to the external. We focus on the internal. We tend the internal, but I follow in Diego’s footsteps. I just say, watch the tape. I think we got the guys, we had a lot of roll over this year, and I think, it’s gonna be really fun to watch that perception change,” said McConnell.
“Obviously I hope to see it myself, and I do think it’ll happen, but, we really focus on what we think about it, what we think about ourselves. And if that bar’s high, we saw it last year, then sky’s the limit.”
McConnell also addressed the standard set by the departing players and what Team Six is chasing.
“Team Five left a crazy legacy and a really high bar, and I think everybody on the roster right now knows that bar is to be broken and the standard is to be met and exceeded,” McConnell said.
This is a team that speaks with great belief as they should, but there is truth in it and not just generic speak. The Vanderbilt Commodores have a long way to go between now and August, with a ton of internal competition and work to be done. Expect nothing less than the standard they’ve set.
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