How little old Vanderbilt is making noise in the big, bad SEC

NASHVILLE -- It's a representation that flashed done Vanderbilt manager Clark Lea's caput much than erstwhile once the programme was successful the throes of a 26-game SEC losing streak successful 2022, his 2nd play arsenic coach.

The representation presented itself again a twelvemonth agone arsenic Lea guided Vanderbilt to its archetypal winning play since 2013, its first-ever triumph implicit a No. 1 squad and a vessel triumph implicit Georgia Tech, each culminating with Lea being named SEC Coach of the Year by his peers.

"I retrieve watching [assistant coach] Robbie Caldwell and my different coaches enactment the signifier tract and mow the writer erstwhile I played here," said Lea, a fullback connected caput manager Bobby Johnson's archetypal teams astatine Vanderbilt from 2002-04. "They did everything."

Contrast that to the country past October aft the Commodores' signature triumph of the season, a 40-35 triumph implicit top-ranked Alabama. Following Vanderbilt's archetypal triumph implicit the Crimson Tide successful 40 years, fans ripped down the goalposts, paraded them done Nashville and dumped them into the Cumberland River.

The surreality of it each was matched by the resoluteness of Lea and his players, and their insistence that, successful the words of backmost Diego Pavia, "the remainder of the satellite mightiness person been shocked, but we weren't."

"We're successful a concern of messaging, and a batch of what I retrieve arsenic a subordinate is the disconnect from the assemblage and the diversion section and the team, and particularly the deficiency of resources," Lea said.

It's a concern Lea inherited erstwhile helium returned to his alma mater arsenic manager successful December 2020 successful the mediate of the COVID-19 pandemic, arsenic did his boss, Candice Storey Lee, erstwhile she was hired a twelvemonth earlier arsenic the SEC's archetypal Black pistillate diversion director.

Together, they're trying to alteration the communicative and not operate, arsenic Lee jokes, similar the small motor that could.

"It was the thought that we were going to unhook from the past and instrumentality steps that physique toward the aboriginal that we each judge we're susceptible of here," said Lee, who has 3 degrees from Vanderbilt and was connected field the aforesaid clip arsenic Lea arsenic a skipper connected the 2002 women's hoops squad that won the SEC tournament.

"Sometimes cognition does not lucifer reality, but the world is that determination was a communicative that Vanderbilt was not going to bash the things that were indispensable to acquisition accordant success. So from the precise beginning, we had to acceptable retired to amusement that we were superior astir wanting to vie and vie astatine the highest level, and we are inactive doing that. That process isn't complete."

Lea's breakthrough 2024 play successful his 4th twelvemonth backmost connected West End sent possibly the clearest awesome yet that the process is yielding results -- and not conscionable successful football.

For the archetypal time, Vanderbilt's shot team, men's and women's hoops teams and shot squad person each been nationally ranked during the aforesaid world year.

But nary ascent has been steeper than the 1 faced by the shot program, which was plummeting toward stone bottommost erstwhile Lea arrived and lone got worse during his 2nd season, erstwhile the Commodores' SEC losing streak reached 26 games. Lea wasn't astir for each those losses, but the walls were nevertheless closing successful adjacent erstwhile the Commodores salvaged a 5-7 record.

Then came 2023, erstwhile Vanderbilt dipped to 2-10 (0-8 successful the SEC), and the vigor ratcheted up connected Lea. The Commodores mislaid each 8 of their SEC games by 2 touchdowns oregon more.

"Hey, determination were days wherever I was look down connected the level here, and it's just, 'Get yourself up, particulate yourself disconnected and spot successful your resilience to bash the adjacent close happening the close way,'" Lea said. "For me, erstwhile I benignant of realized that I whitethorn get my ass kicked a fewer times, thing was going to sound maine disconnected from starring this programme time in, time out, and making the changes that unlock the imaginable for success."

Lea wasn't the lone 1 catching vigor from the fans, media and immoderate boosters. So was his erstwhile classmate Lee, who hired him. Making matters worse for Lee was that the men's hoops squad was struggling nether Jerry Stackhouse and went 4-14 successful SEC play during the 2023-24 season. Lee fired Stackhouse aft the play and replaced him with Mark Byington, who took a squad picked to decorativeness past successful the SEC to the NCAA tournament.

"One of the things that I cognize from going done genu replacement country precocious is that healing and gathering is not a linear process," Lee said. "Some days, it's truly good, and past thing happens and I aftermath up and my genu is swollen. I don't truly recognize what happened, but you inactive person to propulsion guardant and cognize determination is thing beauteous connected the different side.

"You conscionable privation it was easy, but it's not."

VANDERBILT'S CAMPUS, A abbreviated locomotion to the bosom of downtown Nashville, 1 of America's fastest increasing cities, is dotted with signs that work "Dare to Grow." Construction sites, cranes and hard hats are everywhere. Right extracurricular Lea's bureau model successful the McGugin Center, the translation of FirstBank Stadium continues with the South End Zone project, featuring premium seating and different amenities. It's portion of the Vandy United $300 cardinal campaign, announced successful 2021, to rebuild the school's athletics facilities.

"We reached that $300 cardinal extremity beauteous quickly, and we didn't stop," Lee said. "We person aspirations beyond that number, truthful we're going to support dreaming. We're going to support raising the money, we're going to support investing."

The world is that Vanderbilt can't halt if it's going to person immoderate accidental to vie with the shot juggernauts successful the SEC, particularly successful the existent NIL world. But Lee is insistent that Vanderbilt is "beautifully positioned to maximize immoderate exemplary is successful beforehand of us" erstwhile the House colony is approved and gross sharing is successful place. The existent connection allows for diversion departments to straight wage athletes with a excavation up to $20.5 cardinal successful Year 1.

On the facilities front, adjacent with the agelong overdue facelift to the stadium, the McGugin Center is noticeably outdated with a value room, squad gathering country and offices that airy successful examination to those astatine different SEC schools. Lea is hopeful a caller shot operations gathering comes sooner alternatively than aboriginal but said helium doesn't request a analyzable loaded with bells and whistles.

Lea looks astatine the caller Huber Center, Vanderbilt's four-story, state-of-the-art hoops signifier facility, and sees what's possible.

"It's little important to maine and for this programme to person things similar DJ booths and immoderate else," Lea said. "But I privation radical to locomotion into our gathering and admit that shot is truly important here.

"What we've done truly good present is that our radical are the best, and if we tin harvester that with competitory spaces that besides optimize our efficiency, we're connected our mode to being wherever we request to be."

Some of the radical Lea, 43, is talking astir are hires that were made chiefly during past offseason, erstwhile helium overhauled conscionable astir everything that touched his program. In the past year-plus, helium has brought successful seasoned shot radical specified arsenic elder violative advisor Jerry Kill, elder antiaircraft expert Bob Shoop, violative coordinator Tim Beck and caput spot manager Robert Stiner, among others. Kill and Beck are some erstwhile caput coaches. Stiner and Lea worked unneurotic for 3 seasons astatine Notre Dame, and Shoop is simply a erstwhile Broyles Award finalist with much than 35 years of coaching experience. He was antiaircraft coordinator nether James Franklin for Vanderbilt teams that won 9 games successful 2012 and 2013.

Offensive enactment manager Chris Klenakis, entering his 2nd play astatine Vanderbilt, has seen 24 of his erstwhile linemen scope the NFL implicit a 30-plus twelvemonth career. He's besides been an violative coordinator and worked with Colin Kaepernick astatine Nevada and Lamar Jackson astatine Louisville.

Lea hasn't been hesitant to evolve, either. He took implicit the duties arsenic antiaircraft playcaller past play aft the Commodores finished 129th nationally successful scoring defence (36.2 points per game) and 131st successful full defence (454.9 yards per game) successful 2023. Lea said erstwhile NFL information and adjunct manager Steve Gregory, successful his 2nd play astatine Vanderbilt, volition telephone antiaircraft plays successful 2025.

"I deliberation it's the champion coaching unit successful the country," Pavia said. "Guys are going to privation to travel present due to the fact that they spot what these coaches get retired of players. They spot however they make you. I cognize what Coach Kill did for maine successful bringing maine present and what that opened up for me."

PAVIA, WHO EMERGED arsenic 1 of the astir electrical players successful the state past play aft transferring from New Mexico State, played arsenic large a relation arsenic anyone successful Vanderbilt's revival. He was the lone backmost successful the SEC to walk for much than 2,200 yards and unreserved for much than 800, accounting for 28 touchdowns, and wrong the locker room, helium was the heartbeat of a squad that reveled successful doing what radical said couldn't beryllium done astatine "little aged Vandy."

Last year's 7-6 play easy could person been a nine-win campaign. Four of the Commodores' six losses were by a touchdown oregon less, including a 30-27 treble overtime decision astatine Missouri and a 27-24 location nonaccomplishment to Texas successful which the Longhorns had to retrieve an onside footwear to seal the game.

And the champion portion for the Commodores? They instrumentality galore of the cardinal players from past season, which saw Vanderbilt scope 5 wins earlier the extremity of October, lone to suffer 3 of its past 4 games successful the regular play erstwhile Pavia wasn't wholly healthy.

"We had 1 feline transportation retired that played for america past year," said elder linebacker Langston Patterson, who was Lea's archetypal verbal committedness and went to precocious schoolhouse successful Nashville astatine Christ Christian Academy. "It's astir culture. The crushed immoderate of those past Vandy teams didn't prolong occurrence is due to the fact that they had immoderate large players, but nary culture. We person large players connected apical of large culture, and that creates a large team. But you inactive person to spell bash it. Coach Lea touches connected it each the time. We're arsenic adjacent to 2-10 arsenic we are 10-2. We've got to support pushing forward.

"Really, to us, past twelvemonth was mediocre. We fell isolated the past 3 games. Everyone other thinks we had a large year, but to us, we could person been truthful overmuch better."

Lea's thought of civilization transcends the shot field. He said the programme has had six consecutive semesters with a corporate 3.0 GPA oregon amended successful the classroom.

"That's not due to the fact that we're recruiting valedictorians," Lea said. "It's due to the fact that we're recruiting guys that attraction astir however they're processing arsenic radical too, and they let america to enactment boundaries successful spot for them to scope their highest level."

As Vanderbilt tries to physique connected its momentum from a twelvemonth ago, 1 happening is certain. The Commodores won't sneak up connected anybody, not aft wins implicit Alabama and Auburn and constrictive misses against LSU, Missouri and Texas.

"Nothing changes with us," Pavia said. "We came present to triumph games. Coach Lea said it, that we privation to person the champion programme successful the SEC. For a batch of guys connected this team, it's our past chance, benignant of our past dance, to truly flip this program."

Vanderbilt's occurrence a twelvemonth agone came mostly acknowledgment to a ball-control offense, shortening the game, winning the turnover battle, stopping the tally (especially connected aboriginal downs) and playing lights-out connected peculiar teams.

Even with the caller upgrade successful subordinate personnel, it's ever going to beryllium hard for Vanderbilt to "out-Alabama" Alabama and "out-Georgia" Georgia successful presumption of sheer endowment and depth.

"I cognize Coach Lea doesn't judge that we tin beryllium similar each different SEC squad philosophically and find ways to interruption done to the top," said violative coordinator Beck, who besides has been a antiaircraft coordinator and spent the archetypal 32 years of his coaching vocation astatine Division II powerhouse Pittsburg State. "You person to beryllium a small spot different, and we were a small spot unique. I'm not 1 of these young violative coordinators that's conscionable trying to people arsenic galore points arsenic we tin each game.

"You effort to find ways to trim the margins a small bit, truthful you've got to play complementary football. We inactive privation to beryllium amusive and exciting, which I consciousness similar we are, but we're not going to beryllium successful a immense hurry. We led the federation successful forced turnovers past year, which was immense for america due to the fact that the matchups that we had subordinate to subordinate are inactive not determination yet. We've got to beryllium astute astir what we bash connected some sides of the ball."

Vanderbilt bushed Auburn 17-7 past play contempt finishing with conscionable 227 full yards. But the Commodores pinned the Tigers wrong their ain 5-yard enactment twice, started 2 of their drives successful Auburn territory, committed conscionable 3 penalties and didn't crook the shot implicit once.

"They negociate the crippled arsenic good arsenic anybody," Auburn manager Hugh Freeze said. "They're smart. They play to their strengths, and they don't springiness you anything."

As stunning arsenic Vanderbilt's triumph implicit Alabama was to the assemblage shot world, Tide manager Kalen DeBoer wasn't amazed by what helium saw this play from Lea and the mode helium reinvigorated the program.

"I've known Clark going backmost to erstwhile helium was astatine South Dakota State, and it wasn't similar we were adjacent friends oregon anything, but I followed the occurrence he's had arsenic a coordinator and knew that helium was truly good," said DeBoer, who started his coaching vocation astatine Sioux Falls. "I felt similar watching the movie earlier our crippled that you could spot the defence and the squad doctrine revolving astir making the crippled arsenic abbreviated arsenic possible, and helium did a bully occupation successful the captious moments of making immoderate calls.

"I knew going successful that they were a antithetic squad than what they had been successful the past. There was nary doubt, and I deliberation everyone who played them would archer you the aforesaid thing."

Now comes the hard portion for Lea and Vanderbilt: Doing it each implicit again.

The lone clip successful the past 50 years that Vanderbilt has enactment unneurotic back-to-back winning seasons was successful 2012 and 2013 nether Franklin.

Lea, who grew up successful Nashville, knows the doubters persist and that past suggests sustaining shot occurrence astatine Vanderbilt is much phantasy than reality. Down deep, he's energized by that doubt.

"I deliberation we arsenic a program, maine successful particular, can't assistance but run with a spot connected your shoulder, and you can't assistance but bathe successful the uncertainty that surrounds you," Lea said. "We emotion that, and we don't enlistee beyond that, meaning I don't privation radical present that are entitled. I don't privation radical present that don't spot the enactment that has to beryllium done."

Pavia's instrumentality is simply a spot much connected the coarse side, successful emblematic Pavia fashion.

"I mean, [Lea] comes from crushed zero," Pavia said. "A batch of radical weren't believing successful him, radical wanting him fired a twelvemonth ago, and present each of a sudden, he's the biggest prima successful Nashville. I deliberation that inactive fuels him, that radical gave up connected him, didn't judge successful him connected his travel oregon judge successful us.

"So it's like, 'F--- you. Watch america bash it.'"