September 2009
BACK FOR MORE 2009 SEASON PREVIEW
table of contents
16
6
2 Connecting With The Web
Compliance Corner
4 National Commodore Club 6 In My Words
Megan Forester
7 Commodores Cubed
Schwartz wins gold at Maccabi Games
8 Point of View Josie Earnest 9 VU Stadium Has New Look By the Numbers 10 Strength Begins With Sisk
Sisk transforms squad in the weight room
13 It’s My Turn—Rod Williamson
10 23
When old school is cool
14 FB Staff has Stability
Ties run deep among the coaching staff
15 VU Adds Nine to Hall of Fame
Class will be inducted Sept. 4
16 FB Season Preview
VU returns 18 starters from 2008 team
20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams 23 Philly Boys Find Home at VU Ryan Hamilton and Bradley Vierling 24 The Month Ahead
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C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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Connect with
VUCOMMODORES.COM Editorial
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Publisher: Vanderbilt University
Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz
Director of External Relations: Rod Williamson
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Ryan Schulz
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Brian Fleming Steve Green
Letters
John Russell
Football Season is Upon Us As a Vanderbilt grad in his 30s, I can honestly say that I have never looked as forward to a Vanderbilt football season quite like I am in 2009. Because of the excitement heading into the season, I hope our fans will show up and give Vanderbilt a home-field advantage like we haven’t had in a long time. For years, I would attend games and have to worry about being outnumbered by opposing fans. I hope Vanderbilt fans have responded and the crowd looks like it did at the Music City Bowl. Is is game time yet? Chris, Hermitage
Football Facelift I made one trip to Nashville over the summer to visit friends, and as a tradition I always have to make a trip to Vanderbilt’s campus when I am in town. When I turned down Jess Neely Drive, I couldn’t believe my eyes. All I could think was, is this Vanderbilt Stadium? I was blown away by how well the stadium looked as a result of the renovations. Paul, New York
To submit a letter, e-mail CN at: commodorenation@vanderbilt.edu. Letters should include the writer’s name and address and may be edited for clarity and space.
COR NER Q: A:
No. NCAA Bylaw 13.4.1.2 states that electronically transmitted correspondence that may be sent to a prospective student-athlete is limited to electronic mail and facsimiles. All other forms of electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., Instant Messenger, text messaging) are prohibited. Color attachments may be included with electronic mail correspondence sent to a prospective student-athlete, provided the attachment only includes information that is not created for recruiting purposes, except for items that are specifically permitted as printed recruiting materials (e.g., questionnaires). In addition, attachments shall not include any animation, audio or video clips and there shall be no cost (e.g., subscription fee) associated with sending the item attached to the electronic mail correspondence.
Compliance questions? Please contact:
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George Midgett Compliance Coordinator 615/322-2083 george.d.midgett@vanderbilt.edu
SEPTEMBER 2009
Thomas Samuel Chris Weinman
Administrative
Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Beth Fortune
Vanderbilt University’s Mission, Goals and Values Vanderbilt University is a center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and society at large. Vanderbilt will uphold the highest standards and be a leader in the quest for new knowledge through scholarship, dissemination of knowledge through teaching and outreach, and creative experimentation of ideas and concepts. In pursuit of these goals, Vanderbilt values most highly intellectual freedom that supports open inquiry; and equality, compassion and excellence in all endeavors. Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university.
Hash Marks is a prospective student-athlete who is getting ready to begin his senior year of high school. The Vanderbilt football coaches would like to send Hash a text message wishing him good luck in the upcoming season. Is this permissible?
Candice Lee Director of Compliance 615/322-7992 candice.lee@vanderbilt.edu
Larry Leathers
COMPLIANCE
Contributors: Andy Boggs
John Erck
John Peach Compliance Coordinator 615/343-1060 john.w.peach@vanderbilt.edu
ON THE COVER: (L-R) Ryan Hamilton, Bradley Vierling, Myron Lewis and Patrick Benoist PHOTO: John Russell POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212. SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact the National Commodore Club at 615/322-4114. ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports. Jeff Miller, General Manager 615/322-4468 jmiller@ispsports.com CORRECTION: In the June issue of Commodore Nation, it was incorrectly stated that Marina Alex was the first Commodore to qualify for the NCAA Golf Championships as an individual. Alex was actually the third Commodore to qualify after Mallory Crosland (1999) and Kristen Svicarovich (2005). CN regrets the error. Commodore Nation is printed using recycled paper.
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C O M M O D O R E C LU B
COR N E R
PHONE: 615/322-4114 • ONLINE: vanderbilt.edu/ncc ATHLETICS GIFTS AND NEW PLEDGES
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT Thanks to you, the athletics development team is happy to report its best overall fundraising year in the last five. While National Commodore Club giving was down slightly in terms of dollars, membership increased for the fourth straight year, and overall gifts and pledges totaled $13.5 million.
NCC FUNDRAISING TOTALS
NCC MEMBERSHIP
It is clear our amazing student-athletes are the reason for the great development outcome in spite of challenging economic times. It’s simple really. Generous donors respond to our great students and great coaches and help meet the needs to keep them competitive in our conference and their particular sport. The renovations to Memorial Gym and Hawkins Field are complete, and construction is almost complete on Vanderbilt Stadium as we go to press. The current need for philanthropic support focuses on enhancements in the McGugin Center for the football program. State-of-theart improvements to the team meeting rooms, training room, coaches offices, and academic support facilities will help Coach Johnson and his staff compete in the recruiting arena with other programs in the SEC and across the country. Gifts to athletics come in all sizes, and every gift makes a difference. Regardless of your philanthropic budget, there is a way you can have an impact on the facility renovations. Please be sure to visit our Pave the Way website (www.vanderbilt. edu/bricks), and buy a brick and “Show your Gold!” The first group of bricks has been set in the new Vanderbilt Stadium plaza outside Gate 2 and Gate 3. For more information about the plans for facility renovations, call us at 615/3224114. Christy Passmore, Lucy Jones, Cal Cook or John Erck will be happy to talk to you.
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SEPTEMBER 2009
NEW LEADERSHIP Vice Chancellors Susie Stalcup and David Williams named Christy Passmore as executive director of Vanderbilt Athletics Development at the National Commodore Club on July 27. Passmore is a 19year veteran in development at Vanderbilt University. Her most recent leadership assignment was in conjunction with the Shape the Future Campaign
toward a $1.75 billion goal. Prior, she was the lead fundraiser on the $50 million campaign that was initiated to build the new Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital (1998-2001). In the fiscal year completed June 30, 2009, and as interim executive director, she led the Athletics Development team to their most successful fundraising year of the last five. To learn more about Passmore, look for a Q&A with her in the October issue of Commodore Nation.
PAVE THE WAY Vanderbilt alumni and friends can become a permanent part of Vanderbilt Stadium with the “Pave the Way” program, which allows fans the opportunity to purchase commemorative bricks that will be the centerpiece of VU’s new walkways outside the stadium. Below are just a few of the bricks that are in the new plaza area outside of Gate 3. Bricks are available to purchase at a cost of $250. Bricks can be ordered through vucommodores.com or by calling the NCC at 615/322-4114.
NEW COMMODORE
KEEP YOUR MEMBERSHIP CURRENT To retain parking and ticket benefits, please renew your NCC membership each year by May 31. If you don’t receive parking or ticket benefits, renew by June 30 to continue your support of Vanderbilt’s student-athletes. Call 615/322-4114, click vucommodores.com or come by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-athlete scholarships. Thank you for your continued support of Vanderbilt athletics. Your membership matters!
FOOTBALL TAILGATES The Commodore Tailgate Tour is planning three stops this football season. Join fellow Commodore fans for a tailgate and game at these three road contests: Saturday, Sept. 26, versus Rice in Houston Where: Tailgate Owley off Rice Boulevard • When: 4:30-6:30 p.m. Cost: $48 for adults/$38 for kids 6-12 (includes game ticket and tailgate) $25 for adults/$15 for kids 6-12 (tailgate only) *tailgate includes food, soft drinks and beer The National Commodore Club welcomes Tyler Seybt, son of former Vanderbilt pitcher Paul Seybt, into the VU family.
Saturday, Oct. 10, versus Army in West Point, N.Y. Where: Doubleday Field next to The Plain • When: 9 a.m. Cost: $51 for adults/$26 for kids 6-12 (includes game ticket and tailgate) $30 for adults/$15 for kids 6-12 (tailgate only) Saturday, Nov. 7, versus Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Commodore Tailgate to take place 2.5 hours before kickoff at the Reitz Union. Details are being finalized. Please check the Vanderbilt Alumni Association’s tailgate page (www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/tailgates.php) for more information. Tailgate and game ticket packages will be offered, as well as tailgate only.
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In My Words
Megan Forester
A
n ace on the pitch and an ace in the community, Vanderbilt senior Megan Forester has been making a positive impact on Vanderbilt’s soccer team
since she was a freshman, but she has been making an even larger impact in the community since before she arrived on campus. Born and raised just outside Nashville in Hendersonville, Tenn., Forester has been active in the community since high school and has spent the past three summers mentoring underprivileged children at the Martha O’Bryan Center in East Nashville. Beyond her leadership in the community, Forester also is a leader on the soccer field. As a senior, Forester has embraced the opportunity to lead the Commodores and is taking the role in stride as she hopes to lead Vanderbilt back to the SEC Tournament for the first time since she was a freshman in 2006. She is majoring in human and organizational development and will graduate in May.
On being a leader on the team I love it. On this team, you don’t even need one leader because everyone is a leader and leads each other on the field. Everyone gets along so well on this team that you don’t really have to do too much, but support everyone. On her summer I worked, and I worked out this summer and that was about it. I worked at the Martha O’Bryan Center, and this is my third summer to work there. I worked there all summer while working out for the team. On her work at the Martha O’Bryan Center It is a summer camp for underprivileged children. We basically do athletics, academics and go on field trips with them. It is a summer camp for the kids to go to while their parents are working, and it is a lot of fun helping out and being a part of their lives. On how she became involved with the Martha O’Bryan Center
JOHN RUSSELL
My freshman year, Amy Bauman, who was a junior when I was a freshman, had worked there the year before and she had told me about it. I went the summer after my freshman year, and I’ve just kept going back.
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On what made her interested in giving back to the community
Commodores Cubed
In high school we had to do 40 hours of community service as part of my social justice class. From doing that I just got used to it, and it became something I always did. On being from Hendersonville, Tenn., and getting to play in front of her family and friends all the time I absolutely love it because I always have people here watching me. A lot of the players from outside of Nashville only get to play in front of their parents a few games, and mine are at every single home game, so I really enjoy it.
steve TCHIENGANG
lindsay RATTERMAN
katie LAMMERS
Funny People
I can’t remember the name of it, so I’ll just go with The Proposal
Harry Potter, duh
The Hangover
No
Yes. I update it every day, but I’ve just joined in the last month
Only to Shaq
No
Aspen
I didn’t go on any vacations. I’ve been in school all summer
Otter Pops
Lemon raspberry cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory) or a milkshake (Cheeseburger Charley’s)
Football
Best movie I watched this summer
On the goal of getting back to the SEC Tournament It is the main goal. We want nothing more than to be able to be back at the SEC Tournament, and this time I want to actually get to play in it because last time I had mono. I was there, but I didn’t get to play. My first game back was the NCAA Tournament that year.
Do you tweet?
On how difficult it is to get to the SEC Tournament
Place I visited this summer
It isn’t easy to get in it. You think that since the top eight of 12 go, it would be easy, but it isn’t because the competition in this league is so hard. On her plans after graduation
Favorite summer treat
It kind of depends on where I get an internship, but I’d like to go to grad school and major in physical therapy. If that doesn’t work out, something along the lines of working somewhere like the Martha O’Bryan Center would be something I’d be interested in doing. n
Las Vegas
Frozen lemonade
Basketball
New York
Sweet tea
Soccer
Bowling
JOHN RUSSELL
anderbilt defender Dana Schwartz is just one month into her college career, but the recent international experience she gained on the pitch this summer makes her more experienced than a typical freshman. A local product from Nashville who attended Brentwood High School, Schwartz was a member of the U.S women’s soccer team that won the gold medal at the Maccabi Games in Israel in July. The U.S. team finished 5-0 in the tournament and defeated Israel 4-0 to win the gold medal at what is sometimes referred to as the Jewish Olympics. “It was absolutely amazing,” Schwartz said. “It was big honor, and it just filled you with pride to be able to represent your country and your religion.” Still a teenager, Schwartz was by far the youngest member of the team that was comprised of players in their early 20s. The challenge of facing older, more experienced players is something Schwartz believes
helped her prepare for her first year of college competition. “I think it was the best thing I could have done to prepare for college,” Schwartz said. “Although our competition wasn’t that great, our team was a really great team full of college players that I was able to play with every single day. It is not only a great workout, but it is also about getting touches on the ball with great players.” Schwartz will remember her first trip to Israel forever, but what she will remember most is the feeling of winning the gold medal and representing the U.S. “I’ve never felt anything like it or experienced anything like it,” Schwartz said. “There is nothing like wearing a USA jersey.” n
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JOHN RUSSELL
Schwartz Wins Gold at Maccabi Games
V
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thomas WELCH
Point of View
Jam-packed Summer By Josie Earnest Editor’s Note: Each month “Commodore Nation” will ask a varsity athlete to sound off on a point of personal interest. A native of Vandalia, Ill., Earnest is a senior on the bowling team.
I
f there is one thing that I will always take away from Vanderbilt, it’s the importance of balance. I have always prided myself on being dedicated to my schoolwork and my bowling, but it was taken to another level this past summer break. I am a Human and Organizational Development major at Peabody, and the cornerstone of my degree is the HOD internship. I took the opportunity to complete my internship with the Nashville Predators in the marketing department because I thought it would be interesting to see how sports work from the other side. This summer also marked the fourth time I was privileged enough to visit the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Being able to live in the Olympic Training facility for a short period of time always opens my eyes and reestablishes the reason why I compete. I literally got chills every morning when I ate breakfast surrounded by Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps, Apolo Ohno and Rulon Gardner. Seeing these amazing athletes reminded me that there is always room for improvement and there is nothing like representing the USA. After the week of training came to a close I flew straight to Nashville, where the next day I started my internship. It was the first job I ever had. I was fortunate enough throughout high school to have parents that were willing to let me be dedicated to bowling and school without the extra stress of a job. This internship was a new, exciting and demanding experience. Not only was I working, but I also had a class and the pinnacle youth singles bowling event of the year, Junior Gold, to prepare for. It was very tough to balance Earnest (right) with teammate Brittni bowling, school and a job, but I Hamilton after both made Team USA. felt that it was something I could handle. After taking on Division I athletics and a top 20 education, I thought I was prepared to handle working, as well. In previous summers, I spent three hours a day in the bowling center preparing for Junior Gold. It was not unusual for me to put in 20 games a day, 6-7 days a week because I always wanted Junior Gold to be an unforgettable week. This summer I didn’t have the luxury of even practicing every day because of all of my commitments. It made every practice session that much more important, but I will be the first to admit that entering the national tournament I felt the least prepared for any tournament I have ever bowled. The entire week I relied on the experiences I have had through college bowling and my international experiences to help raise my game. Without these experiences and my coaches, I would not have had the memorable week that I did. I ended up finishing second, just a few pins shy of the national title, but I earned my fifth berth on Team USA. After the week had finished I thought about everything that has happened to me this summer, and I realized how much of it would not have been possible without Vanderbilt. I wouldn’t have been able to take an educational internship with a major sports team, and I wouldn’t have the meaningful experiences that I have come to rely so heavily upon both in bowling and in life. n
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Vanderbilt Stadium Has New Look For 2009
T
he sound of jackhammers and heavy machinery that pulsated throughout Vanderbilt Stadium this summer have been silenced, and what is left is a stadium that is sure to make fans do a double-take when they walk up.
Gone is most of the chain link fence and concrete that made up the exterior of the stadium. In its place is a much more aesthetically pleasing combination of brick and wrought-iron fencing. The improvements fit perfectly with the exterior architecture at Hawkins Field. The most noticeable difference to the stadium is renovations to gates 2 and 3 on the
south side of the stadium. The new gates include towering brick columns, which fans now enter through to go into the stadium. The renovation to gate 2 also included the addition of a plaza area at the corner of Jess Neely and Natchez Trace, which is made up of bricks that were purchased through Vanderbilt’s Pave the Way campaign. The offseason renovations to Vanderbilt Stadium were included in the second part of a five-phase facility upgrade plan what was announced by Vice Chancellor David Williams in May 2008. Included among the upgrades completed during phase one before the 2008 season were the addition of a new facade between gates 2 and 3, the renovation of the east side stadium concourse and a new exterior/interior paint job and interior signs. Although the facility upgrades to the stadium are far from over, the stadium already has taken on an entirely new and improved look in two years. Each of the improvements has gone a long way toward making a fan’s experience at Vanderbilt Stadium more enjoyable. n
By The
NUMBERS 3.081
The cumulative GPA of Vanderbilt’s student-athletes during the spring 2009 semester.
191
Vanderbilt studentathletes had a 3.0 GPA or higher during the spring 2009 semester.
23
The number of states that will carry the weekly football game on the SEC Network, which kicks off at 11:21 CT every Saturday.
15
The number of former Commodores in NFL training camps.
4th
Vanderbilt’s national rank in the third annual Glass Ceiling Report Card, which measures gender equity among head coaches and assistant coaches in college athletics. VU was tops in the SEC for the third straight year.
15
Schools, including Vanderbilt, will play 12 straight games without a bye week in 2009.
180
The weight of chicken breasts, in pounds, Vanderbilt’s training table goes through in one day during training camp.
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JOHN RUSSELL
Vanderbilt’s Strength Begins with Sisk
T
he sound of AC/DC mixed with the distinct noise of iron dumbells and plates clanking violently resonates through the Corridor of Captains hallway leading into Vanderbilt’s weight room on the west side of the McGugin Center. Inside the doors, the mantra “Go Hard” is emblazoned on the ceiling for everyone to see as they enter. The words act as a warning to anyone who may be faint of heart. Welcome to John Sisk’s home away from home where each day this summer, the sounds of the stereo and iron plates were mixed with the shouts of encouragement and sounds of exertion from members of Vanderbilt’s football team in the midst of offseason workouts. While the summer is considered a break for most students, one trip to the weight room in the summer will be enough to show anyone that June and July are a far cry from a break for members of the football team. Instead, the summer months are considered some of the most important months of the year in a player’s development, which makes Sisk especially busy during the summer. “The summer is our big time of the year,” Sisk said. “This is my game time. We do something five days a week, and the NCAA gives us eight hours a week to work with them, so we take advantage of every hour we get with them.”
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Summers spent in the weight room are nothing new to Sisk, who is in his eighth year as Vanderbilt’s speed, strength and conditioning director, and his 17th year overall as a strength and conditioning coach in the college ranks. What drove Sisk to the profession was an interest he, with the help of his father, developed for lifting as a youth in Waynesville, N.C. “I had a passion for it as a kid,” Sisk said. “I had a Randy White weight set, and Santa Claus brought me an Earl Campbell weight bench.” The passion he had for strength and conditioning helped him play college football at Western Carolina and eventually helped him land his current position at Vanderbilt, a position he likely wouldn’t have if not for his first college job at Furman University. It was at Furman in 1994 that Sisk worked with Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson for the first time, when Johnson was head coach at the university. From there the relationship grew, and Johnson asked Sisk to head Vanderbilt’s strength program when he arrived in 2002. “I’m only here because of Coach Johnson and the opportunities he has given me to work as part of his staff,” Sisk said. “After college, I just knew that I didn’t want to coach high school football, but I wanted to be around players. I didn’t want to teach, I just wanted to coach.”
That bond shared between Johnson and Sisk is crucial in college football, especially in the summer. On top of the summer being the longest stretch of time the team spends in the weight room, it also is the time where strength coaches become the eyes and ears for the coaching staff, which, due to NCAA rules, is limited to how often they can work with the players in the summer. “To a degree, I am their eyes in the summer,” Sisk said. “They will call when they are on vacation and see how everyone is doing.” There are few eyes better to have on the players than Sisk, who has developed a reputation as one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the country. He is so well respected by current and former Vanderbilt athletes, that often, Vanderbilt’s weight room becomes a “Who’s Who” of former Vanderbilt athletes. From Tampa Rays pitcher David Price to Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, Vanderbilt’s weight room has become the offseason home for many former Commodores competing in the professional ranks. “It is humbling to have these guys trust me and want to come back,” Sisk said. “Hopefully we had something to do with them getting to where they are or they wouldn’t be here.” Having former Vanderbilt student-athletes around also is something Sisk believes benefits the whole program.
JOHN RUSSELL
“It is beneficial because our guys are able to look at the pros and see they are doing exactly what I am having them do,” Sisk said. “To have those guys involved in my program is great, and it just sells what we are talking about.” One person who doesn’t need any sales pitch to buy into what Sisk is preaching is senior co-captain Bradley Vierling. “Sisk and his staff are tremendous,” Vierling said. “He is a players’ coach, so he is always going to get the most out of players.
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He doesn’t have any kids, but he thinks of us as his kids and we take that to heart.” If having former players around isn’t enough, just looking at the transformation of current and past players such as senior offensive tackle Thomas Welch and current Chicago Bear Chris Williams should be enough to convince anyone to listen to Sisk. Williams’ story of developing into a first-round draft pick at offensive tackle after weighing just 245 pounds as a college freshman is well documented. Welch’s, however, is less known. Recruited as a quarterback, Welch was first converted to a tight end and then a tackle at Vanderbilt. It is a transition rarely seen in college football. “I give most of the credit for how I’ve developed to him,” Welch said. “I’ve gained 70 pounds since I’ve been here, and if it wasn’t for him and the strength staff, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today.” “He had to buy into it because it is hard going from quarterback to right tackle,” Sisk said. “He had to buy into what we were telling him, and you have to have a plan for him. To see him develop more and more and gain confidence to block guys is tremendous.” Welch is one of many players who have transformed physically under Sisk. Just as players have transformed, so has the program on the field and in the weight room. “When I first got here, we had to do a lot of motivating,” Sisk said. “To see where we have started and where we are now, we’ve had a
lot of great summers and a lot of it came from guys buying in when I first got here.” A perfect example of how far the strength and conditioning program has come happened last year when for the first time in Sisk’s time at Vanderbilt, not a single freshmen was late to a freshman workout. Not missing a workout doesn’t give the team an extra win on the field, but Sisk knows what happens in the weight room is just another step in the right direction toward building a winning program. “It has always been the perception that if you get to the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt is going to quit,” Sisk said. “My whole philosophy since I’ve been here is that is when we are going to work to get stronger. Everybody thinks they are going to get us in the fourth quarter because we are going to fold. My mentality is that this isn’t the same old Vanderbilt, and you have to get past that. To get past it you’ve got to mentally train them, they have to buy into it and they have to know that we have another gear.” Helping the team get to that next gear is one of Sisk’s primary responsibilities, but maybe the responsibility he is most proud of is instilling values into young men that will last a lifetime. “Hopefully some small part of this is making them become a better person,” Sisk said. “Making them become accountable to themselves and their families and taking pride in their hard work.” n
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It’s My Turn By Rod Williamson
When Old School is Cool
S
ome things you will never see nor read about Bobby Johnson:
• Showing up for a public event with his shirt hanging out. • Apologizing to a city or state for offensive remarks. • Setting a record for his Facebook following. Call Bobby Johnson “old school,” and he takes it as a compliment. He’s no square, but he isn’t one to leap at the latest fad, the here-today-gone-tomorrow kind of foolishness that sometimes gets associated with athletics. Bobby Johnson just looks like he’s supposed to be the boss. Even when he was making his first rounds at the massive Southeastern Conference Media Day event back in 2002, his persona commanded the attention of those bustling rooms as though he were the Chairman of the Board. This is not to say Bobby is out of touch. Far from it. His quick and dry wit is dazzling when he wants to turn it on. But he understands he was hired by Vanderbilt to build and represent its football program, not perform stand-up comedy routines. When he first arrived here fresh from being voted the National Coach of the Year at Furman, people wondered if he was “too nice” to succeed in the big, bad SEC. Others wondered aloud and in print if he could coach against the best and brightest who are paid multimillions to stalk the sidelines of the nation’s best conference. And if he could coach, could he recruit against the masters of sweet talk? All legitimate questions and all, it turns out, to have been a waste of time. We now realize those answers were no, yes and yes. Those who know Coach Johnson the best will always get around to mentioning his extremely competitive nature. Name the game, Bobby’s instinct is to try to win. I have this hunch – never asked nor confirmed so it’s just a theory – that Bobby Johnson is actually so competitive that his idea of the ultimate challenge was to build our once-forlorn football program into a consistent winner against what most pundits would have said were all the odds. That requires the consummate competitor, the long-distance runner who isn’t seeking the quick buck or the fast headline. It also required expertise and a calm, calculated plan. We all love it when the underdog proves the experts wrong. Every day we endure a glut of inside authorities who tell us smugly that there are certain inevitabilities in athletics. Bobby Johnson has made a lot of these gurus eat their predictions, and when he does, he isn’t one to rub it in. He’d rather have his body of work do his speaking. One of the primary reasons for our success is his ability to maintain stability on a very good staff of assistant coaches. The bulk of the Vanderbilt football staff has known each other for decades, and it pays. Not only do our coaches know the plan, the high school coaches they call upon know it. Many of Johnson’s aides have recruited the same territories for decades, earning the trust and often the admiration of these prep leaders. It shouldn’t be surprising that when we added a victory in the Music City Bowl to the tangible facts of being the SEC’s top academic institution in the SEC’s most exciting city, our recruiting fortunes leaped forward. There is much to like about Vanderbilt football these days. All of this may seem off script to the maddening crowd, but it’s right on plan for Bobby Johnson and company. Just don’t expect to read it on his Twitter. n
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VU Staff has Stability in an Unstable Profession
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Tommy Tubberville from the SEC after last season, Georgia’s Mark Richt is the only SEC coach who has been at the same school longer than Johnson has. Richt, along with four of his assistants, are entering their ninth year in Athens, just one year longer than Johnson’s tenure in Nashville. Johnson’s tenure at Vanderbilt is not only long in relation to others in the league, it also has quietly become one of the longest in school history. Only three former Commodore coaches have had longer tenures than Johnson’s eight years, and no coach has been at VU this long since Art Guepe coached the Commodores from 1953 to 1962. In Johnson’s time at Vanderbilt, the 11 other SEC schools have gone through 24 different head coaches. Alabama, Mississippi and Mississippi State all are on their third head coach since Johnson started in 2002. While the Commodores have not been immune to departures by assistant coaches, their stability still is a rarity in an uncertain profession. During Johnson’s tenure, only three coaches have left Vanderbilt, but many others have had opportunities for new challenges. “A lot of people have had opportunities to go other places and a lot of times people will say the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but we have peace, tranquility and continuity, and you can’t buy that kind of stuff,” said Robbie Caldwell, who was one of Johnson’s original hires at Vanderbilt. Of the nine assistants on Johnson’s staff, only defensive line coach Rick Logo and running backs coach Des Kitchings haven’t been with Johnson during his entire tenure at Vanderbilt. Although they are new to Vanderbilt,
they felt an instant connection to the staff. It is a connection that comes from a shared coaching philosophy as well as a literal connection through the coaching tree. In some way or another all nine members of Vanderbilt’s staff are linked through past experiences. Johnson joined the coaching ranks in 1976 as a defensive ends coach at Furman. At the time, Caldwell was working as a first-year graduate assistant at Furman, while Vanderbilt assistant head coach Bruce Fowler was a freshman walk-on and Vanderbilt quarterbacks coach Jimmy Kiser was playing receiver for the Paladins. In the late 1990s, Vanderbilt receivers coach Charlie Fisher worked at N.C. State while Caldwell coached the offensive line and Kiser conducted the offense. Caldwell and Kiser were at N.C. State together from 1986 to 1999 and while they were there, they coached Logo, who was a defensive tackle for the Wolfpack. Also while in Raleigh, Caldwell recruited Vanderbilt linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Warren Belin. Belin ended up playing at Wake Forest, a school Caldwell and Kiser faced in the ACC. In 2000, Caldwell made the short move down Tobacco Road to coach the offensive line at North Carolina for two years. While with the Tar Heels, Caldwell met Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Jamie Bryant, who was a graduate assistant at UNC in 2001. The newest branch on the coaching tree is Vanderbilt running backs coach Des Kitchings, who joined the staff before the 2008 season. Kitchings’ connection to the staff is with Johnson, whom he played for as a
JOHN RUSSELL
here are many factors that lead to having a successful program, but the one that may be the most important is also one of the most overlooked: coaching stability. Having stability in a coaching staff can make or break a team, and in no sport is stability more important than it is in football. As a team becomes more successful, the coaches on the staff become more attractive to other programs, and are often swept away by more lucrative offers. The effect of losing a coach here and there may not have an impact that is noticeable at first. Over time the personnel losses begin to mount, and even the most successful teams have a dip in success. No one understands the importance of having continuity on a staff more than Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson. Of the nine assistants under Johnson, seven have been with him since he came to Vanderbilt in 2002. That consistency has played a major role in Vanderbilt’s rise from the bottom of the SEC standings. “We like the continuity for several reasons, one of which is we spend a lot of time together,” Johnson said. “When you are working day in and day out, you want to be with people we like and that is what we have. We feel comfortable amongst each other.” In a day and age where most coaching jobs seem like revolving doors and the days of having icons such as Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden seem far-fetched, the continuity of Vanderbilt’s coaching staff has been an anomaly in an uncertain time. With the departures of Phil Fulmer and
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SEPTEMBER 2009
receiver at Furman in the late '90s. With so many members of the staff having ties that date back decades, the transition of working with a group that knows each other so well can be intimidating for a new coach, which is why having that familiarity with members on the staff is something Logo believes made his transition much easier when he joined the staff in 2006. “(The familiarity) is very beneficial,” Logo said. “You know the expectations and organization of how things are run as a player and as a coach. As far as being familiar with how things are done and knowing all the coaches and their personalities, it just meshes smoothly when you are in transition and it is certainly helpful, especially being one of the newer guys coming on staff.” Being a former player under coaches on Vanderbilt’s staff also gives Logo a unique perspective on what it is like to work for and with members of the staff. “You have three coaches on this staff who were my college coaches when I played (Cain, Kiser, Caldwell), so you know their expectations on the field and off the field. Going into coaching, it doesn’t change,” Logo said. “Everything is very familiar to me being on this staff because you get to see them from a player to a coach.” Like any relationship, people become more familiar with one another over time, and it is no different in the coaching industry. Members of the staff have been together long enough that they know what the others are thinking. “Being together for this long means a world of difference,” Caldwell said. “There is just so much that we kind of take for granted that other people don’t have. The loyalty is strong. There is no one on the staff trying to take a job from anyone else. We do things together, and
it is fun to come to work.” The familiarity with one another also allows the staff to avoid the type of hiccups other coaching staffs will have when they are all trying to get on the same page. “We don’t have to worry about a lot of little of petty things that I think get in the way of some staffs because we’ve been together for so long,” Kiser said. To Logo, the closeness of the staff makes it feel like everyone is part of the same family — a family that extends beyond the coaches. “There is always a tie to this staff, and we are all connected in some way,” Logo said. “It is kind of an inner family circle we have among this staff, and you come to feel like you are at home, not just in your personal life, but when you come to work. It just makes it a lot easier for me since I’ve been here, and it is certainly beneficial to our wives and our kids because they’ve grown up with these guys and are very familiar with them and their families.” The closeness of the staff also is something that doesn’t go unnoticed by members of the team. “They all have ties to one another, and you can tell because they are close like brothers,” senior center Bradley Vierling said. “It is absolutely a family atmosphere.” When teams are winning, everyone seems like a happy family. It is when the losses begin to mount that you can truly gauge how close a staff is. Vanderbilt won six games in the staff’s first three years, and if there is one thing that the losses showed more than anything else it was just how close the staff is to each other. “It is very easy for a staff to divide, particularly offensively and defensively, when going through spells of not being very good,” Kiser said. “That happens a lot where people start pointing a finger. If you don’t have a staff that
believes in each other and is loyal to one another, it can divide your staff and make the working atmosphere very difficult. We don’t have that issue and problem at all.” Continuity of the staff has been a big reason for Vanderbilt’s success on the field, but it isn’t the only place continuity among the staff has begun to pay off. It has also been noticed off the field in recruiting. “When we first got here, guys in the SEC who recruited against us — the first thing out of their mouths to recruits would be that no one has ever stayed at Vanderbilt long,” Caldwell said. “We’ve heard it all from the recruits telling us what people have said. It was obviously a big task to try and get over that and to create a different mindset.” With the majority of the staff entering their eighth year at Vanderbilt, their commitment to the program can no longer be questioned, just as the administration’s commitment cannot. Despite the Commodores’ early struggles, the university stuck with the staff. “The loyalty of Vanderbilt and what they did for us was just outstanding,” Caldwell said. “They stood by us. They knew it was going to be a tough task and they stood by us. You can’t thank Vanderbilt enough for that.” Just as Vanderbilt has stood by the staff, the staff has stood by Vanderbilt, which is uncommon in an industry that is constantly in a state of flux. “Loyalty is just hard to find in this business,” Caldwell said. “You see how cut-throat it is because the way things are win at all costs. Vanderbilt has stood by us, and we can’t thank them enough for being loyal. In return, we’ve been loyal ourselves. You like to see a two-way street there and most times there isn’t, so it is a pretty special place.” n
Vanderbilt Adds Nine More to Hall of Fame
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niversity traditions are woven into the college football landscape unlike they are in any other sport. At Vanderbilt, there is the Freshman Run, Star Walk and the Fog Horn just to name a few. What may become the most recognized tradition of all by Commodore fans is one that is still in its infant stages — Hall of Fame Weekend. Just like it was for last year’s inaugural class and will be for years to come, Hall of Fame Weekend will always be in conjunction with the first Saturday home football game of the year. This year, Vanderbilt will induct its second class into the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame Sept. 4-6 with the Commodores opening their football season against Western Carolina on Sept. 5. “We want this to become a Vanderbilt tradition,” Vice Chancellor David Williams said. The 2008 induction ceremony for the inaugural 12-member class left Vanderbilt’s campus buzzing, and there is little reason to expect anything less this year. Those being enshrined in the second class are Jim Arnold (football), Charles Davis (basketball), Julie Ditty (tennis), Charles Hawkins (baseball and
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football), Ming Hsu Robinson (swimming), Herb Rich (football), Wendy Scholtens Wood (basketball), Roy Skinner (head basketball coach) and Brandt Snedeker (golf). The selection criteria remained the same in 2009. To be considered, a nominee must have fallen under one of three umbrellas: Commodore Great, Distinguished Letterwinner or Lifetime Achievement. Charles Davis’ athletic career alone is worthy enough for hall of fame consideration, but what made him a lock for Vanderbilt’s Hall of Fame is his noted work in the community. That recognition is something that makes Davis appreciate his selection even more. “For a university to acknowledge such athletes as myself and look at humanitarian things as opposed to just what happens on the court says a lot about the school,” Davis said. “I’m proud of that and honored to be a part.” The induction of the 2009 class brings the total number of inductees to 21. One of the most noted honorees in the class of 2009 is basketball coach Roy Skinner, who joins Dan McGugin as the only coaches enshrined.
Skinner is the program’s winningest coach and is considered one of the game’s most progressive. He recruited 2008 HOF inductee Perry Wallace, the SEC’s first African-American basketball player and agreed to play Tennessee State. Although he hasn’t coached since 1976, Skinner feels like he is still a part of Vanderbilt. “The program here is super, and I still feel like I’m a part of it,” Skinner said. “To have this on top of it is something I will hold onto forever. I was very surprised and so excited. It is quite an honor.” The honor was equally as exciting for former punter Jim Arnold, who is the only Commodore football player to be named All-Conference all four years. Despite being named to the Pro Bowl twice in his career and earning AP First Team All-America honors during his playing career, no honor surpasses his inclusion in the Hall of Fame. “It is the highlight of my career,” Arnold said. “Of all honors I’ve ever had, this is absolutely the top of the list.” n
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2009 Season Preview
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SEPTEMBER 2009
ers and almost every reserve. Since the offense is sure to have a few growing pains, the defense will be the focal point for what is likely the most anticipated season in 25 years. For Johnson, the anticipation for the 2009 season is something he hopes to have every year with his program. “You know, I think the sky’s the limit for Vanderbilt, to tell you the truth,” Johnson said. “When we prove that we can win consistently, I think recruiting will pick up and we’re going to have the same quality team that the top tier teams have in our conference. “We expect to compete for championships. To tell you the truth, we weren’t really that far from it last year. We think that’s great progress for us. If we can continue to make those kind of leaps and bounds, we’ll be very pleased.” OFFENSE Quarterback For the second season in a row, Vanderbilt enters the year with experience at the quarterback position but no clear-cut starter. In 2008, Vanderbilt started three quarterbacks and played at least two in eight of 13 games. Of the three who started last year, senior Mackenzi Adams and sophomore Larry Smith return to battle for the starting spot in 2009. Coach Johnson has used three quarterbacks each of the past two seasons, so it is very likely Adams and Smith will be used during the year no matter who starts the first game. “The guys we have at that position, we have great confidence in,” Johnson said. “We feel good about the quarterback position because we do have guys who have performed well in the past, and we have a number of ones that we have confidence in.” Adams started three games last year and led the team with 882 yards passing. He has made nine starts in his career and has played a large part in two of the program’s biggest wins in recent years. Last year, he relieved starter Chris Nickson and threw two touchdown passes to lead Vanderbilt to a 14-13 victory over Auburn. In 2007, he helped the team win at South Carolina in the first start of his career. One of the most discussed players since arriving at Vanderbilt, Smith made his much-anticipated debut in the team’s regular season finale when he replaced Nickson. Although his numbers didn’t pop out in his debut against Wake Forest (9 of 17 passes for 46 yards and one touchdown), he showed the coaching staff enough from the game and the weeks leading up to the Music City Bowl to earn the starting nod against Boston College. In the bowl game, Smith completed 10 of 17 passes for 121 yards and didn’t turn the ball over. Also competing for playing time is junior Jared Funk.
JOHN RUSSELL
I
f you ask someone who follows Vanderbilt football closely, they will tell you Vanderbilt’s breakout season was supposed to come in 2009, not 2008. Entering last year, Vanderbilt had to completely rebuild the offensive line, it needed to replace Earl Bennett, the SEC’s all-time leading receiver. Instead of taking a step back, Vanderbilt took a huge leap forward and surprised the college football world with a 5-0 start en route to finishing 7-6 overall and winning the Music City Bowl. Now a season removed from ending their 25-year bowl drought, the main challenge the Commodores face in 2009 is how to improve on last year’s magical ride. Many pundits will be quick to call Vanderbilt’s 2008 season a flash in the pan, but a closer look at Vanderbilt’s program will show that the Commodores may be on the brink of even bigger things. There are many key ingredients that go into making a team successful, and Vanderbilt may have the two most important ones with experience on the field and consistency with the staff. The Commodores return eight starters on offense and nine on defense. In addition, the entire coaching staff returns from 2008, and the majority of them have been with Bobby Johnson since he arrived in Nashville. “We’re an older team now, which is weird for us because we’ve always been a younger team,” senior co-captain Bradley Vierling said. “It’s always been Vanderbilt’s story that we start well but falter towards the end and that we never had enough depth. Now we finally have that. We have starters coming back and reserves coming back. We have backups pushing for starting spots. It’s more competitive than it’s ever been.” Led by Johnson, the staff has developed a system that has proven to be effective, especially on defense, and as it has been proven time and time again, defense wins championships. After finishing 16th nationally in total defense in 2007, Vanderbilt finished 30th in total defense last year, including 15th overall in pass defense. While the defense has shined in recent years, the Commodores know they need to take steps toward improving offensive productivity, which is exactly what the team hopes to do with the installation of a nohuddle offense. “We didn’t do very well on offense the entire year, and the statistics show it,” Vierling said. “There’s a big chip on our shoulder about that. We’ve changed some things up and have implemented a no-huddle offense. We used to let the defense dictate the tempo, but we’re not doing that this year, not at all. We’re dictating to the defense.” The new look on offense should complement a defense that returns nine start-
Head Coach Bobby Johnson Eighth Year
VANDERBILT TEAM CAPSULE Last Five Years 2008 7-6, 4-4 SEC 2007 5-7, 2-6 SEC 2006 4-8, 1-7 SEC 2005 5-6, 3-5 SEC 2004 2-9, 1-7 SEC 2008 Team Rankings Offense Average Scoring 19.1 Rushing 133.6 Passing 122.6 Total 256.2
Rank 105 73 112 117
Defense Scoring Rushing Passing Total
Rank 21 69 15 30
Average 19.6 144.7 174.9 319.6
Starters Returning Offense: 8 Defense: 9
2009 VANDERBILT SCHEDULE Date
Opponent
Time
9/5
Western Carolina
6:30
9/12
at LSU
6:00
9/19
Mississippi State
6:00
9/26
at Rice
TBA
10/3
Ole Miss
TBA
10/10
at Army
11:00
10/17
Georgia (Homecoming)
TBA
10/24
at South Carolina
TBA
10/31
Georgia Tech
TBA
11/7
at Florida
TBA
11/14
Kentucky
TBA
11/21
at Tennessee
TBA
Receivers Last year, Vanderbilt had to deal with losing Earl Bennett early to the NFL, and this season the Commodores will have to overcome the loss of starters George Smith and Sean Walker, who exhausted their eligibility last season, and would-be senior Justin Wheeler who suffered a career-ending injury in the spring. Despite the loss of Smith, Walker and Wheeler, the Commodores still return experience at receiver. Senior Alex Washington will add a veteran presence to the group and should be fully recovered from a knee injury that cost him the majority of last season. Also returning are sophomores Udom Umoh and Jamie Graham, who could fill a similar role that D.J. Moore had last year as a two-way player. Umoh excelled in the spring after a season where he caught three passes. Although he will be primarily used as a cornerback in 2009, Graham’s success at the position in 2008 when he caught 17 passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns will not be overlooked. Redshirt freshmen John Cole and Akeem Dunham and transfer Tray Herndon (Minnesota) will also play a big role in the Commodores’ passing game. Cole showed promise during the preseason last year before suffering a season-ending injury in the first game. Dunham and Herndon each showcased their abilities during the spring. Tight End One of Vanderbilt’s strengths this year undoubtedly will be the tight end position. Returning are SEC All-Freshman selection Brandon Barden, as well as junior Austin Monahan, who had four catches through four games before missing the rest of the season
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JOHN RUSSELL
Running Back Returning to lead the Commodores’ ground attack in 2009 is senior Jared Hawkins, who led the team with 593 yards on the ground last year. However, clouding the expectations for Hawkins is a foot injury that forced him to miss all of spring drills and a hamstring injury that has slowed him in camp. Although he is scheduled to make a full recovery, his injury has left a crack in the door for any of Vanderbilt’s other young backs to make a move. Four returning players who will be in the mix for more carries and could be ready to take over for Hawkins should he be slowed by injury are juniors Gaston Miller and Kennard Reeves and sophomores Jermaine Doster and Ryan van Rensburg. Miller rushed for 52 yards last year but was most utilized as a kick returner at the end of the season. With Hawkins out due to injury against Wake Forest, Reeves showed flashes against the Demon Deacons, rushing for 33 yards on six carries. Vanderbilt also inked three talented running backs in the spring (Warren Norman, Zac Stacey and Wesley Tate) who will battle for time as true freshmen after strong camps. “I think it is the best overall crop of running backs we’ve had,” Johnson said.
2009 team captains Patrick Benoist (left), Ryan Hamilton (center) and Bradley Vierling. with a shoulder injury. Barden was the team’s second-leading receiver last year with 28 catches for 209 yards and a team-best four touchdown receptions. Adding depth to the position will be senior Chris DeGeorge. Offensive Line What was the team’s biggest question mark heading into last season has quickly turned into one of the team’s strong suits. All five starters return up front, and the group is led by fifth-year seniors Bradley Vierling at center and Thomas Welch at tackle. “Our offensive line was a real scary part of our preseason last year, but our guys stepped up,” Johnson said. “They were young, but they had some enthusiasm. We think those guys are going to be a year better experience-wise, so we should be much better on the offensive line. And I think we’ll be better at tailback. That’s going to make your offensive line better, too.” Vierling is in his second year as captain after starting every game at center last year. Adding depth to the center position are junior Joey Bailey and sophomore Rob Ashabranner. Welch started every game at right tackle last year and made the switch to left tackle this year. Opposite of Welch is sophomore right tackle James Williams. Junior Reilly Lauer also figures in the mix at tackle. Returning at guard are seniors Eric Hensley and Ryan Custer, juniors Chris Aaron, Joey Bailey and sophomore Kyle Fischer. All, but Aaron started at least four games at the position last year, with Fischer and Hensley finishing the year as starters. Fischer also started three games at left tackle last season. Among those who will add depth to the offensive line are redshirt freshmen Ryan Seymour, Caleb Welchans and Richard Cagle.
DEFENSE Defensive Line Like the offensive line, the defensive line returns intact this season. Seniors Steven Stone and Broderick Stewart man the ends, while senior Greg Billinger and junior Adam Smotherman handle the middle. Stone and Stewart tied for the team lead with five sacks last year. Stone has started the past two seasons and is one of the team’s most consistent players, while Stewart will be back from a leg injury suffered against Tennessee in 2008. Billinger led all defensive linemen with 47 tackles and started every game at tackle. Smotherman started the last nine games next to Billinger and finished with two sacks. Also playing a great deal of snaps in the middle will be sophomore T.J. Greenstone, who had 33 tackles and made two starts in 2008. Adding depth to the line will be redshirt freshman defensive tackles Rob Lohr, Colt Nichter and Taylor Loftley. Depth at the ends will come from juniors Theron Kadri and Teriall Brannon and sophomore Tim Fugger. “We feel great about our defensive line,” Johnson said. “That’s traditionally been a really tough position for us to gain a lot of depth in, ever since I’ve been in coaching, to tell you the truth, so we’re very pleased.” Linebacker Like the defensive line, Vanderbilt’s linebacker core returns intact. Senior Patrick Benoist returns at outside linebacker, sophomore Chris Marve returns at middle linebacker and junior John Stokes will be the strongside linebacker again. Benoist, a team captain this year, led the squad with 109 tackles and earned All-SEC honors. Marve was named to the All-SEC Freshman team after finishing second on the team with 105 tackles and three sacks. Marve also led the SEC with four forced fumbles. One of the most intelligent players on the
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team, Stokes missed spring practice due to shoulder surgery, but is healthy for the 2009 season after totaling 31 tackles last year. Providing depth will be versatile senior Brent Trice, who began his career at safety before switching to linebacker last year. Junior Nate Campbell and sophomore Austin Newton also will be counted on. Secondary The unit hit hardest after last season may have been the team’s best in 2008 — the secondary. Gone to the NFL are do-it-all cornerback D.J. Moore and hard-hitting safety Reshard Langford. The players combined for nine interceptions and well over 100 tackles. Despite the loss of Moore and Langford, Vanderbilt’s secondary will be far from out-manned this year with senior safety Ryan Hamilton and senior cornerback Myron Lewis returning. “D.J. was one of the best natural players I’ve ever seen,” Johnson said. “Reshard was a tough, hard-nosed leader, big hitter in the secondary. Those guys are obviously tough to replace, but that’s the job of the coaches. We think we got some guys who are ready to take over, but first of all, we’ve got some good guys left.” Hamilton led all defensive backs with 104 tackles last year and also had four interceptions, including three at Ole Miss. Hamilton’s role certainly will increase this year with the added responsibility as a captain on the team. Looking to take Langford’s spot at strong safety is sophomore Sean Richardson, who has had a strong camp. Also expected to contribute will be are senior Joel Caldwell. Richardson is best remembered for being the player who scored the only touchdown against Boston College when he recovered a muffed punt in the end zone. With the loss of Moore to the NFL, Lewis automatically steps into the role as Vanderbilt’s shut-down cornerback. A three-year starter, Lewis is regarded as the team’s top pro prospect heading into the season and for good reason. Listed at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, Lewis has the size and quickness to be a difference maker on the field. Last year he tied for the team lead with five sacks and also finished second to Moore with five picks. Battling for the other starting cornerback position are sophomores Jamie Graham, and Casey Hayward. Graham originally was recruited as a cornerback but showed off his versatility last year by starting at wide receiver and running back with the cornerback position already flush with talent. Hayward made eight tackles last year. “Casey Hayward played for us last year as a true freshman and made some big plays in the Music City Bowl when D.J. was hurt and had to come out,” Johnson said. “Jamie Graham, who played wide receiver for us last year, we’re going to move him back to corner. We think he is a quality player and may be used in the same way we used D.J. last year, sometimes stick him over there on offense and throw the football to him, too.”
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Special Teams Vanderbilt will have to replace half of its kicking unit from 2008 with the loss of all-time leading scorer Bryant Hahnfeldt to graduation. Hahnfeldt blossomed in his senior year and kicked the game-winning field goal in the Music City Bowl. Redshirt freshman Ryan Fowler and senior punter Brett Upson will take over the kicking duties. Forming the other half of the kicking unit is Upson, who will be in his fourth year as Vanderbilt’s punter. Last year was a breakout year for Upson, who averaged a career-best 40.1 yards per punt and even earned MVP
honors at the Music City Bowl. The loss of D.J. Moore will also impact Vanderbilt’s return game, particularly on punts where he was considered one of the game’s most electric returners. The loss of Moore will certainly change the return game, but Vanderbilt has many experienced players to fill the position. Alex Washington, Jamie Graham, Gaston Miller and John Cole all have experience in the return game and will be counted on in 2009. n
2009 PRESEASON DEPTH CHART Offense
Defense
WR 83 3 -or- 81
DE 96 Steven Stone (6-5, 267, R-Sr.) John Cole (5-11, 170, R-Fr.) Jacqui Concolino (left) and Courtney Ulery with Vanderbilt 42 Tim Fugger (6-3, 250, R-So.) Akeem Dunham (6-3, 205, R-Fr.) Vice Chancellor David Williams. -or- 91 Theron Kadri (6-4, 250, Jr.) Turner Wimberly (6-1, 192, R-Jr.)
WR 4 82
Alex Washington Justin Green
(5-10, 188, R-Sr.) (6-6, 232, R-Jr.)
DT 56 84 -or- 58
Greg Billinger Rob Lohr Colt Nichter
WR 23 14 3 QB 9 -or- 10
Udom Umoh Tray Herndon Akeem Dunham
(6-0, 172, R-So.) (6-0, 180, R-So.) (6-3, 205, R-Fr.)
DT
Adam Smotherman (6-4, 290, R-Jr.) T.J. Greenstone (6-3, 280, R-So.)
TB
Jared Hawkins Kennard Reeves
31 28
Mackenzi Adams (6-3, 220, R-Sr.) Larry Smith (6-2, 220, R-So.) (5-10, 203, R-Sr.) (6-0, 204, R-Jr.)
59 74
(6-3, 297, Sr.) (6-4, 280, R-Fr.) (6-2, 286, R-Fr.)
DE 90 89 -or- 91
Broderick Stewart (6-5, 230, R-Sr.) Teriall Brannon (6-3, 243, R-Jr.) Theron Kadri (6-4, 250, Jr.)
WLB 30 52
Patrick Benoist Nate Campbell
(6-0, 224, Sr.) (6-2, 220, R-Jr.)
TE 6 -or- 86
Brandon Barden (6-5, 245, R-So.) Austin Monahan (6-7, 255, R-So.)
MLB 13 52
Chris Marve Nate Campbell
(6-0, 228, R-So.) (6-2, 220, R-Jr.)
LT
76 68 62
Thomas Welch Reilly Lauer Ryan Seymour
(6-7, 310, R-Sr.) (6-7, 272, R-Jr.) (6-5, 294, R-Fr.)
SLB 49 -or- 11
John Stokes Brent Trice
(6-5, 235, Jr.) (6-3, 214, Sr.)
LG
73 72
Ryan Custer Kyle Fischer
(6-3, 292, R-Sr.) (6-6, 308, R-So.)
CB
5 22
Myron Lewis Eric Samuels
(6-2, 205, Sr.) (6-0, 184, Fr.)
C
60 71
Bradley Vierling (6-3, 290, R-Sr.) Joey Bailey (6-4, 289, R-Jr.)
38 37 20
Sean Richardson Al Owens Micah Powell
(6-2, 205, So.) (6-2, 215, R-Fr.) (6-0, 200, R-Fr.)
RG
76 63
Eric Hensley Chris Aaron
(6-6, 322, R-Sr.) (6-4, 285, R-Jr.)
SS -or- FS
2 29
Ryan Hamilton Joel Caldwell
(6-2, 210, R-Sr.) (6-1, 195, R-Sr.)
RT
77 72
James Williams Kyle Fischer
(6-6, 315, R-So.) (6-6, 308, R-So.)
CB 25 -or- 19
Jamie Graham Casey Hayward
(6-0, 196, R-So.) (6-0, 182, So.)
Specialists PK 49 -or- 39
Ryan Fowler Brett Upson
(5-10, 165, R-Fr.) (5-11, 188, Sr.)
PR
4 25
Alex Washington Jamie Graham
(5-10, 188, R-Sr.) (6-0, 196 R-So.)
SN-PK 49 69
John Stokes David Giller
(6-5, 235, Jr.) (6-0, 228, R-So.)
P
39 94
Brett Upson Richard Kent
(5-11, 188, Sr.) (6-2, 190, R-Fr.)
H 9 -or- 36
Mackenzi Adams (6-3, 220, R-Sr.) Chris Reinert (5-9, 175, R-Sr.)
SN-P 49 69
John Stokes David Giller
(6-5, 235, Jr.) (6-0, 228, R-So.)
KO
39 48
Brett Upson Ryan Fowler
(5-11, 188, Sr.) (5-10, 165, R-Fr.)
Note: Players identified in bold denote returning starters
KR
25 4
Jamie Graham Alex Washington
(6-0, 196, R-So.) (5-10, 188, R-Sr.)
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Quick Hits
• Pitching coach Derek Johnson was
• Vanderbilt will host two home meets in
promoted to associate head coach on July 20. Johnson has been Vanderbilt’s pitching coach the past eight seasons. • Vanderbilt had six players drafted in the June draft, led by Mike Minor who was selected No. 7 overall by the Atlanta Braves. • Sophomore Sonny Gray was one of 22 players named to the 2009 National Team by USA Baseball on June 24. The team went 19-5 and Gray finished with a 0.75 ERA in 24 innings. • Vanderbilt assistant Erik Bakich was hired as the University of Maryland’s head baseball coach. Bakich spent 7 seasons as Vanderbilt’s recruiting coordinator and as an assistant coach. • Vanderbilt hired Josh Holliday to be an assistant coach, Holliday, the brother of Cardinals’ outfielder, Matt, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting director at Arizona State.
September: the Belmont-VU Opener (Sept. 5) and the Commodore Classic (Sept. 19).
• Five players were selected to the Coach-
es’ Preseason All-SEC Team. Selected to the second team were Patrick Benoist (LB), Myron Lewis (DB) and Brett Upson (P). Chris Marve (LB) and Ryan Hamilton (S) were each named to the coaches’ third team. • S eniors Bradley Vierling and Myron Lewis were selected to represent Vanderbilt at SEC Media Days. • T he Commodores were picked by media members to finish in fifth place in the SEC East. • H ead Coach Bobby Johnson attended the first day of Chicago Bears training camp to visit the five former Commodores on Chicago’s roster.
• Senior Hudson Johnson and junior
Ryan Haselden qualified for the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship. • Senior Chris Rockwell finished as the runner-up at the Greystone Invitational in Birmingham. • Vanderbilt will host the Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 25-27.
BRIAN FLEMING
• Vanderbilt will open its 2009-10 season
Sophomore Sonny Gray made the USA National Team and posted a 0.75 ERA in 24 innings of work.
• Vanderbilt’s 2009-10 schedule includes
non-conference games against nine opponents ranked in the RPI top 200 at the end of last season. • Senior guard George Drake transferred to UAB. Drake graduated from Vanderbilt this past spring with a degree in sociology. • T he Commodores played five games in 10 days in Australia Aug. 7-16.
Men’s Sports Women’s Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2009
Sept. 17-21 at the Southern Collegiates in Athens, Ga.
• Vanderbilt will host two home meets in
September: the Belmont-VU Opener (Sept. 5) and the Commodore Classic (Sept. 19). • Vanderbilt announced the signing of Allie Scalf (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Kristen Findley (Ojai, Calif.) to National Letters of Intent in June.
• S ophomore Marina Alex qualified as
an amateur for the U.S. Open. • Alex was 18-over par through two
rounds and failed to make the cut. • Alex had a strong showing at the U.S.
Women’s Amateur in August, finishing second in stroke play before being eliminated in the first round of match play. • Vanderbilt sophomore women’s golfer Megan Grehan was named as an AllAmerican scholar by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA). • Vanderbilt will host the Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 25-27.
• Head Coach Cathy Swezey announced
the hiring of assistant coach Amber Falcone on July 29. • Sarah Downing was named one of Vanderbilt’s Student-Athletes of the Month of July.
• Vanderbilt’s schedule includes 12 home
games in 2009. • Freshman Chelsea Stewart played for
the Canadian National Team this summer.
• Head Coach Melanie Balcomb an-
nounced the hiring of assistant coach Tom Garrick, a former head coach at Rhode Island. • Balcomb was one of 18 Division I head basketball coaches selected to participate in a Mock Women’s Basketball Tournament Selection in July.
• The Vanderbilt Swimming class of 2013
was announced by coach Jeremy Organ, the class consists of: Catherine Cornelson, Erika Deardorf, Jessica Eccher, Betsy Galenti, Sarah Lynch, Chelsea Morey and Amelia Salce. Incoming freshman Ellen Kilgore also will join the team as a walk-on.
• Bowlers Josie Earnest and Brittni Hamil-
ton finished second and fourth at the US Junior Amateur Championship. • Hamilton helped the U.S. win a gold medal at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships. • Earnest and Michelle Peloquin earned first team Academic All-NTCA honors. Earning honorable mention accolades were Ashley Belden, Brittany Garcia, Karen Grygiel, Amanda Halter, Tara Kane and Kaitlin Reynolds.
• T he Commodores will host the SEC
Coaches Classic Sept. 11-13 at the Currey Tennis Center.
• Anna Carr was named one of Vander-
bilt’s Student-Athletes of the Month of July.
vucommodores.com
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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22
SEPTEMBER 2009
Philly Boys Find Home at Vanderbilt
vucommodores.com
JOHN RUSSELL
B
radley Vierling doesn’t remember the exact mile marker they were at or how many hours they were into the 13-hour drive between Nashville and Philadelphia, but he’ll never forget the conversation he and Ryan Hamilton had in the car two years ago during one of their trips to their hometown of Philadelphia. “When we were driving home two years ago, we had a conversation between each other saying that by the time we are done here, I think we should both be able to have the goal to be captains,” Vierling said. “We were both saying this and we were firing back and forth. It wasn’t just one person who initiated it.” Fast forward to now, and the subject of that conversation has come to fruition. Hamilton, a senior safety, and Vierling, a senior center, are two of the three captains on Vanderbilt’s football team. For the two Philadelphia natives, roommates and friends, their journey to become captains began long before that conversation they had in the car and years before they had even met. It began in the north Philadelphia suburbs where the two lived just seven minutes apart, separated only by district lines. Hamilton was born and raised in Wycombe, Pa., and Vierling moved to Warminster, Pa., from Michigan when he was nine. Although the two lived within 10 minutes of each other and likely had countless games against one another as youths, it wasn’t until they attended rival high schools that they began to recognize one another. Both played varsity basketball and football at schools in the same conference — Hamilton at Council Rock North and Vierling at Central Bucks East. The two had never met, but each knew who the other was. “I already knew of him and recognized his face from playing against him growing up,” Hamilton said. One of Hamilton’s most memorable encounters came on the basketball court. “I remember there were points of one of the games where I was actually covering him. He was a center and at the time when I guarded him, I was playing power forward. I was actually covering him and it is kind of funny to think about that now that I’m a safety and he’s an offensive lineman.” The two recognized each other, but it wasn’t until their junior year during a recruiting visit at Penn State that they officially met. “From then on, every time I played him in basketball or football, the two of us were friendly with each other,” Hamilton said. “We remembered meeting one another. We always looked for each other and said hi.” The courteous way the two spoke with each other didn’t lessen the rivalry the two had during competition. In high school, Vierling and Hamilton had their dominance over one another in different sports. For Vierling it was football where he went 3-0 over Hamilton’s Council Rock North team. In basket-
ball, it was Hamilton’s school that dominated Vierling’s Central Bucks East team. “We were undefeated in football, and they always beat us in basketball,” Vierling said, “but we play football now so …” Through the games, the two never imagined they would end up at school together, let alone at Vanderbilt, a university neither knew much of anything about. “To be honest I really didn’t know much about Vanderbilt,” Hamilton said. “I knew they were in the SEC, and everyone knows what the SEC is all about. But besides that I didn’t really know too much about the school. Their games were never broadcast up where I’m from.” Vierling was the first of the two to commit, and although the two didn’t know each other well enough to talk about the recruitment process, they knew the other was also being recruited by Vanderbilt. “Coach (Charlie) Fisher told me he was also recruiting Ryan,” Vierling said. “I had gotten offered about a month or two after my junior season was finished and he told me they were recruiting a safety at Council Rock North and I knew it was Ryan.” Hamilton also knew through Fisher that Vanderbilt was recruiting Vierling, but actually learned of his commitment by reading the paper. “I remember seeing in the paper where he committed to Vanderbilt, and I thought that was funny because at the time Vanderbilt was one of my top schools, as well,” Hamilton said.
Vanderbilt eventually became Hamilton’s choice, as well and they were naturally paired as roommates after inking with Vanderbilt. However before making the move to Nashville, the two had one more game to play. Both had been invited to play in the Bucks County All Star Game in 2004. It would be the last time the two would be on opposite teams and the only time Hamilton would earn bragging rights in football, as his team, featuring Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton, defeated Vierling’s team. It is something Hamilton likes to remind Vierling of, but it just as easily could have been one of his most forgettable days. “That is when we knew we were roommates in college,” Hamilton said. “Every time we’d hit each other, ‘we’d say what’s up, roomy.’ It was all in good fun.” “At the time, I knew he was going to be my roommate (at Vanderbilt), so I wanted to go hit him a little bit,” Vierling said. Hit him he did. “I was just standing over the pile and (Bradley) came out of nowhere,” Hamilton said. “He got me right on the hand and I thought it was broken. He thought he was big time and he likes to brag about that even though it was a cheap shot. I played the rest of the game, but I went and got x-rays the next day just to be sure it wasn’t broken or he’d be rubbing that in my face forever.” Vierling got flagged on the play and it was far from the only time he had the whistle blown at him during the game. With just five minutes to play, he got ejected for another hit.
C O M M O D O R E N AT I O N
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It was a bonding moment only football players would understand. From that point on it didn’t take long for the two to realize they couldn’t have been paired with better roommates. “We had dinner one time before freshman year, and we could tell we were hitting it off from the get go,” Hamilton said. “It has worked out pretty well for us.” “We are like the same person, only playing different positions,” Vierling said. “We’ve had the conversation before that it made the transition for us so much easier because we literally come from the exact same area, we live eight minutes from each other in Philadelphia, we played the same high schools, we played each other in high school, we have very similar type friends, we can talk about Wawa and cheesesteaks and the Phillies and the Eagles.” Since their freshman year, their friendship has only grown to the point that they have remained roommates all five years in college. “It is always really big to be able to be friends with your roommate, but to be able to become best friends with your roommate and have the same outlook and views on
things and to literally be going through the same thing of moving from Philadelphia to Tennessee, going to Vanderbilt and dealing with the academics and football, is huge,” Vierling said. Adding to their friendship is the passion they share for the Eagles and Phillies, the latter of which made 2008 an extra-special year by winning the World Series. “We were going nuts because we haven’t seen a Philadelphia team win a championship in our lifetimes,” Hamilton said. “It was nice to have each other around for that because there aren’t many Philly natives in Nashville. At least I have someone to enjoy the wins and talk about the losses with.” As similar as they are on the field, they are just as similar on it. “We are both really emotional players,” Vierling said. “He pushes the defense, and I push the offense, so we are always talking trash on the field. The free safety is considered the captain of the defense or the quarterback of the defense and that is what center is of the offensive line. They are kind of mirrored positions of each other, but in
The Month Ahead
What to Watch For
Men’s Sports Cross Country 9/4 9/19
Belmont-VU Opener Commodore Classic
Football 9/5 9/12 9/19 9/26
TBA TBA
6:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. TBA
9/1 9/25-27
at Golfweek Conference Challenge Mason Rudolph Men’s Championship
9/17-21
at Southern Collegiates
All Day All Day
TBA
Cross Country
Soccer 9/4 9/6 9/11 9/13 9/18 9/25 9/27
Golf
9/13-14 9/25-27
Tennis
9/11-13 9/25-27
24
Individual game tickets for Vanderbilt’s four Southeastern Conference home games will be available to the public on Sept. 1. VU faces Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia and Kentucky at home.
Belmont-VU Opener Commodore Classic
Belmont Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech (Auburn, Ala.) vs. Missouri (Auburn, Ala.) Tennessee-Martin at South Carolina at Florida
TBA TBA
1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Noon 7:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Noon
at Cougar Fall Classic Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship
All Day All Day
SEC Coaches Classic Furman Fall Classic
All Day All Day
SEPTEMBER 2009
Vanderbilt’s second Hall of Fame Class will officially be enshrined during Hall of Fame Weekend. Vanderbilt’s football team will open its 2009 season the same weekend against Western Carolina. September 11-13 • SEC Coaches Classic
Women’s Sports 9/4 9/19
September 1 • SEC Tickets For Sale
September 4-6 • HOF Weekend
Golf
Tennis
Western Carolina (CSS) at LSU (ESPNU) Mississippi State (FSN) at Rice
completely different roles.” Making the transition from playing every day to redshirting and then battling for playing time was not easy on either player, but being able to do it together made the adjustment easier for both. “We went through everything together and worked hard and were always pushing each other,” Hamilton said. “It is really cool and I’m glad to have him with me because it wouldn’t be the same without him. “It sounds kind of corny, but we’ve always been there for each other and work hard together, which is what we wanted. We wanted to be leaders on this team.” Now as seniors they are more than just leaders, they are captains. Vierling sits up in his chair as if something was just replayed in his head. He remembers the conversation he and Hamilton had in the car two years ago. “It is just funny that that is what ended up happening,” Vierling said. “We still haven’t sat down talked about how cool it is. When it happened though, we just looked at each other and knew.” n
Fans interested in tennis will want to mark the SEC Coaches Classic on their calendars. All 12 SEC women’s tennis teams will make the trip to Nashville for tournament, which will be held at the Currey Tennis Center. September 13 • NFL Opening Sunday Many former Commodores will be on the field when NFL teams open the 2009 regular season on Sept. 13. September 25-27 • Mason Rudolph Vanderbilt’s men’s and women’s golf teams will host the annual Mason Rudolph Championship Sept. 25-27 at the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn.