A benefit reading for Vanderbilt football's first spring scrimmage will be held Saturday. And there's another version too.
The offense scored a touchdown on the first drive, but the defense dominated most of the remaining scrimmages. What disappointed the coaching staff the most was that the offense committed several turnovers, with offensive coordinator Tim Beck pointing to Utah transfer Nate Johnson having two turnovers.
The scrimmage, held at Lipscomb Academy, was the first of three consecutive games the Commodores are hosting in place of their traditional spring game. The scrimmage was closed to the public, but media and players' families were invited to watch. However, media members were prohibited from sharing specific details about the scrimmage, including formations, plays, and statistics.
A more charitable interpretation of the scrimmage was that the pass rush, a major weakness the past two seasons, appeared to be disruptive. Some of the turnovers and sacks were by defenders, making quarterbacks (Johnson, Drew Dickey and Blaise Berlowitz) uncomfortable.
Corde Sydner, a transfer from Purdue, continued to shine throughout the spring, and true freshman Mason Carter was another player who showed well.
“I thought (the pass rush) was great. We went after them,” Sydnor said. “Coach (Clark) Lee always makes great calls and we work in ways that we can blitz and impact the quarterback.”
Sydnor and Carter are two of a relatively young group of pass rushers with higher ceilings than Lee's first three teams. Other members of this group include Darren Agg, Miles Capers, Linus Zink, BJ Diakite, and Aeneas DiCosmo.
“It’s a little inconsistent for me, but I like the way the offense ends,” Lee said. “I thought (Quincy) Skinner made some really tough catches today and showed his strength. … As a D coordinator, you watch from the sideline and maybe you don't see the big picture a little bit more. “But it looks like some good stuff.” “It was a tough catch, but we had to keep going. Nate was really good at getting the ball out in time on the first drive and had a lot of confidence. I think he did that. And obviously he's going to be able to develop his play with his legs as well. So there's some things to build on. ”
When evaluating quarterbacks, Beck looked at both the good and the bad. He said he felt Johnson didn't take good care of the ball and that Berlowitz, who could have made a run play near the goal line, failed to score.
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Part of it is communication. Beck felt his team wasn't getting in and out of the huddle fast enough. This is one area Vanderbilt hopes to address with its two remaining spring scrimmages.
“My biggest regret is that we didn't take care of the ball as much as we should have,” Beck said. “So we turned the ball over, which we absolutely can't. We couldn't turn the ball over, we had too many misalignments and we missed some assignments, but we saw some bright spots as well. I saw some things that we can build on and definitely feel like our offensive line has gotten better.”
Alia Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on her Twitter. @Alia Garson.
