Tag: Derek Mason

Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said Sarah Fuller’s kickoff went ‘exactly where she needed to punch it’

Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power 5 college football game Saturday.

Sarah Fuller did exactly what she was supposed to do Saturday during Vanderbilt’s road game against Missouri, Commodores coach Derek Mason said after his team’s 41-0 loss.

Vanderbilt’s soccer player turned football kicker took the field to start the third quarter for the opening second-half kickoff, making her the first woman to play in an SEC and Power 5 college football game. And her squib kick was designed specifically for her and went as planned — despite some misguided criticism from people on the internet who apparently have never seen this play before.

The kick went 30 yards to Missouri’s 35-yard line, where the Tigers were unable to return it.

In Mason’s postgame Zoom press conference, he explained the play call and why it worked for Fuller, whose only been practicing with the football team for a few days after her soccer season ended last Sunday:

“That was designed, you know, meant for her because that’s what she used to striking. You know, really, we tried to go with the most natural kicks in her arsenal.

“Tried not to, you know, over-coach her, but let her do and understand what felt comfortable to her. And that’s really what we went with. Man, I thought she punched it exactly where she needed to punch it. Ball’s down, 35-yard line. Let’s go.”

After the game, Mason said the team looked at some other people who could possibly kick for it, but Fuller was “our best option” with her natural ability. Mason also noted that her playing “was out of necessity,” not Vanderbilt’s way of trying to make a statement or PR stunt.

And if she’s willing to stick around with the team a little longer, Mason said “we’d love to have her” keep playing this season. More from his postgame Zoom press conference:

“She’s been a trooper. I mean, she came right in, she was all about the challenge. Man, I have the utmost respect for her, for [soccer coach] Darren Ambrose for allowing this to happen, and for her to be a part of it.

“Look, man, she could have very easily said no in this. And instead, you know, man, she prepared all week. And she did what she was supposed to do. She was as prepared as anybody.”

Because Vanderbilt’s offense struggled to do much of anything, Fuller didn’t have the opportunity to attempt a field goal.

But in her own Zoom press conference, she said she’d love to keep practicing and playing for the football team and hopes to have a chance to kick a field goal at some point. She said her longest field goal in practice so far was 38 yards.

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Sarah Fuller expected to make history, kick for Vanderbilt against Missouri

Goalkeeper Sarah Fuller will kick for Vanderbilt against Missouri in an SEC football game

Vanderbilt will make Power 5 Conference college football history on Saturday against Missouri as it is expected to have Sarah Fuller kick for the Commodores.

Fuller, a goalkeeper on the SEC-winning team. would become the first female to kick in a Power 5 game.

Off the field Fuller strives to make the world a different place and her resume includes a summer internship with Thistle Farms and End Slavery Nashville. When she straps on her helmet Saturday the back of it will read “Play Like A Girl” to encourage young women to get involved in athletics and to become aware of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics camp scheduled for March in Nashville.

Some background from her biography on the Vandy soccer site:

As a Senior (2020):

  • Started nine of Vanderbilt’s 12 games during the fall 2020 season, posting three clean sheets on the way to a 7-2-0 record in net
  • With an 0.97 goals against average, the number stands as the eighth-best mark in a season in Vanderbilt soccer history
  • Starting all four games during Vanderbilt’s 2020 SEC Tournament championship run, posted a shutout in the second round against Mississippi State (11/15/20) and had an assist in the quarterfinals against No. 13 Tennessee (11/17/20)
  • Made her first career start in goal at home against South Carolina (10/11/20) and tallied six saves
  • Earned her first collegiate win in the 2-1 double-overtime victory at Florida (10/18/20)
  • Kept a clean sheet in Vanderbilt’s 1-0 victory over No. 15 Georgia (10/25/20)
  • Earned a second consecutive clean sheet in the 2-0 victory at LSU (10/30/20)
  • Had a shutout streak of 314:34 during the regular season stretching from Oct. 18 at Florida to Nov. 7 against Ole Miss

Fuller is an exceptional student, too. Her major is Medicine, Health and Society

HONORS
2019 SEC Academic Honor Roll
2018 SEC Academic Honor Roll
2017 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

Coach Derek Mason was clued into the women’s soccer team when it won the SEC title.

 

Jeremy Pruitt previews Vanderbilt

Tennessee plays at Vanderbilt Saturday.

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Tennessee (2-5, 2-5 SEC) will play at Vanderbilt (0-7, 0-7 SEC) Saturday in Week 10 of a 10-game, SEC-only schedule.

The Vols look to end a five-game losing streak after starting the 2020 campaign with wins over South Carolina and Missouri.

Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason will enter his seventh game playing Tennessee, as he holds a 3-3 record against the Vols.

Ahead of Saturday’s contest, third-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt previewed Vanderbilt. Pruitt mentioned that he and his football team “spent a lot of time on them yesterday.”

“I think offensively, they’re spreading the ball around, they’re playing fast,” Pruitt said of Vanderbilt. “I think they’ve got really good running backs. They’re playing with a young quarterback that has gained some confidence as the season has went. They have good playmakers on the outside.

“They played really good against Florida and had a chance to beat Mississippi State there a couple of weeks ago. Derek’s (Mason) teams always play hard. He does a really nice job getting the guys to believe in what they’re doing and playing hard. They always have.”

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Gators News: August 26, 2020

Welcome to a humpday edition of Gators News in which we find ourselves exactly one month away from the opener of the SEC 2020 football 2020.

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Welcome to a humpday edition of Gators News in which we find ourselves exactly one month away from the opening game of the Southeastern Conference’s 2020 fall football schedule amidst the novel coronavirus epidemic.

At the top of the news, USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken talks about how college presidents hold fate of football season in their hands. Says professor emeritus of epidemiology and biostatistics at South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health Harris Pastides, “It’s always lonely at the top.”

Here in the SEC, Vanderbilt football resumes practices after a five-day pause due to positive COVID-19 tests. On Wednesday morning, coach Derek Mason tweeted, “Workout Wednesday has begun … 5:45 a.m. weights – Done! Class work to grass work … we’re back.”

In other coronavirus news, The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson discusses how Oklahoma football a walked tight rope that all of college football might soon face due to COVID-19. To understand the high-wire act that is college football, listen to what Lincoln Riley had to deal with last week.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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College Football News ranks SEC head coaches: Where’s Kirby Smart?

College Football News ranked the top SEC head coaches. Where is Georgia football’s Kirby Smart?

Pete Fiutak of College Football News recently released a list ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season.

Checking in at No. 3 on the list is Georgia’s Kirby Smart, who trails only Nick Saban (1) and Ed Orgeron (2).

At No. 4 is Dan Mullen and at No. 5 is Gus Malzahn.

As much as I’d love for Smart to be in that No. 2 spot, I do not disagree with Fiutak here.

Smart’s time will come, and within the next five years he may very well occupy that No. 1 spot.

For now, he’s sitting at No. 3 on Fiutak’s list, likely right on the verge of taking over that No. 2 ranking. As long as he keeps winning the SEC East, beating rivals and putting his team in striking distance for the College Football Playoff…he’ll be considered a top-five coach in America.

Orgeron or Smart at No. 2 was likely a somewhat difficult decision. Fiutak went with Coach O since he accomplished something Kirby hasn’t yet, a national championship.

I’ve heard it all – “Anyone could win with that roster.”

Sure, Smart probably would have won it with that roster LSU had last year. But, at the end of the day, he didn’t have that roster. No other way around it.

Also, how can you not love Coach O?

As for Saban, there’s no arguing that one.

Ranking SEC head coaches heading into 2020 CFB season

We ranked all the SEC head coaches, from Georgia football’s Kirby Smart, to Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, to Florida’s Dan Mullen.

The SEC is loaded with head coaching talent as we head into the 2020 college football season.

You have your usuals – Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Gus Malzahn, Ed Orgeron, etc.

But then you have your familiar, or in some cases not-so-familiar, yet new faces: Lane Kiffin, Mike Leach, Sam Pittman, Eli Drinkwitz.

Ranking the SEC head coaches heading into the 2020 season is as hard as it’s ever been, and that’s because of all these new hirings. But it’s also because Jeremy Pruitt waited until October to start winning games in Tennessee last year. It’s because Ed Orgeron took a loaded roster and won a national title. Because Gus Malzahn and Auburn always have the talent but can’t seem to win the big ones. Or because, despite a 4-8 season, Will Muschamp was able to knock off Kirby Smart and Georgia.

Related: 2020 Georgia schedule with game-by-game score predictions

With all of this taken into consideration, here’s our SEC head coaching power rankings for the 2020 college football season:

14. Sam Pittman, Arkansas

I would have loved to get Pittman into a higher spot on this list, but what is there to go off of? His last head coaching job came in 1992 and 1993 when he led Hutchinson Community College to an 11–9–1 record over two seasons.

I am 100% rooting for Pittman to succeed in his first season as head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. It won’t be easy, and this is a team that will likely finish with at least five losses for the first few years, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing as long as they play hard.

Arkansas may not field the most talented teams in the SEC, but if there’s one thing I’m certain of it’s that the former UGA O-Line coach will make sure his guys fight harder than anybody.

13. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri

Drinkwitz gets the No. 13 spot because of what he was able to do at App State last year. In his first season as a head coach, he led the Mountaineers to a 12-1 record and a Sun Belt championship.

But that’s not the SEC. It’s going to be a rocky road ahead for Drinkwitz, as Mizzou will definitely not be one of the more talented teams in the league for a few years.

12. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

I often find myself rooting for Vanderbilt and Mason.

He took over at Vandy when James Franklin left for Penn State, and though it’s been tough at times, you get the feeling that Commodore fans actually look forward to their seasons.

11. Will Muschamp, South Carolina

If Muschamp had not beaten Georgia last year, he maybe would not even be on this list at all.

But he won and that probably saved his job. He coaches up a good defense, but South Carolina will need to crank up its recruiting efforts if it wants to start contending in the SEC East. Another season with no bowl game may put an end to Muschamp’s head coaching career with the Gamecocks.

10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss

Kiffin is a good football coach, there’s no denying that. No. 10 is pretty low for an offensive genius like him. But this conference is simply loaded.

Kiffin did a great job at Florida Atlantic, but I still need to see him win consistently at a Power 5 school.

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Ohio State DE Alex Williams transfers to Vanderbilt

After entering the transfer portal earlier this month, Ohio State defensive end Alex Williams has decided to transfer to Vanderbilt.

Ohio State defensive end Alex Williams has found his transfer destination and it’s in the SEC. News circulated on January 15 that the 6-7, 250 lb. freshman planned to enter the transfer portal. Though there’s not a whole lot of details available for a reason of moving on from the program, it’s likely Williams got buried on the depth chart of a talented and deep defensive line.

Add that to the fact that there needs to be some attrition for OSU to get down the scholarship limit of 85, and what you see is what you get. Williams, from the local Pickerington North High School, had a total of eight tackles during his redshirt freshman year last season.

Now, it appears Williams has found his destination and is ready to play for coach Derek Mason down at Vanderbilt. He announced the move on his Instagram account Thursday.

Williams was very complimentary of his short time at Ohio State, and there’s no doubt Buckeye nation will be rooting for him as he continues his dream down in the SEC.

 

Vanderbilt Keeping Mason Good News for Notre Dame

What it means for Notre Dame is that defensive coordinator Clark Lea won’t be leaving to take that head coaching vacancy that many feared he would.

Derek Mason is returning to Vanderbilt for a seventh year, Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports reported today which means good things for the Notre Dame football program.

You may be asking or saying to yourself “How the heck does it matter, they play Vandy once every 20 years or so, if that, so it’s not like an easy win is coming anytime soon for the Irish…”

Not that the last two times the two met were any walks-in-the-park for Old Notre Dame.

What it means for Notre Dame is that defensive coordinator Clark Lea won’t be leaving to take that head coaching vacancy that many feared he would.

Lea walked onto the football team at Vanderbilt after spending time early in college playing baseball at a couple of smaller schools. He wound up at Notre Dame as linebackers coach in 2017 before taking over the defensive coordinator position a year later.

With the success Lea’s defenses have had at Notre Dame the link to him taking a next step and becoming a head coach, specifically at his alma mater is obvious.

Right now the Notre Dame defense ranks in the top-20 nationally in fewest points per game, fewest yards per play, third down conversion percentage, passing yards per game, completion percentage and yards per pass-attempt.

As frustrating as the run defense was at times this year, you can’t argue the unit overall has produced yet again.

This isn’t an athletic director giving out a “yeah, we love him, he’s our coach” type of line, it’s an actual report that Mason will be back at Vanderbilt, who currently sits 2-8.

Which means Lea should in all-likelihood be back at Notre Dame in 2020, a great thing for the program.