Tag: Vanderbilt Football

2020 NFL draft: Ke’Shawn Vaughn scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Vanderbilt running back prospect Ke’Shawn Vaughn

Ke’Shawn Vaughn | RB | Vanderbilt

Elevator Pitch

Vaughn can be menacing with his physical style of running and he is tough to bring down. He won’t outrun you but he is likely to out punish you if given the opportunity to square his shoulders. A back up running back at the NFL level most likely.

Vitals

Height | 5-10

Weight | 214

Class | RS Senior

College Stats

College Bio

Combine Profile

Strengths

Vaughn is built like a punishing back and that is how he likes to play his game. When he takes contact, Vaughn has a knack for getting positive yards after the initial hit. He doesn’t give up on runs. He is able to maintain balance through contact. His ability to keep balance through contact is one of his best traits that will make scouts smile when watching him play.

Getting Vaughn going in the redzone and in plus territory is a way that he wins. He has the attitude and demeanor to win with determination to go along with his ability to run through contact. Near the pylon, Vaughn uses that to find the endzone more often than not. He isn’t a back to dance around, Vaughn sticks his foot in the ground and gets north and south.

Weaknesses

With his play style, Vaughn is likely going to be taken off the field in passing situations. He is just not dynamic as a pass catcher. It doesn’t help that he is limited athletically due to tight hips. He is wound tight and doesn’t have much fluidity that the elite backs in this class have.

Vaughn won’t be a back who will get to the second and third levels of a defense based on his straight line speed. He just doesn’t possess that second and third gear that he can get to. Teams won’t have problems catching him in pursuit, bringing him down after catching him is another question.

He will likely be a liability on passing downs due to his inability to be a sufficient blocker for the quarterback. This is a learned trait that he can work with. Teams will need to focus on his development in order to make him more than just a two down back at the NFL level.

Projection: Day 3

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College Football News projects Georgia’s win total for 2020 season

College Football News made win total projections for all CFB teams, including Georgia football and the SEC. With a tough 2020 schedule….

Pete Fiutak at College Football News recently released his projected win totals for all 130 FBS programs. 

For Georgia, fans are looking at this season, just like every year, as national title or bust.

But recently the pressure’s been on more than usual, with the Dawgs coming so close to making a return visit to the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons.

This season should be no different. The schedule is tough, but Kirby Smart has recruited well enough to position the Bulldogs for another SEC Championship and Playoff run.

In his win total projections, Fiutak has Georgia projected to win 10 games, meaning the Bulldogs would finish the regular season at 10-2.

Read full story on CFN: College Football Future Win Total Projections For All 130 Teams: Spring Version

If Georgia does go 10-2 in the regular season, that would be its worst record since Smart’s first year in Athens when he went 7-5.

Fiutak highlights Florida, Auburn and Alabama as Georgia’s key games in 2020. That’s a tough slate, and it looks like he projects Georgia to come out of that 1-2.

If Georgia finishes with 10 wins, but beats Florida, it’ll likely make the SEC Championship — which would then become a must-win game for UGA if it wants to make the Playoff.

Last preseason, Fiutak projected Georgia’s win total at 10.5, and the Bulldogs proceeded to win 11 games.

Related: 2020 Georgia football schedule: Game-by-game predictions

As for Florida, Fiutak also predicts the Gators to win 10 games. That would make that Halloween Cocktail Party a massive meeting between the two rivals.

Notable SEC projections from Fiutak:

Alabama’s win total projection is at 11, LSU 10 and Auburn 8.

Outside of the SEC, he has Clemson and Ohio State at 11, Oklahoma 10.5 and Oregon at 10.

Former Georgia football coach joins Vanderbilt staff

Vanderbilt hired a former Georgia football coach to its staff on Tuesday.

Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason has completed his coaching staff in Nashville with the addition of Tony Ball.

Ball will take over as the Commodores new wide receivers coach after the departure of Aaron Moorehead to the Philadelphia Eagles.

You probably remember Ball from his nine years in Athens as Mark Richt’s running backs (2006-08) and receivers (2009-15) coach, where he produced some elite NFL talent, including A.J. Green.

“Tony Ball is a quality man who brings a wealth of experience and coaching success to our staff. We’ve attracted one of the nation’s top receivers coaches in Tony,” Mason said in a released statement. “Tony has been part of several successful programs, including Georgia, LSU and Virginia Tech. With Tony, we are getting a coach with a long track record of bringing the best out in his student-athletes.”

Ball left Georgia in 2015 for the position of running backs coach at LSU. After LSU, Ball worked as running backs coach at Louisiana Tech and then most recently as passing game coordinator and receivers coach at UTSA.

Before coming to Athens, he was wide receivers coach at Virginia Tech for eight seasons.

Georgia plays Vanderbilt on October 3rd in Athens.

2020 Georgia football schedule: Game-by-game predictions

A look at the 2020 Georgia football schedule with predictions for each game.

Coming off a 2019 that saw Georgia come so close to reaching the College Football Playoff, the Bulldogs open up the 2020 season with a Monday night game vs Virginia in Atlanta.

If Georgia – which should be favored in every game minus an October visit to Alabama – takes care of business, then UGA should close out the season in the same stadium it started in.

The Dawgs return a lot of talent in 2020, mostly on a defense that ranked No. 1 in America last season.

To read up more on Georgia’s returning production next season compared to the rest of the country, you can take a deeper dive at this link. 

To take a look at Georgia’s projected offensive depth chart for next season, click here.

On offense, Georgia lost a ton of production, including its starting quarterback, its top two running backs, 4 starting offensive linemen and a star wide receiver.

By looking at who Georgia lost from last season’s offense it’s hard to picture the Dawgs making another big run, but it’s important to remember that Kirby Smart has secured three consecutive top ranked recruiting classes. In addition to the loads of talent waiting on the depth chart, Georgia was also able to land Heisman hopeful quarterback Jamie Newman from Wake Forest.

If Georgia is going to have another memorable season, it will need these new offensive faces to be capable of moving the ball more than James Coley’s offense was able to in 2019.

The addition of Todd Monken, who I’d say is Georgia’s biggest get this offseason, should make that possible.

With a ferocious defense and revamped offense, here’s how I see this season playing out for Georgia.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

NSD around the SEC: How’d each team do?

How did each SEC team do during the 2020 recruiting cycle? Georgia football holds the lead.

Georgia football closed out National Signing Day with the No. 1 ranked class in the nation, making that the second time in three year that the Bulldogs finished with the top class.

As it always does, the SEC dominated recruiting, with the conference occupying seven of the top ten spots in the team rankings.

Georgia had some tough competition for the No. 1 spot but was able to fend off powerhouses Alabama and Clemson to remain America’s top dawg.

The numbers do not lie, though. Georgia has spent more money on the recruiting trail than any other team in the country. And apparently it’s working well for them.

From Bleacher Report:

Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald (h/t USA Today) cited Georgia’s annual NCAA financial report that covered the fiscal year of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and noted the Bulldogs spent $3.7 million on football recruiting expenses.

That represents a jump of more than $1 million from the previous fiscal year when they led the country in the same category.

Here’s a look at how each SEC school did in the 2020 recruiting cycle:

In order of SEC ranking

1. Georgia (No. 1 in country)

2. Alabama (No. 2 in country)

3. LSU (No. 4 in country)

4. Texas A&M (No. 6 in country)

5. Auburn (No. 7 in country)

6. Florida (No. 8 in country)

7. Tennessee (No. 10 in country)

8. South Carolina (No. 18 in country)

9. Kentucky (No. 24 in country)

10. Mississippi State (No. 27 in country)

11. Arkansas (No. 33 in country)

12. Ole Miss (No. 38 in country)

13. Missouri (No. 48 in country)

14. Vanderbilt (No. 56 in country)

So, the next closest SEC East school to Georgia is Florida, which sits at No. 8 in America. Then there’s Tennessee, which is No. 10. Is the talent gap really closing as much as Gator fans say it is?

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.