Tag: Vanderbilt Football

UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton: S1, Ep. 11 – D’Wan Mathis, Vanderbilt preview and special guest Chris Milton

In this episode I talk with Chris Milton, the father of star UGA running back Kendall Milton, about Kendall’s experience at UGA and more!

Your friends at “UGA Football Live” and UGA Wire present your one-stop shop for all things Georgia football!

We are releasing episodes and interviews each week during the 2020 college football season, with a little bit of everything sprinkled in between.

In this week’s episode I talk about Georgia’s 45-16 win over South Carolina, preview the senior-day matchup with Vanderbilt on Saturday and break down what UGA quarterback D’Wan Mathis’ transfer means for the program moving forward.

Also, I’m joined by US Air Force veteran Chris Milton, father of Georgia freshman phenom running back Kendall Milton. We talk about Kendall’s progression through a knee injury suffered vs. Florida, as well as his experience as a recruit transitioning from high school during the pandemic and more!

Listen here on Spotify:

Or here on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uga-football-live-with-j-c-shelton/id1533295384#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-6662726

 

Also I talk:

Vanderbilt Preview

  • I break down the Dawgs’ matchup with Vanderbilt this Saturday, including key stats and players to watch.

CFB Roundup

  • I recap my favorite games of the college football weekend and where we head into championship season.

Dawgs in the NFL 

  • My top performing former Bulldogs from NFL week-12 action.

Spread vs. J.C. 

  • I update my picks vs. the spread from last week and pick five new games in an attempt to look like I know what I’m doing – I’m on a hot streak!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review! And check out our other episodes featuring former Georgia greats like Tavarres King (Ep. 3)  Keith Marshall (Ep. 4) Arthur Lynch (Ep. 6) Malcolm Mitchell (Ep. 7) Aaron Murray (Ep. 8) and Drew Butler (Ep. 9).

Vanderbilt fires HC Derek Mason ahead of game against Georgia football

Georgia football’s next opponent, Vanderbilt, has fired head coach Derek Mason.

In the midst of a winless 2020 season and on the heels of a 41-0 loss against Missouri, the Vanderbilt Commodores announced they have fired head coach Derek Mason.

Sitting at 0-8 on the year, Vandy is the conference’s only team without a win. The Commodores are set to face the Georgia Bulldogs this coming Saturday in Athens.

Offensive coordinator Todd Fitch has been named the interim coach.

AD Candice Storey Lee issued the following statement following the news:

“On behalf of the entire Vanderbilt community, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Coach Mason for his many years of dedication and service leading our football program,” Lee said. “Derek cares deeply about the student-athletes under his charge. His tenure at Vanderbilt will be remembered for his steadfast commitment to our student-athletes, not only on the field, but in the classroom and as young people.”

Mason had seven years in Nashville, all of which concluded with losing records. His final record at Vandy is 27-55.

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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WATCH: Sarah Fuller makes college football history for Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller is now the first woman to ever play college football in a Power 5 conference game

Fresh off an SEC title on the soccer pitch, Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller decided to make some college football history for her second act.

In Saturday’s game against Missouri, Fuller made history as the first woman to ever play college football in a Power 5 conference, officially getting into the record books with a kickoff to open up the second half.

The goalkeeper for Vandy’s women’s soccer team, Fuller hasn’t had the chance to attempt a field goal or an extra point just yet, but she’s still in the record books all the same. Her participation in Saturday’s game will no doubt serve as just the latest inspiration for women in football.

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Watch Sarah Fuller kick off for Vanderbilt and make college football history

Vanderbilt soccer player Sarah Fuller made college football history.

At the start of the third quarter of the Vanderbilt-Missouri game Saturday, Sarah Fuller made college football history. By taking the field for the opening second-half kickoff for the Commodores, Fuller became the first woman to play in an SEC and Power 5 game.

Winless Vanderbilt has struggled with kicking this season. Some of the team’s specialists were not available to play because of COVID-19 protocols, so it turned to Fuller, a 6-foot-2 Wylie, Texas native and senior goalkeeper on Vanderbilt’s soccer team, which finished its season last Sunday with its first SEC Tournament title since 1994. And not long after that, Fuller was with the football team practicing kicking through the uprights this week.

Related: 5 things to know about Sarah Fuller

And, as The Tennessean‘s Adam Sparks reported Saturday, Fuller was the only kicker to travel with Vanderbilt for the Missouri game, joining specialists punter/holder Harrison Smith and long snapper Wesley Schelling.

So when it was time for the second-half kickoff, Fuller stepped on the field for a 30-yard kick to Missouri’s 35-yard line.

Prior to Vanderbilt’s road game against Missouri, Commodores head coach Derek Mason said Fuller was an option this weekend because “she’s got a strong leg.” Mason also told ESPN 102.5 The Game this week:

“For us, talking to Sarah, she’s a champ, and no pun intended. Just coming off an SEC championship in soccer and then coming out and just looking at what we do and how we do it, and she’s a complete competitor. She’s an option for us, so right now, that’s where we sit.”

Vanderbilt struggled in the first half to get into Missouri territory — forget about field goal range — so Fuller didn’t have a chance to play. But after halftime with the Tigers leading the Commodores, 21-0, Mason turned to the goalkeeper turned football kicker.

Although Fuller is the first woman to play in a Power 5 game, she’s not the first to play in college football. Women are still given few opportunities to play, but several women helped pave the way for this moment, including Liz Heaston, the first woman to score in a college football game (Willamette, 1997), and Katie Hnida, the first woman to score at the FBS level (New Mexico, 2003).

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Saints specialists pulling for Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller

New Orleans Saints Wil Lutz and Thomas Morstead are rooting for Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller, the first woman to play at the FBS level.

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Several New Orleans Saints will be watching this week’s college football games unfold closely, but for once they aren’t watching their Alma maters. Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller is set to make history as the first woman to take the field in a Power 5 football game after successfully trying out for the team this week once several Commodores specialists were placed in quarantine due to COVID-19.

Fuller, a goalkeeper for Vanderbilt’s SEC championship-winning women’s soccer team, could join Katie Hnida (New Mexico) and April Goss (Kent State) as the only women to play at the FBS level. It would be a groundbreaking accomplishment, and it’s put Saints specialists Wil Lutz and Thomas Morstead on notice. The two NFL Pro Bowlers wrote well-wishes to Fuller before she and the Commodores kick off at noon ET Saturday on SEC Network:

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5 things to know about Sarah Fuller, who could play football for Vanderbilt on Saturday

Soccer player Sarah Fuller gives Vanderbilt football another option as a kicker.

Vanderbilt football needs a hand with kicking, and it turned to the Commodores women’s soccer team for help. Specifically, the help of senior goalkeeper Sarah Fuller, who plans to dress for Vanderbilt’s road game against Missouri on Saturday.

Only a few days ago, the Wylie, Texas native finished her 2020 soccer season before she received a call from her team’s associate head coach, Ken Masuhr, asking about her experience kicking a football and if she could stick around to offer an assist to the football team, VUCommodores.com reported.

Fuller’s soccer season ended last Sunday, and the next thing she knew, she was with the football team and practicing her kicking at the uprights.

“I made the first one and I kept making them,” she told VUCommodores.com. “It sounds really good to me. It’s different than a soccer ball, but it felt good.”

At the bottom of the SEC East standings, Vanderbilt is still searching for its first win of the season and enters the Missouri game with a 0-7 record and only two games left on its schedule currently. And it needs some kicking help with many of the Commodores specialists quarantining because of COVID-19 protocols.

So far this season, Vanderbilt has played two kickers. Juniors Wes Farley and Pierson Cooke are perfect this season with extra points. But Cooke is the only one to attempt a field goal, and he’s just 3-for-7 so far.

Maybe it’s Fuller’s turn to try, and football coach Derek Mason said this week that “she’s an option for us.”

Here are a few things to know about the soccer-turned-football player before she suits up and possibly plays Saturday against Missouri.

Ole Miss capitalizes on Vanderbilt’s woeful 4-yard punt

This has to be one of the worst punts of the college football season so far.

It was a quick three-and-out drive for Vanderbilt late in the first quarter against Ole Miss on Saturday, but it ended an awfully memorable way.

As a 17-point favorite going into this game, Ole Miss was up, 14-0, when quarterback Matt Corral connected with tight end Kenny Yeboah for a 9-yard touchdown. On Vanderbilt’s next drive, after a short pass and two even shorter runs, the Commodores were at 4th-and-3 from their own 32-yard line.

So sophomore punter Jared Wheatley was up. And unfortunately for him, this is likely a play he’ll want to forget. Wheatley’s punt appeared to have a trajectory resembling a triangle, and it went for all of four yards — though the camera’s angle makes it look a bit farther.

That has to be one of the worst punts of the season so far, and it was certainly less than ideal for the Commodores, who are trying to win their first game of the season. And Ole Miss made them pay for that one.

Starting on Vanderbilt’s 36-yard line, Corral found wide receiver Elijah Moore, who scored a 36-yard touchdown off the first play of the next drive, giving Ole Miss a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

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SEC updates cardiac evaluation testing requirements

The SEC is taking stricter measures with heart problems among student-athletes.

The SEC has updated their management strategy in response to COVID-19. On Friday, the conference confirmed they will now require a third weekly cardiac evaluation test prior to athlete competition.

The news comes just one day following Georgia State quarterback Mikele Colasurdo’s announcement that he will be opting out of the 2020 season due to a heart condition he developed after contracting the virus.

On August 8, University of Houston defensive lineman Sedrick Williams announced he too would sit out after facing heart complications as a result of COVID-19. He wrote in a Facebook post,

“As a result of the virus, I’ve had complications with my heart and I really don’t know the outcome or what’s in store for me in the future, I just know that my life is more precious to me than football could ever be.”

SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent details that the cardiac evaluation requires “a troponin level, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram and a medical evaluation by a physician.”

Given today’s update, the SEC now mandates at least three PCR tests per week during weeks of competition. This decision was made per the guidance of the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force. The conference’s goal is to ensure the safety of all athletes.

Commissioner Sankey released this statement as part of the announcement:

“We remain vigilant in monitoring the trends and effects of COVID-19 as we learn more about the virus, and this cardiac evaluation enhances the effectiveness of the protocols already in place. We are confident in our institutions’ ability to provide a healthy environment supported by rigorous testing and surveillance.  Our student-athletes have indicated their desire to compete and it is our responsibility to make every effort to deliver a healthy and medically sound environment for providing that opportunity.”

As players continue announcing their decisions regarding the 2020 season, all 14 members of the SEC remain committed to protecting any student-athlete’s scholarship should they choose to opt out.

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.