Vanderbilt Commodores College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The offense was awful, but the defense was almost worse. The Commodores didn’t do nearly enough to get into the backfield, was louse against the run, and was among the worst in the nation against anyone who wanted to throw.
New head coach Clark Lea is a defensive coach – he comes in after serving as the Notre Dame defensive coordinator – and new DC Jesse Minter takes over after serving the last four years helping the Baltimore Raven defensive backs. They’re going to get creative, but …
– They’ve got to do something to slow down passing games. The previous regime made things interesting by getting very small to get five or six defensive backs on the field, but it didn’t help.
Seven defensive backs are currently in the portal transferring out, but most of the main parts who played last year are back.
There were just two picks from the D, but veteran CB Allan George is a good hitter – he was third on the team with 45 tackles – and safeties Dashaun Jerkins and Brendon Harris make a whole lot of stops. Again, they all have to be better when the ball is in the air.
– The defensive front doesn’t have a whole lot of bulk, but Raashaan Wilkins is a 307-pound veteran on the inside and 6-5, 267-pound Nate Clifton is a big end – he needs to get into the backfield, though. Top pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo is gone, putting the pressure on the outside linebackers to start doing more.
Second-leading sacker Andre Mintz is done – almost all of the sacks from last year are gone – but 224-pound junior Anfernee Orji led the way with 66 stops on the inside.
The outside linebacker situation is more interesting with 5-11, 185-pound cornerback Jaylen Mahoney finishing second on the team in tackles working partly as an LB.