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As Vanderbilt players sat in the locker room at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. following yet another loss to end the 2023 season at 2-10, head coach Clark Lea wanted to emphasize two points for his players to ponder—they were not good enough and changes were necessary.
In the coming months, the Commodore skipper put action to paper and proceeded in making massive changes to his roster as well as the coaching staff. His goal is rather simple: to get bigger, stronger, faster as a team and have better leadership from the coaches in relaying the vision he has for his program.
Coaching Staff Changes
With a goal in mind of becoming a "bigger, stronger, faster" team, Clark Lea reached out to an old friend, Robert Stiner to become his Director of Football Sports Performance, a glorified name for strength and conditioning coordinator. Stiner and Lea worked together at Notre Dame, where the Irish went 33-5 during Stiner's time in the same role.
Next, the offense needed to be completely revamped after struggling to show any identity during a forgettable season. In a strange twist of fate, Jerry Kill had recently resigned as head coach of New Mexico State following a 10-win season. Tabbed as the ultimate program builder, Lea was able to convince Kill to join his staff as an analyst.
This prompted Aggies offensive coordinator Tim Beck to join Kill and Lea in Nashville. Another area of need was along the offensive line, where previous coach AJ Blazek decided that his time on West End was complete which opened the door for Chris Klenakis to join the staff. With the offensive side of the ball taken care of, Lea himself decided that he would take over the role of defensive coordinator and allow Kill and Beck complete control on offense.
Offensive Personnel Changes
In the immediate weeks following the season, several key contributors had decided to enter the Transfer Portal and move on. Gone from the roster were three of the four quarterbacks as well as the top three pass catchers.
With a list that included AJ Swann, Ken Seals, Walter Taylor, Will Sheppard, Landon Humphreys and Jayden McGowen, the fourth-year coach needed to find replacements in the Transfer Portal. With the addition of Kill and Beck, several former NMSU players followed the duo to Vanderbilt, including quarterbacks Diego Pavia (2023 Conference USA Player of the Year), Blaze Berlowitz, and Nate Johnson (Utah) also committed to the Commodores. The receiving corps was updated with Portal additions WR Loic Fouonji (Texas Tech) and TE Eli Stowers (Texas AM, New Mexico State). Numerous players on the offensive line have also transferred to Vanderbilt including Steven Lasoya (Mississippi State), Chase Mitchell (Liberty) and Cade McConnell (Minnesota), all of which were projected as high-level starters at their previous schools.
Defensive Personnel Changes
There was a major emphasis in upgrading a leaky secondary through the Portal. With the additions of CB Kolbey Taylor (Wyoming), LB Randon Fontenette (TCU) and CB Mark Davis (Southern Illinois), there is newfound depth. On the defensive line, the additions of Zaylin Wood (Middle Tennesse State) and Khordea Sydnor (Purdue) will provide much needed athleticism.
Vandy's 2024 Outlook
At Vanderbilt, the metric of success is measured differently than at more high-profile programs. The biggest metric is being competitive, which they were not in 2023. If the Commodores were to go 2-10 again, it could look much different if they were losing a 17-14 type of game rather than a 43-6 game.
The optics are better. While most betting lines have set the over/under for the Black and Gold at 2.5 wins, this team is capable of better. There is a ceiling of going 6-6 and attaining a bowl game, while the floor is being 3-8. In order to attain the ceiling, the Commodores would have to win every "winnable" game on the schedule and have everything fall into place with perfection.
A season of 4-8 is the most likely result. With an improved record, "getting bigger, stronger, faster" will have been accomplished.
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