Vandy relying on 2013 signees amid difficult season

photo Vanderbilt sophomore tailback Ralph Webb needs to get more carries in the next five games, according to Commodores coach Derek Mason.

It was not the energizing midseason comment Vanderbilt football fans were hoping for under first-year coach Derek Mason.

"We're coming off a hard-fought game versus Charleston Southern," Mason said last week, "and what we're trying to do now is just make sure we continue to push forward."

Hopes of a fourth consecutive bowl in Mason's debut season were dashed before Labor Day, as Temple arrived in late August and applied a 37-7 shocking of the Commodores. There have since been double-digit losses to Ole Miss, South Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia for a 2-5 team that has celebrated at the expense of Massachusetts and Charleston Southern.

The two wins came by a total of four points.

"We've played well at times on special teams and defensively, other than some late-game collapses and what we're doing late in halves," Mason said. "I think we're coming along and doing the things we need to do. A lack of focus at times has led to some explosive plays (for opponents), and it's tough to be a good defense when you allow explosive plays and don't tackle well.

"Offensively, we have to be much better in how we attack teams. You've got athletic teams in this conference, and it's not so much what your system is as it is about how you create matchups."

The Commodores, who were off last week, visit Missouri this Saturday and still have Florida, No. 1 Mississippi State and rival Tennessee within the league. Their best shot at a victory could be Nov. 1, when Old Dominion visits.

Vanderbilt's statistics reflect a team that has struggled on both sides of the ball. The Commodores have run 115 fewer plays than their opponents for 1,018 fewer yards, yet their players remain optimistic, even after a one-point victory over an FCS program.

"If you look back on it, it's the little things that need to be corrected," receiver C.J. Duncan said after the win over Charleston Southern. "There are opportunities for big plays all the time, and it's up to us to execute when we get on the field. We've gotten a lot of penalties at inopportune times, and it's nothing we can't correct. We're excited about what the future holds."

Said linebacker Nigel Bowden: "The confidence of this team has gotten higher. A win is a win, and this will help us later on."

Duncan, who leads the Commodores with 20 receptions for 322 yards and two touchdowns, and Bowden, who has a team-high 54 tackles, are redshirt freshmen. They are part of a 2013 signing class under former coach James Franklin that was ranked 19th nationally.

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Sophomore tailback Ralph Webb also is part of that class, which has provided some hope for the future in an otherwise surprisingly subpar year.

"When I look at the SEC, there is a lot of parity up and down the board," Mason said. "You have the upper-echelon teams that everybody talks about, and what you're seeing this year is that college football is a junior-senior sport, and that's witnessed by what's happening at Ole Miss and Mississippi State and the Kentucky team under Coach [Mark] Stoops.

"These programs have finally gotten their guys, and they're doing a great job, and you're starting to see the junior-senior part of it show up a little bit."

Mason was expecting to have the more experienced tandem of quarterback Patton Robinette and tailback Jerron Seymour to rely on, but Seymour missed the first couple of games with a lingering knee injury and has just 23 carries for 121 yards (5.3 a carry) this season. Robinette has been sidelined in recent weeks with concussion-like symptoms after completing 23 of 32 passes (71.9 percent) for 240 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Vanderbilt's other quarterbacks have combined for two touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and another 2013 signee, redshirt freshman Johnny McCrary, is scheduled to start this week's game.

"In the second half of the season, we have to be better and more consistent at being able to get the yards that we want when we need it," Mason said. "That way we can stay ahead of the chains. Just looking at our personnel versus everybody else's personnel in the SEC and looking at some of these games, I'm saying that we're close, but there are some things that we need to be able to do.

"Some of it is scheme, and some of it is a player or two away from being the type of football team that we want to be."

The production from Duncan and Bowden has been welcome, and nobody has made more of an impact than Webb. The 5-foot-10, 196-pounder from Gainesville, Fla., has rushed 122 times for 560 yards (4.6 pc) and two touchdowns.

Webb had 26 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown in the 34-31 win over UMass, but he hasn't received 20 carries in any other game.

"Ralph has been a workhouse. He's just a guy you have to keep feeding," Mason said. "He runs hard and has great vision, but more than anything else, he gets better as the game goes along. We have to understand that and stick to our game plan."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

Upcoming Events