The Andy Staples Podcast: Catching up with Vanderbilt's Derek Mason

The idea seemed impossible only a few years ago. How could Vanderbilt, the SEC’s resident smart kid, become a competitive football program? James Franklin

The idea seemed impossible only a few years ago. How could Vanderbilt, the SEC’s resident smart kid, become a competitive football program? James Franklin started the job with two consecutive nine-win seasons before leaving for Penn State in January, and now former Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason will continue the work. After four years on The Farm, Mason knows all about winning football games at an elite academic school. But will the formula work in Nashville as well as it did in Palo Alto?

In the first edition of The Andy Staples Podcast, I sat down with Mason to discuss recruiting smart players who send questionnaires to their prospective coaches, stopping the hurry-up offense and creating a business card that would make Patrick Bateman cry. Give it a listen …