Vanderbilt Commodores Head Coach Shares What Special Season Has Meant to Him
Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea is a Commodore in every sense of the world.
As his program has taken the college football world by storm this season en route to what will be their most successful season since 2013 if they win just one more football game and already have secured bowl eligibility, it's personal for Lea. Finishing off the years of his college football career as a fullback for Vanderbilt from 2002-2004, Lea was a part of Commodores teams that won just six total games in three years.
Now in his fourth year as head coach of his alma mater, Lea has won six games already after two of his first three ended in similar two-win fashion as his playing career. While speaking to reporters after the game on the Monday following Vanderbilt's latest underdog victory - a 17-7 road win against the Auburn Tigers - Lea spoke about how much this season has meant to him personally and how much desire he feels to win at a school so dear to his heart.
"It’s my alma mater, and I just believe the world needs a strong Vanderbilt football program, and part of my responsibility is to deliver that,” said Lea via the Nashville Post. “No matter what the circumstances that we face, we just keep stepping into it and keep chopping wood, and through that process, we get to celebrate days like we did [Saturday]....I believe that this is the kind of program where leaders are built and grown, and our kids compete at the highest level in the classroom...We want to build a program that we’re proud of, the process we’re putting them through for holistic development, to care about people"
The Commodores have three games remaining on their schedule as they host South Carolina this week before a road trip to LSU after the bye and finish off by welcoming the Tennessee Volunteers into Nashville. Lea already has locked up Vanderbilt's most successful season since 2018 and assured bowl eligibility, but just don't tell him and his players that.
When it comes to what this team can accomplish in 2024, Lea - and the entire locker room for that matter - thinks there's still plenty of stories left to go. They are not satisfied with just being a nice little story. This team is out for it more and is far from content. They don't have a choice.
For Clark Lea, this is personal.
