Vanderbilt Football Defensive Takeaways After Day 12 of Fall Camp

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt football was on the practice fields once again Wednesday for the 12th day of fall camp ahead of Thursday’s off day.

The practice was noticeably more lively compared to Tuesday’s practice as the team got some experience going live against each other for a portion of time. For Vanderbilt’s defense, there was a lot that went well for the Commodores. With all the plays the defense made, it made more stuff to talk about.

With two practices to go before the final scrimmage of fall camp, here are a few defensive takeaways from Wednesday.

Bishop Starling Had a Nice Day

There has not been a lot to talk about for true freshman cornerback Bishop Starling’s performance throughout, but there was on Wednesday.

Starling was one of the practice standouts on the roster as he made a few plays in coverage in the early stages of practice. The 5-foot-9 Nashville native played tight coverage during the practice and made plays on the ball when he was around it. Starling did the dirty work on defense that led to successful plays for the defense.

Starling and other cornerbacks got after it what felt like the entire practice. Even if Starling does not end up seeing much playing time this fall, he still showed his coaches what he could do. It was his best day of camp thus far.

The Defense Owned the Practice

The defense won the day and it was not particularly close either. During Tuesday’s practice, it felt like the defense won the day by default because of the dysfunctional performance of the offense.

But Wednesday, the defense just simply beat the offense overall. The offense had its moments, but the defense played really nicely in coverage, especially down the field. The defense also did a nice job of playing in the run game. Defenders at every positional level found ways to make plays.

The interior part of the defensive line looked like it was making a good push against the offensive line. Linebackers did a good job of coming downhill and blitzing. And in the secondary, both cornerbacks and safeties had a nice day in coverage, making plays and eliminating quarterback reads.

Since the first scrimmage ended Saturday, it has felt like the defense has come out with a better attitude in practice and it has translated to better play. The screws have seemingly tightened on defense.

Overall, the defense still seems to have the upper hand on the offense. That is maybe where teams likely want to be right now as well in this stage of the offseason. If the offense had been going up and down the field on the defense with all the new faces on the roster, it would be more of a concern on the team as a whole. So, the defense being ahead of the offense right now is not an indication that the offense will be bad.

Practice Standout List

In addition to Starling, there were other guys that made plays throughout the practice. Here is who else stood out on defense in Wednesday’s practice.

Mason Lewis: The freshman safety has really had a good start to his collegiate career with his fall camp performance and that continued on Wednesday. Lewis was great in coverage yet again in practice and even showed some of his tackling ability in live practice periods. The young player brings a lot of promise to the future of the safety room.

Cayden Daniels: Yet again, Daniels showed up in practice. The sophomore’s mentality shift this year has clearly helped him because he practices with a lot of confidence. Wednesday, what made Daniels standout was the quality of his defense in space. He was able to lock up pass catchers a few times, which resulted in plays being made.

Dontae Carter: The big moments for Dontae Carter continue to roll on. He has been the guy that really has strengthened the depth of the safety room, especially with the way he has played of late. In practice, he was able to get his hands on a ball and did a nice job of finding a way to make a big play.

Ricardo Jones: Vanderbilt is really starting to get their money’s worth out of Clemson safety transfer Ricardo Jones. Jones has turned a corner sharply of late and has looked really comfortable on defense. On Wednesday, Jones was flying around the field with his play in coverage, even making a couple different splash plays throughout the morning.

Jamison Curtis: A depth piece in the linebacker room, Jamison Curtis, also had a good practice. He did a nice job of finding his way through the offensive line and into the offensive backfield. Curtis’ run defense was good, too, and he helped prevent what could have been big plays.

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