Vanderbilt Football

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is quickly becoming recognized as one of the elite players in the NFL.

However, it's his brother, Jordan Rodgers, who is capturing headlines after his second start for Vanderbilt this weekend.

He is quickly running out of his older brother's shadow, and is beginning to make a name for himself in the college football world.

The junior-college transfer got his first start for the Commodores during last week's matchup against Army. He led the team to a 44-21 victory.

The stat line wasn't as pretty as something that may be seen in Green Bay, but it was just as effective.

Rodgers passed for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran for 96 yards and a touchdown.

That's right, this Rodgers may actually run better than his brother.

A week went by without too much recognition. Now, this week he is going to start getting some attention.

Vanderbilt faced off against No. 10 Arkansas earlier this afternoon.

Late in the third quarter, Vanderbilt actually led the game 28-17. The Commodores would fail to hold on to their lead, ultimately losing 31-28. However, everybody's attention is now on Rodgers.

The quarterback stepped up his game this week, throwing for 240 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 66 yards and two more touchdowns.

This Vanderbilt team could suddenly be a team to watch with Rodgers under center.

He will continue to learn throughout the end of his junior season. Look for Vanderbilt to be a threat next year when Rodgers returns as a senior.

It's been a long time coming, but first-year Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin has finally decided to pull the plug on the Larry Smith experiment, naming Jordan Rodgers as the starting quarterback for the 3-3 Vanderbilt Commodores.

Forget that Rodgers is the younger brother of NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers, of Green Bay Packers fame.

The fact is, Smith has no business being the starting quarterback of an SEC team, even if they are Vanderbilt.

Smith has just 13 touchdown passes since 2009, and just three of those have come against an SEC opponent. You heard me right. Just three touchdown passes in two and a half seasons in conference football.

The fact that the Vanderbilt coaching staff took this long to name Rodgers the starter might be more baffling than the fact that Smith held his post for this long.

There was some speculation that Rodgers wasn't named the starter because he had a setback during spring camps.

Even if that was true, Rodgers more than proved he was ready to take over as the starter when he stepped in for Smith in the season opener against Elon. He looked light-years better than Smith during that game.

Vanderbilt may have started 3-0, earning a few solid wins over Connecticut and Ole Miss, but this team was on a one-way track to the SEC East cellar with Smith under center.

When you look over Vanderbilt's schedule, there are plenty of winnable games remaining on the schedule to secure passage to a bowl game.

Kentucky looks like one of the worst SEC teams we've seen in a while. They struggled to beat Western Kentucky earlier in the season.

Army comes to town this week. That should be a relatively easy victory—as long as Vanderbilt plays solid defense like they have most of the season.

Then you have those toss up games that could go either way. At this point you could throw Tennessee and Wake Forest in that mix.

The Vols are dealing with a host of injuries and Wake Forest hasn't beaten anyone meaningful all year despite their decent record (4-2).

What Rodgers brings to the table is an arm that Vanderbilt hasn't seen since Jay Cutler wore the black and gold.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt had praise for Rodgers, speaking after last Saturday's game (Georgia won 33-28).

"He was more elusive and he was faster than we thought he was...and he led," Richt said.

Rodgers still has one more year of eligibility on his collegiate docket, so it makes sense to prepare him to be the full-time starter next season, especially with Smith scheduled to graduate next spring.

Franklin has brought a fresh, new look to this Vanderbilt offense, but his offensive ideas won't matter without an effective signal caller.

The Commodores are still fully capable of winning six or even seven games this season with Franklin calling the plays and Rodgers executing, but they may have waited too long to make the QB switch.

I am pretty sure absolutely no one predicted Vanderbilt to be undefeated three games into this season.

Yet here they are. The undefeated Commodores.

Vanderbilt is the surprise of the young SEC season, as they have raced out to a 3-0 record with a huge upset win over Ole Miss on Saturday.

The 30-7 rout was a big victory for the program and is slowly giving the football team some attention. 

Everyone thought Vanderbilt could beat up on Elon, an FCS opponent, in the first week of the season. Therefore, when they did, it didn't get much notice.

The next week the Commodores upset Connecticut from the Big East and it caught the attention of some people, simply as a nice win.

Then, this past Saturday, Vanderbilt goes out and blows away Ole Miss in one of the biggest surprises of the college football season so far in 2011.

Now people are starting to notice, at least a little.

New head coach James Franklin has prepared his team in short order to play hard and avoid costly mistakes.

Amazingly, it has been since War World II since a new Commodore coach has started the season 3-0.

The hot start was definitely unexpected and is due in part to the hard work and aggressive style of play Franklin has implemented throughout the program.

As a matter of fact, Vanderbilt players lead the SEC in sacks (Tim Fugger with three), interceptions (Trey Wilson has three) and tackles for a loss (Rob Lohr has 5.5). 

Most importantly, the Commodore team leads the SEC in turnover margin, a very key stat, with an incredible +6 ratio over three games.

The defense is solid and balanced, lead by star linebacker Chris Marve (23 tackles already this season), and they rank fourth in the SEC in rushing and passing defense.

The offense is lead by the running game and ranks in the top half of the conference, racking up 177 rushing yards per contest and have managed to score over 30 points per game.

This undefeated run is not a smoke and mirrors situation or a fluke.

Don't get me wrong, this 3-0 start doesn't mean Vanderbilt will be a threat to win any championships this season. However, it does mean that teams should be on upset alert and ready for a battle when they line up against Franklin's Commodores in the coming weeks.

Already having three victories, and with winnable games against Army, Kentucky and Wake Forrest still on the schedule, six wins is more than possible.

The question is, can Vanderbilt upset someone else, win seven or more games and end up with a quality bowl invite? 

Should be interesting to watch as more people watch the Commodores.

Their next stop is a very tough one, at No. 12 South Carolina.

However, James Franklin will have his kids believing they can win that one too.

Whether they do or not, his early success has people already believing in him and his Vanderbilt team.

For the most part, that is definitely more than what could have been said three weeks ago.

There is this conventional wisdom spreading that the SEC should grow to include 14 or 16 teams throughout many news outlets, but I think the number is great right where it stands today. Instead of adding another team with Texas A&M, why don't we drop Vanderbilt from the SEC? 

Vanderbilt has struggled mightily in football over the last several decades, with decent campaigns sprinkled in since 1890 and since joining the SEC in 1932, its inaugural year. They do have a great baseball program and basketball is decent, but their main attraction is education at Vanderbilt.

Needless to say, the last time Vandy was relevant in football was when Dan McGugin patrolled the sidelines; however, their team IQ is probably 20 to 30 points higher there than at any other SEC school. 

Vanderbilt has suffered back-to-back 2-10 seasons, and beyond the great class that new head coach James Franklin and his staff have put together this year, the end of the pain is nowhere in sight.

Vanderbilt has been to four bowls in its entire history, with a record of 2-1-1. They are also having a difficult time filling up the more than 39,000 seats at Dudley Field. So money they are bringing into the SEC is nowhere near what Texas A&M would bring.

If they became a member of the Independents, they would definitely improve their record easily to 7-5 or better next year, and qualify for a decent bowl. 

It's no wonder that David Williams doesn't want Texas A&M in the SEC, because it is possible he is seeing the writing on the wall.       

With Texas A&M potentially joining the SEC and other schools in the mix to expand the conference, it stands to reason that if any of these moves come to fruition, writers and commentators will soon consider the conference too big and in need of cutting a school or two from it's roster.  

Enter Vanderbilt—"Tops in academics, last in the SEC."  

I remember hearing this joke in the dorm just a few short days into my freshman year.  

Sadly these and so many other jokes came from classmates who grew up in the South.  

I still remember how many of them would go to school in Nashville, but left their heart in Athens, Lexington, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, etc. 

At the time you couldn't blame them as the Commodores were downright laughable. With each passing year the story never really changed as football games simply became entertainment between frat parties, basketball games a diversion to escape the cold of the dorm, and baseball games were played on a field somehow shoehorned between the football stadium and Memorial Gym where the press sat at card tables.  

By senior year I probably attended more concerts at the stadium and gym than actual games.

Deep down it always bothered me that the Commodores would forever be the laughingstock of not only the conference, but of most of the country.   

A few years later, in a move that seemed like the beginning of the end, the school dissolved the job of Athletic Director and restructured the entire department under something called the Office of Student Athletics, Recreation and Wellness.

Yet oddly enough the key pieces were already in place for something completely unexpected.  Starting in 1999 with the hiring of basketball coach Kevin Stallings and soon after Bobby Johnson for football and Tim Corbin for baseball, Vandy began a turnaround that more than a decade later has made the Commodores not just competitive, but in some cases amongst the best in the conference and country.   

With Stallings, the basketball program has reached the NCAA tournament five times over the past decade, including two Sweet 16 appearances, and this upcoming season looks to make some noise with an experienced team that could start the season ranked in the preseason top 10. 

Meanwhile, Corbin has turned around the baseball program into a perennial powerhouse that after several near misses finally reached the College World Series this year and just narrowly missed playing for the championship. With this consistent high level of achievement, the program continues to produce MLB draft picks year after year with the 'Dores setting an SEC single-season record in 2011 with 12 selections. 

Finally, the newest addition, football coach James Franklin, perhaps faces the biggest challenge, yet has already lined up recruits that some experts believe could rank as one of the best classes in the country. It remains to be seen whether they actually suit up for the 'Dores and recruiting classes don't necessarily equate to wins, but it's an impressive start in short time since taking over. 

This time last year, when Bobby Johnson abruptly retired, it seemed that all of the momentum and goodwill he had steadily built would quickly fade, especially after a disappointing followup to the successful 2008 season which saw the Dores ranked in the top 25 while winning the Music City Bowl. 

His replacement, Robbie Caldwell, had a happy-go-lucky attitude which made for great interviews, but didn't translate to wins as the team fell apart during a 2-10 campaign. From a numbers standpoint it's hard to imagine a quick turnaround in terms of wins and losses this year, but I imagine Coach Franklin will have his team ready to play week in, week out. 

While national championships might be a bit of a stretch, is this the dawn of a new era where the Commodores can remain competitive in the major sports within arguably the nation's top conference? 

Hard to say, but if anyone wants to kick Vanderbilt out of the SEC their argument is no longer a simple clear-cut case. Quietly, the school everyone loved to schedule for Homecoming has made significant strides towards legitimacy and will hopefully get a shot to defend themselves on the field of play within the SEC and beyond in the coming years.    

It's not very often that Vanderbilt can say they're stacked in a certain area on offense, but they would have a good case for their running game in 2011.

The Commodores could very well end up using at least three running backs this season, and all three of them bring something unique to the table.

By far the best running back the Commodores have is junior Warren Norman, who led the SEC in all-purpose yards in 2009.

Last season Norman was hampered by a wrist injury causing him to miss the last four games of the season.

Norman is one of those dynamic backs that can change the number on the scoreboard in so many ways, and the Commodores will lean on him heavily this season.

The potential success of the Commodores' run game is certainly not limited to Norman.

Junior Zac Stacy is another highly-regarded running back that will get a ton of touches in 2011. Like Norman, Stacy's season was cut short due to an injury in the form of a concussion.

Stacy is a bruising running back that will be relied on to pick up those critical short-yardage first downs. The Commodores struggled greatly in that department last season.

Norman and Stacy are obviously the two main guys at running back, and they'll have to stay healthy for the Commodores to climb out of the cellar of the SEC East.

However, there are other running backs that will get their fair amount of chances to contribute to an offense that is known for struggling in arguably the best defensive conference in the country.

One of those guys is sophomore Wesley Tate, who is the younger brother of Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate.

Tate got a chance to see the field more than planned in his freshman season thanks to injuries to Norman and Stacy last season.  He made the most of his limited touches on offense, including a solid game against Florida where he averaged nearly six yards a carry.

These three guys will most likely not be the only guys to see touches in the running game.

The possible success of the running game this season isn't limited to the running backs.

It's been speculated that Franklin could end up using an occasional fullback or tight end in the running game, even including one of the better tight ends in the SEC in Brandon Barden.

Power football has always been a staple of the prototypical SEC offense, and the Commodores look to be much improved in that area this season.

Then you also have senior Larry Smith at quarterback, who has good enough legs to edge out first downs when needed.

He's not the most athletic running quarterback, but he definitely has the talent to bolster up the running game even more.

Smith's biggest problem is panicking when he takes off running, which contributed heavily to his seven fumbles and five interceptions.

Of course the quarterback and wide receiver positions are still very much a question mark, but the loaded running game should make the Commodores much more competitive in the SEC than they have been in a long time.

In the end the Commodores should experience success in the running game in 2011 considering how talented they are, and based on the fact they only face off against two top-25 rush defenses from 2010.

For the first time in recent memory the Vanderbilt Commodores have a recruiting class that is catching national attention, and I'm not talking about baseball or basketball.

Yes, the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores have now been regarded by many as having a top-25 recruiting class in college football, most notably by ESPN.com.

This is mostly thanks to new head coach James Franklin, who has a mountainous task at trying to persuade top prospects to play for a program that has one bowl win since 1982.

Despite the challenge, Franklin has currently inked 11 commitments that includes four 4-star prospects.

The latest three signings are still in high school and won't be seen in a Vanderbilt uniform for at least another season, and that's if they stay true to their commitment.

One of the most intriguing aspect of these latest three commitments are the fact that two of them are on the offensive side of the ball, a part of the game where Vanderbilt always struggles going against SEC defenses.

For Vanderbilt to ever get over the hump, they're going to have to start bringing in more talented offensive prospects, and this is a huge step in the right direction.

Brian Kimbrow plays running back and is a speed specialist, while Cory Batey plays wide receiver and will be a local favorite coming out of Nashville.

If these recruits do indeed end up suiting up for the Commodores in 2012, the Commodores will already have a solid offense.

Current Junior quarterback Jordan Rodgers will be a senior, and running backs Zac Stacy and Warren Norman will also be seniors in 2012.

The receiving corps should still have Jonathan Krause and John Cole and they will be experienced upperclassmen.

In other words, Vanderbilt has the opportunity to field a very solid offensive unit in 2012 if things hold together.

We have to remember it's still very early in the recruiting process, but the Commodores still have plenty to be excited about.

The Commodores have always had the challenge of playing in the toughest conference top to bottom in college football, which has led to many two- and three-win seasons over the years.

Ask almost any true SEC fan and they'll tell you that Vanderbilt always competes, but always seems to be missing the raw talent that it takes to win in the SEC.

If this recruiting class holds up then the enormous talent gap between Vanderbilt and virtually the rest of the SEC will be dramatically decreased.

However, it's also important to note that other SEC schools will still have their normal top-25 recruiting classes as well this offseason.

Schools like Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Florida will always out-recruit Vanderbilt just due to all of the tradition those schools offer to young prospects.

It's really all about tradition and winning championships in college football, and Vanderbilt unfortunately can't offer that.

It really goes to show you how fertile this part of the country is for football prospects. Here you have a traditional last place team in Vanderbilt who is still managing to bring in highly-regarded prospects from Tennessee and other states in the region.

The SEC isn't going to get any easier in the near future, and if Vanderbilt can bridge the gap then the SEC will really become a dog fight year in and year out.

If there is ever going to be a time when Vanderbilt becomes relevant in college football, then it could be now.