Vanderbilt Football Notebook: Clark Lea Has Big Offensive Line Expectations, Quarterbacks, Depth – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—There Vanderbilt’s offensive line is pushing sleds in a grueling start to the morning with a number of new faces running the show. Vanderbilt offensive line coach Chris Klenakis has a challenge on his hands as he hopes to mesh this group, but he’s stepping fully into it as he’s barking out commands. 
Jordan White is gone. So is Chase Mitchell. Isaia Glass and Bryce Henderson aren’t walking through that door, either. That’s okay by this Vanderbilt coaching staff, though. 
Those guys contributed to a significantly better offensive line than Vanderbilt had at any other point throughout Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea’s tenure, but Vanderbilt’s coaching staff always had to have something beyond them in mind. Turns out, it likes what it came up with. 
“We are as physically gifted as we’ve been up front,” Lea said on Tuesday. “We’re big, fast and strong and athletic, so it’s just about taking reps again. It’s third down day and I thought those guys handled that really well.” 
Vanderbilt has reworked its line with Pitt transfer Lyndon Johnson, North Dakota State transfer Beau Johnson and Alabama transfer Micah DeBose. Its returners Cade McConnell, Clinton Azubuike and Kevo Wesley all figure to have roles once this is all said and done, as well. 
How this all shakes out positionally isn’t all that difficult to decipher outside of one or two, but Vanderbilt’s line is a fall storyline to monitor the rest of the way, it appears. 
“I think they’re gelling,” Lea said, “And I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far.” 
Lea’s quarterback evaluation
Lea still won’t tip his hand as to what he’s got in terms of Vanderbilt’s depth chart at quarterback, and he says he’s in no rush to do so. He will open up on his evaluation at this stage, though. 
Vanderbilt quarterback Blaze Berlowitz has “had some good days,” Lea said, but turned it over too much on Tuesday. Lea says he likes Jack Elliott’s consistency as well as the flashes Whit Muschamp and standout freshman Jared Curtis have shown. 
He knows there’s still plenty of room to go, though. 
“We have to learn about consistency, we have to learn about the down and down out stuff,” Lea said. “We have to continue to feel that pocket collapse and see where the decisions are made then, and that takes time.”
The bodies are flowing these days
There’s a private belief within Vanderbilt’s program that this is the deepest team it’s had under Lea when everything is accounted for. 
Perhaps part of that perception comes from the reality that almost all of Vanderbilt’s roster for the fall of 2026 was on the field at McGugin Center on Tuesday morning. The transfer portal is open these days and Vanderbilt’s administration has finally embraced early enrollees and the benefits of early enrolling. 
As a result, Lea can approach practice differently than he used to. He says that distributing reps to everyone he wants to get involved is difficult, although there could be more pressing matters at hand. 
“I love the size of it,” Lea said in regard to camp as a whole. “I think each guy brings talent, maybe developmental, maybe the top end of the depth chart talent, but I think we look like a team that belongs in our league. We’ve got to refine as we go through the spring, but the depth will help us stay healthy and ultimately, as coaches, it's our job, as we get towards the end of spring, that we're pinpointing the reps, the guys need to show what they need to show for us to determine whether or not they're gonna have a role in the fall.”
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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