Four unanswered questions after Vanderbilt football scrimmages – The Tennessean

Vanderbilt football is just two weeks out from real games and the depth chart is starting to take shape.
The Commodores will start their season on Sept. 5 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+) against Austin Peay at FirstBank Stadium.
Vanderbilt held two preseason scrimmages open to media on Aug. 15 and 22. Those scrimmages gave an early look at what the Commodores could look like this season.
The quarterback battle between Jared Curtis and Blaze Berlowitz is still ongoing, but there are more questions that still remain.
After viewing the scrimmages, here are three unanswered questions:
Vanderbilt has claimed that nothing will change about its offense no matter whether Curtis or Berlowitz is the starter. But that likely won’t fully be the case.
Berlowitz has full command of the playbook, so there may be more complicated concepts he can execute. But Curtis is more physical and athletic, and a better downfield threat. That could lead to play calls for him that Berlowitz may not be able to execute.
Vanderbilt returns its tandem of Sedrick Alexander and Makhilyn Young, but neither of them have played much during the preseason to manage their loads. Instead, the younger running backs have gotten more reps − and shined.
Evan Hampton and Izayah Lee have made consistent plays in camp, and it seems like a certainty that Vanderbilt will find a spot for them. How, exactly, that will play out is still in question. It could be a matter of using personnel groups with multiple running backs, or it could involve splitting some of the backs out wide.
Bishop Starling and Kayleb Barnett play opposite sides of the ball, but they have similar profiles. Both are undersized players who have top-level athleticism and have made plays during camp.
Barnett is listed at 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds, while Starling is 5-9 and 170 pounds. Barnett has blazing speed that has been put to use on jet sweeps, but his hands are a question mark, as is his ability to handle more physical defenders. He could be a gadget slot receiver and get involved in the kick return game. Meanwhile, Starling could be used as a nickel corner.
With some players playing less during the preseason to manage their load, younger players have had a chance to show what they can do.
Austin Howard, Jamison Curtis, Tate Hamby and Davin Chandler are among those younger players.
“This is a great safety room,” CJ Heard said. “We’ve got a lot of depth, and I feel like it’s only going to help us. We’ve got eight straight games and then a bye week, then another set of games. So I feel like we … need everyone in the room at some point.”
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

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