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NASHVILLE — If there is one thing Vanderbilt football has done this year that is consistently frustrating for any team is the lack of discipline that has shown on the field.
The Commodores have shot themselves in the foot throughout the season with pre-snap, operational and even a couple post-snap penalties. Going into this weekend of college football games, Vanderbilt ranks 106th in the country in penalty yards per game and is tied for 125th in the sport for total penalties committed.
Statistically, Vanderbilt has been one of the most undisciplined teams in college football. But with Vanderbilt coming off a bye week, it is looking to improve in that department and clean up the communication and operation, especially on the offensive side.
“We’ve been physically punishing it,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said on how he addressed the communication and penalty issues. “It’s a weird way to put it, but this has been for a few weeks now just holding the entire offense account.”
Lea said he feels like he has seen his team get better at eliminating operational penalties and is hoping his team plays like how it has been practicing Saturday.
He knows he is still in the middle of developing a young, talented quarterback at the college level. In dealing with that, there will be growing pains and there will be mistakes on Jared Curtis’ part within the operation.
But the good news is that the coaching staff sees Curtis continue to grow, which has led to less operational mistakes. If the accountability the offense has experienced throughout practice the past couple of weeks produces positive results, Vanderbilt will give itself a chance to win on the road this weekend.
“His command and his presence is strengthening and I think that’s going to eliminate some operational issues. We’re attentive to it and our methodology right now is to pay attention in practice, to hold the unit accountable when it shows up in practice. In that way, hopefully we see a drop in those in the game,” Lea said.
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Wednesday night, Vanderbilt EDGE Brian Allen Jr., linebacker Jamison Curtis and cornerback Jaylin Lackey all appeared as “probable” on the first injury report of the week.
Lea was hopeful in his first press conference of the week Monday. That sentiment continued Thursday.
“Brian’s had a great week, I’m super excited about that. I’m frustrated for him, he’s had a tough year with a high ankle and he’s tried to fight through it and just never quite got healthy. He looks healthy now, which is exciting,” Lea said. “J-mo [Jamison Curtis] has been able to get through practice, he’s doing well. And then J-Lack [Lackey], too. Those are guys that, barring setbacks, will return for us.”
Without Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State has struggled to get things going on offense the past couple of weeks. Instead, the Bulldogs will play either true freshman Parker Puckett or former Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann.
Mississippi State has not announced a starter and it would not be the most surprising thing if both Puckett and Swann played if either of them are not being effective. Lea knows it can be challenging preparing for multiple quarterbacks, but his focus remains on his own team’s performance.
“We obviously have to prepare for either guy. I think they operate similarly, but they have different strengths. So any time you don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, there is a challenge. But at the same time, I think in general our performance is about Vanderbilt football and about us playing our game,” Lea said.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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