Vanderbilt Football Top 20 Player Rankings: No. 2 – si.com

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NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt football is in a new era under head coach Clark Lea as it moves forward after a program-best 10-3 season, but does so while replacing star quarterback Diego Pavia and star tight end Eli Stowers.
Lea and company believe that the program can move forward as winners, though, and the amount of experience they bring back is at the forefront of the reasons why. 
Lea has the 34th most experienced offense in the country, the No. 4 defense in the country, is No. 2 in game experience in the country and No. 12 in returning starts. 
“Just in terms of quality depth, I mean, this is probably the best team we've had,” Lea told Vandy on SI. “Obviously, we have some big gaps to fill, and some of those gaps were our production leaders from a year ago, but I like this team. 
I like where we are.” 
This Vanderbilt team doesn’t appear to have the elite names at the top of the roster that Lea’s 2025 team did, but he believes he’s got a capable group at every level. 
In Vandy on SI’s top 20 players list, all three phases will be represented, as well as every offensive and defensive position group. 
No. 2: Brock Taylor 
Taylor is everything Vanderbilt could hope for in a kicker. 
He’s dependable. He has range. He’s confident. He’s consistent. At this point, he’s one of the best kickers in the SEC and is one of the best players on this Vanderbilt roster.
Taylor went 13-for-14 on kicks a year ago, 6-for-6 from 30-to-39 yards, 1-for-1 from 50+ yards and had a long of 51–which isn’t concerning because of his 2024 long being 57 yards. 
There’s really not much more for Taylor to prove at this level at this point, outside of him providing more proof of concept for his in-game range. 
Why No. 2
Taylor is the only player on Vanderbilt’s roster who has proven to be truly elite relative to the rest of the players in the league at his position. 
The only reason he’s not No. 1 is because of his position and the way it limits his ability to impact the game on a down-in, down-out basis—particularly because he doesn’t handle kickoff duties.
Taylor’s case for No. 1 is real, though, and him being named an All-SEC player in the preseason isn’t all that difficult to fathom.
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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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