Why Clark Lea Moved Davin Chandler to Cornerback for Vanderbilt Football – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — Ahead of Vanderbilt football’s game against then-No. 2 Georgia on Oct. 3, there was a noticeable change to the defensive depth chart.
Davin Chandler, a sophomore that played his freshman year and the beginning of this season as a safety, was listed as a cornerback. Maybe it was a little experimenting at first, but after what Lea saw from Chandler against the Bulldogs, it was time to make that change official.
Since then, Chandler’s position has been changed on the official roster from safety to cornerback, Something that was maybe not expected when the 2026 season began, but he is now a nickel corner for the Commodores.
“We were playing him at safety but gave him opportunities in man coverage and that’s how he became our nickel,” Lea said. “I think as we were unsure a little bit about how we were covering and how we were closing space at corner, we made a decision to try him out on the edge and I think he’s held up really well.”
The first reps Chandler got at cornerback was the week leading up to the game against Georgia. In practice, Lea saw instincts, abilities and athleticism from Chandler at the corner position.
Lea believes that for a defender to play cornerback, he has to possess a certain attitude. That is precisely what he saw when the Commodores played in Athens. Lea saw a guy that was holding his own in the perimeter against a Georgia team that is contending for the SEC title. A player that struck and hit guys well. Though Vanderbilt may have lost the game, it gained a new cornerback that day.
The first time Lea had seen or heard of Chandler’s football ability goes back to before he was even on the roster. Chandler played high school football at Stephen Decatur for Jake Coleman, the father of Vanderbilt wide receiver Brycen Coleman. During Chandler’s college recruitment process, Coleman told Lea what he thought Chandler could bring to the Commodores.
“Brycen’s dad was adamant that he not only could play for us, but that he would help us build the kind of culture we want. In their state championship run, he [Chandler] was a huge part in organizing the defense and communicating back there,” Lea said.
With that in mind, Lea was persuaded to give Chandler not just a spot on the team but also an opportunity to get on the field. Eventually, Chandler made his college debut at safety in Vanderbilt’s win over Georgia State in 2025. 
During fall camp, it felt like Chandler was around the ball quite a bit on defense and was one of the main depth pieces making plays in practice. With the veterans that are at the top of the safety room, Chandler earned the No. 4 spot in the safety room.
That was until Lea decided to move Chandler from safety to cornerback, where he has proven to be quite productive at the position and now sits right behind Martel Hight for one of the starting slots at corner.
In three games playing cornerback, Chandler has come up with 13 total tackles, 10 of them being solo tackles. In Vanderbilt’s most recent game against Arkansas, Chandler had a career-high nine tackles, including six solo and three assisted tackles. He finished last game tied with safety CJ Heard and linebacker Nick Rinaldi for the most tackles by Vanderbilt players in the game.
The progress Chandler has made at the position has already been seen, but he has five more games this regular season to keep improving. If he keeps impressing the coaches with his play at cornerback, that can only mean good things for the future of Vanderbilt’s secondary.
“Really pleased with how he’s progressed and the role he’s carved out for himself. Independent of just a little nick yesterday, I’m hoping that he can continue us in and we get some critical snaps out of him as the season goes on,” 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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