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SEC Preview: Vanderbilt Commodores
By Chris Pendley | July 9, 2008
If you picked up Chris Nickson last year because of his dual threat capability…sorry. If you drafted Earl Bennett expecting 1,000 yards and 10 TDs…sorry. If you added Cassen Jackson-Garrison because someones got to run in this offense…sorry. If you think that this offense is going to do anything with only three starters returning on offense, including an entirely new offensive line…that’s your fault. Shame on you.
This is Bobby Johnson’s seventh year at Vanderbilt and if he isn’t tweaking his resume during the 3rd quarter of half the games, this season’s going to be considered a success. This team is that BAD. The upside is that he might not be hitting the unemployment line alone as OC Ted Cain and DC Bruce Fowler enter their seventh year as well.
God help us all, Chris Nickson is back. The difference is that he won’t be the starting QB again as Mackenzi Adams takes over. Will it matter? No…Adams isn’t effective enough and Nickson did a pretty terrible job in his own right last year. Sure, either guy could find the magic juice of real-life and fantasy success, but it’s way more likely this turns into the dreaded Quarterback Platoon O’Doom. Nobody wins when that happens. It goes without saying to ignore this unit like the plague. If you were to combine Adams’s and Nickson’s numbers from last year, you’d get 1,800 yards, 15 passing TDs and 450 rushing yards with 5 stumbling TDs. Not too bad until you divide that by two. Yeah.
Cassen Jackson-Garrison and his 594 rushing yards (150 yards per “s”, 300 yards per “son” and 200 words per word in his last name) are now gone, to be replaced by …. ::throws dart:: … Jeff Jennings! Jennings will have fun running behind an entirely new offensive line that we’ll make fun of in a bit. Jared Hawkins backs Jennings up and combined these guys might get 1,000 yards. It’s more likely they’ll combine for 800. Why is that? Vandy has zero returning starters on the offensive line … in the SEC. Uh-oh.
Shockingly, the Commodores return experience at the wideout position. Sure, neither George Smith or Sean Walker are really going to be useful except maybe in a spot start or two, but at least they’re returning starters. Other than those guys, there’s a cornucopia of potential 250-yard receivers here, so have at it.
On defense, Vanderbilt does return their entire secondary, so they should get plenty of opportunities to pick off passes. DJ Moore led the team last year with 6 INTs (to go with 10 breakups). Unfortunately, they lose almost all their pass-rushing ability, so don’t expect a whole lot besides those picks from the D. This is all fantasy code for “avoid”.
K Bryant Hahnfeldt is a passably decent option at kicker, if there are formats out there that start three kickers a week. Okay, that’s actually a joke. Although Hahnfeldt isn’t a great option, but he could be a passable bye week / matchup-type K. Let’s be honest…Vanderbilt probably isn’t seeing the end zone a lot this year.
Summary
This team is pretty terrible. When the kicker is the only viable fantasy option (and that’s a stretch), that’s not a good sign.
Topics: Chris Pendley, College Football, Preview, SEC |
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