One-on-one with Chris Nickson

Had a chance to chat with Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson this afternoon. The fifth-year senior touched on a number of topics, including what it was like to beat South Carolina, what makes the Dores' offensive linemen so "nasty," and why he has so much respect for coach Bobby Johnson.

What did you see with the offensive linemen up front in that last drive that allowed you guys to close out the game?

Chris Nickson: I remember talking to them before that series and I told them that this is a time where you're in the trenches and you've got to step up and become a man. I told them that on the drive that Hawk scored on. The next drive I told them, "Do you remember what I told you on the last drive?" and they was like, "Yeah." I was like, "Well, forget it. This is the time." (Laughter)

While I was sitting there and talking to them all I saw was eyes and nods and I knew they understood exactly what I was saying. After that, they took it on themselves to finish the game. No one finished it but the o-line and their attitude towards the situation -- they weren't nervous, they weren't scared, they were just ready to kick somebody's butt, and that's what they did. They took it down the field and opened up some holes, large holes, biggest holes of the whole game,, and it showed.

Did you know you guys would run the ball on the last drive?

CN: I knew we were going to run it. Our confidence is in our running game, whether it be me or the running backs.

Surprised to see the young offensive line step up the way it did?

CN: I wasn't surprised, but I was very happy to see them grow up like that. I was very excited about watching them grow up and I think they did a tremendous job and stepped their game up to another level and I hope they can just continue to grow like that.

Is this the nastiest offensive line you've seen here?

CN: I hope so. We've got some nasty guys and they grind it out. With Vierling leading them, I wouldn't be surprised if they were the nastiest bunch we've had.

What is it about Vierling?

CN: Cause he's a nasty boy. He's an aggressor.

How did it make you feel to see coach Johnson so emotional at the end of that game?

CN: He's a native of South Carolina so I know that every South Carolina game means something to him, maybe just a little bit more than the others. To please him, that's all you want to do. That's the guy who brought you here, the guy who recruited you, who gave you a great education, you want to try to do your best for him, and to see him happy makes you happy and that's all there is to it.

What it was like to accomplish exactly what you said you guys were going to do?

CN: For the Vanderbilt community, we finally stepped it up and did something to make them proud. They could actually see and feel it for themselves. We've felt it before when went to Georgia and South Carolina and the people there felt it with us, but we've never been in that situation where we were in the perfect atmosphere so everyone could feel the excitement and joy that we've had.

To beat South Carolina in such an atmosphere it makes us very happy, it makes the Vanderbilt community happy and everyone's pleased with the way the program's going so we're excited about it and looking forward to another big game.

What impresses you most about Jared Hawkins?

CN: He's tough. Jared has been through a lot here and hasn't really gotten a lot of reps like he's probably wanted to. He's just been working his tail off and doing everything the right way, going about things the right way, being a great man, a great man of faith. His opportunity has finally presented itself and what he did was he came out and he put the team on his shoulders and carried us down the field. It showed that hard work pays off. I can't say enough about him.

One-on-one with Brad Vierling

Had a chance to catch up with co-captain Bradley Vierling this afternoon. The Commodores' starting center touched on a number of subjects, including the improved play of the offensive line and the career day from his good friend Jared Hawkins.

Talk about how much you've seen the offensive line improve in just two weeks.

Bradley Vierling: Every day in practice we get better and better. We're young and we're just starting to flow. With two games under our belt now, we're really starting to get a feel for each other and I'm pretty excited about what we can do.

What was it like to dominate the line of scrimmage when it mattered most in the fourth quarter and keep South Carolina's offense off the field?

BV: We knew we could do it and it was put on our shoulders. Our offensive line coach told us the only way we're going to win is if we do well. In the second half, we started to really get a feel for what they were doing and started being aggressive and had some fun.

What impresses you most about Jared Hawkins?

BV: I wasn't surprised by anything that Jared did or what he can do because I know he's always been a great back for us. I'm just excited whenever he gets that ball. You never know what's going to happen, if he's going to break it for 30 yards for a touchdown or slam it in there for four and just get us a first down. No matter what I know he's going to make great decisions back there and do a great job.

How would you describe Jared as a runner?

BV: Jared's fearless. When he gets the ball all he wants to do is just gain yards. It doesn't matter if he's breaking to the outside and running past people or trying to run them over through the middle, no matter what he's going to get the job done.

How does it feel to see him have success?

BV: It's very exciting for him personally to get the extra carries and extra yards and all that kind of stuff, milestones for him, and I'm just excited to be a part of Jared Hawkins' life and it's just a pleasure blocking for him.

What's your relationship like with Jared?

BV: We came in together, we've been through everything together, we're the same year, we're going to graduate together. It's just great to see him do well and as soon as we get Jeff back, we're going to have a very, very good tandem, and I'm really excited about it.

Do you think he has deserved more carries than he's gotten in the past?

BV: That's coach Kitchings. I have nothing to do with that. I'm not in their meeting rooms, I don't make the decisions. Whoever gets the ball, I'm just blocking for them no matter what.

What area of his game has Jarred improved the most over the past 3-4 years?

BV: I think whenever a running back comes in to college the No. 1 thing they have to work on is pass protection because in high school I don't think you really have to deal with that. You're always stronger and faster than everybody else. It's their hardest job to pick up all pass protections and blitzes and stuff like that.

Has he gotten a lot better in that area?

BV: Absolutely. He's improved on that more so than I'd say anything he's done. Knowing the offense better, knowing where blitzes are coming from, just getting your pads down and blocking better, he's really improving and he's looking good.

What type of person is Jared?

BV: Jared's one of the hardest workers on the team. He's non-stop, go hard, always on the grind. Whatever that guy gets, he deserves.

Catching up with Bobby Johnson

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson spoke with the media this afternoon and touched on a number of topics, including the significance of Thursday night's victory over South Carolina, the loss of defensive back Darlron Spead, the play of his linebackers, offensive line and special teams, the superb performance from Jared Hawkins and how to prepare for Rice's dynamic offense.

With you guys finally playing a game on Saturday, is there something to be said for getting back to a sense of normalcy?

Bobby Johnson: A lot to be said for it, especially academically. We went to class Thursday at least all the way through the morning and then got them over and settled them down in the hotel after that. It was pretty tough. And then the next day, you've got to get up and go to class. And they had to do the same thing the week before after the Miami game so it's been pretty tough. And then the weekend, you're practicing on Saturday and Sunday and then we went Monday night, so yes, I'm very happy to be back on the regular schedule.

The secondary has obviously played well. Can you talk about their play back there and how the injury to Darlron Spead is going to affect things.

BJ: They have played well and we expected them to play well. They were a good group last year, made a lot of big plays for us, and a lot of the things we do on defense are predicated on the fact that they can give you pretty good coverage on almost every play.

Losing Darlron will certainly be a blow to that group. He was sort of a specialist at the nickel back position and did a great job at it and had a knack for rushing the passer when we were blitzing and also had a knack for getting underneath those underneath routes. The other night (he had) a beautiful interception, read it the whole way. I'm pretty sure he was hoping for the quarterback to throw it to his man because he was ready for it.

We'll figure out a plan that we're going to use to try to replace him and it'll probably be several different scenarios, maybe several different players playing that position.

The other night after the game you talked about upping the ante a little bit and having a responsibility now. Did you talk to your guys about that and what does that mean exactly?

BJ: We've worked hard to try to get us a big win at home and now that we've done it, we've got to prove that that's what we've been preparing for. If we have been preparing for it, we'll go out and practice this week and practice hard and learn what Rice does offensively and defensively and be ready to play when gametime comes here Saturday. You just can't hang your hat on one or two games here or there, or one performance or one big win. I thought it was two big wins. I thought Miami was a big win for us on the road and I think it helped us win the South Carolina game. We just have to keep it going.

Do the stakes need to be raised for a program to move forward, where all your guys do play with that urgency every week?

BJ: I think we've always played with a pretty good sense of urgency. I think we are now playing good enough to compete with everybody we play against, and I think that in itself is a charge to our players to say, "Hey, play as good as you can play. If you do, you've got a chance to win."

Talk a little about Chase Clement. Is that one of the best quarterbacks you'll face this year?

BJ: He does a lot of good things for them. He's fearless and he can throw the ball extremely well, but he also runs the ball very well and makes a lot of plays with his legs. He's a lot like Chris. They're not all scrambles, they're designed runs and he does a good job of running their offense. I guarantee you he's seen every kind of defensive formation you could probably throw at him during his career there.

What has impressed you the most about Jared Hawkins?

BJ: I expected Jared to have a good year. I said earlier that I thought we would be better at the running back position than we were last year, and Jared was going to be a big part of it. Jared runs bigger than he looks. He's 195 pounds. He's a stout kid, but he doesn't look that way if you just look at him on the field. I think he surprises a few people with his power. He doesn't mind at all running between the tackles and bouncing off tacklers and he did a great job of that the other night.

Did Hawkins respond well to the extra carries?

BJ: Oh yea, he's in a great shape. In the preseason he had a little problem with some shin splints and didn't get to practice as much as he or we would have liked, but the strain on his body didn't bother him. He's in great shape.

Do you think the players responded positively to Chris Reinert's injry?

BJ: I think we responded to his gestures. We were a little bit upset, that was a pretty tough injury, and when you've got your teammate down there, everybody's concerned about it. We were certainly glad to see him in great spirits when they took him off, but that was a tough, tough injury. Chris Reinert is a tough guy. He's just one of those guys who's always running around and always has a lot of enthusiasm, and it's kind of contagious to the other guys. I definitely think it helped us out a little bit, and the next run, I don't know...you have to ask Jared, but the next run he bounced off about three of them and got in the end zone.

How hard is it for defenses to prepare for Chris Nickson?

BJ: It's the same problem we're having with Chase Clement. How do you defend everything that they do? I think Chris presents a lot of problems to defenses because a lot of is designed, some of it is off the cuff, and in the passing attack, if you can get some protection, I think Chris is a very fine passer. He'll continue to get better. What I've been really pleased with is his demeanor and how he's run the offense and his leadership ability I think has stepped up a tremendous amount, and that's just what you want out of a senior quarterback.

Schematically, what does Rice do offensively?

BJ: They have a stable of wide receivers that are used to being in that system where they catch a lot of balls and they see a lot of different coverages and react to coverages and they do a great job of that. But, they run the ball too. They make you stay honest.

You just can't drop eight of them back there and play against the pass, you've got to do both, and I think they have a tremendous amount of confidence right now in what they do. They feel like they can score points in bunches and they can do it anytime they need to do it. In the fourth quarter against Memphis, I think you saw that confidence, just step up and say, "Hey, we're gonna get it done," and they got it done.

Talk about the similarities between Vanderbilt and Rice.

BJ: We're smaller schools, but we have 85 scholarships just like everybody else. I've never bought into that small-school thing. They're a good program, they're up-and-coming. Coach has done a great job of getting his guys refocused. They've played two good games, just swamped SMU and has a great victory at Memphis. I think that says a lot for their team and their confidence.

Rice used to be in the Southwestern Conference and had to compete with Texas and Texas A&M and all those guys. Just like with Vanderbilt, it's tough to compete with those guys way back when everybody had more scholarships. Now, everybody has a little bit more even playing field I think and that's why you see so many upsets every week, and you see so many teams that used to not win are winning now. It's just a whole lot different than '61 or '62, whenever they went to a bowl.

When you're not playing on Saturday, how much do you pay attention to the college football landscape?

BJ: I actually was working this past weekend so I didn't get to see a whole lot, but yeah, I'm a fan. It's fun to watch, especially after you've won a game and you kind of relax that weekend. It's a whole lot more fun, to tell you the truth. You look at it like a fan, but you also look at it as a coach. What would you do if you were playing these guys and oh my gosh, look at that. How would we defend that? What are we going to do? It's still fun.

Thoughts on what happened to Washington?

BJ: It's a tough rule. I think that was a pretty obvious violation of the rule. If you want to say that rule was a bad rule, we can debate that, but it's a rule and they violated it. We came close to violating it and probably should have been called, I don't know. That's the thing -- I think you have to have very consistent enforcement of the rules by all the officials in the all the conferences.

The clear thing to me is, in our situation, we didn't violate the rule. We had a guy celebrating with his teammates and that's all he did right there. When you throw the ball 25 feet up in the air, that's a violation.

Thoughts on how the offensive line has done so far?

BJ: I hope we got better. I think we got better in the second half especially in the South Carolina game. I expect them to get better and better as we go along. I've really been pleased with Thomas Welch. I think Thomas has blocked extremely well. I thought Reilly Lauer and Ryan Custer had very good games this past week so if we can continue to develop some depth and if somebody gets dinged up, be able to put somebody in there and not miss any execution of off that, I would really be happy.

Surprised at the way they've controlled the first two games in the fourth quarter when you've needed to?

BJ: I don't know if I was surprised. I was very hopeful that we would be able to get a couple first downs, but that's pretty tough to do. We started at the five-yard line after the punt and then one first down is pretty good, but then to get the second one, I'm sure glad we got it because I hadn't figured out exactly what I was going to do -- whether I was going to punt or take a safety or what we were going to do.

So when he went across that line, I went, "Whew!" That's one decision I don't have to make. That's why I was so happy on the sideline. (Laughter)

Thoughts on the play of linebacker Patrick Benoist, who was named SEC Player of the Week?

BJ: It's a tough job. Against South Carolina, who does a good job of running the football and passing the football, he had a tough matchup. He was having to hang on to Jared Cook and that's a big target to try to settle in on right there. He kept battling and battling and got in and made some big plays for us. Patrick is really smart, and he knows exactly what we're doing, he knows what checks to make, he knows what the other team is going to do most of the time, and that's why he is as effective as he is. He's a smart player.

Thoughts on how John Stokes and Chris Marve have done, stepping in to a starting role?

BJ: It's a lot easier to say you're going to do that than getting in there and playing under the gun and being a starting linebacker in the SEC and they both played very well and are getting better every game. Chris was kind of hesitant in the first part of the Miami game and you could see him get better in the second half and he played much better against South Carolina than he did against Miami.

Thoughts on the play of the linebackers as whole?

BJ: They're pretty savvy. Patrick's had the advantage of playing a lot more, but all three of them study it just like you want your linebackers to do. You want them to anticipate what's happening and be ready to direct things out there on the field, and they're doing a good job of that even though they are young.

Talk about how pleased you are the special teams' performance through the first two games.

BJ: That was one of our goals over the offseason, to try to make our special teams better -- more sound first, and then hopefully make some big plays. The field goal block, that was just an individual effort by Greg (Billinger) getting in there, but I think that pressure and the pressure we had coming from the outside hopefully put a little bit more pressure on (Ryan) Succop on the next one that he missed.

There's always a benefit from blocking one. I think it scares them a little bit for the rest of them. And to tell you the truth, the play off of the punt was a fluke and it the South Carolina player, but our guys were very alert and jumped on it.

How did you go about improving your special teams?

BJ: We just examined each one of them. We sat down as a staff and we got the tape out and we looked at it and we've got some pretty smart coaches and when we get everybody in there and everybody gives their input on what we could do better or what they've seen before maybe at another school or another program and come up with what we want to do with our players. I think our coaches do a good job of getting our players in the right situations so they can be successful.

It was must have been pretty cool to be on the road this weekend in your Vanderbilt gear after Thursday night's victory.

BJ: It was. I'll tell you one thing that I realized even more, even though I thought I knew it, a lot of people watch ESPN. (Laughter). Going through airports. I was in the Dallas airport and people were stopping us left and right, and in Shrveport and in Nashville.

It was kind of cool, but it just goes to show you what exposure you get when you play Thursday night games, even though they're a little tougher to do. They're something we've got to be willing to do and we're pleased with the opportunity to have that this year.

Did anyone mistake you for Steve Martin?

BJ: Not a soul.

I'll have interviews with Chris Nickson, Reshard Langford and Brad Vierling up this evening so be sure to check back later.

Photo [The Tennessean]

Q&A with Bobby Johnson

Here's a recap of Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson's press conference following the Dores' 24-17 victory:

Opening statement:
"It was good to win the second one. I was very proud of our football team. I felt they played extremely hard in the second half and overcame some things in the second half. I'm just proud of the gritty effort by them to come out there and win that football game. We had several hurt and we had a bunch on the sideline for a while. I just couldn't be more proud."

On what he told the team after the game:
"I told them I was proud of them just like I'm telling ya'll. We move on from here. This I think ups the ante a little bit. We've got a responsibility now to keep playing this way, play better, get better, work hard, and hopefully we can do that."

On the win's significance:
"I have no idea right now. Hopefully we had recruits watching, we had potential ticket buyers watching, we had potential donors watching. It could mean a whole lot, but we have to follow it up. We just can't say, "Hey, we've done it." That's all it means. We've got to work hard to get ready for Rice this week and they'll present us problems so we've still got our work cut out for us big time."

On executing well when it mattered most:
In the second half we played our best football. When we had to get it done we got it done. We had some pretty tired puppies out there. Jared Hawkins ran hard, the offensive line blocked hard and the defensive line was relentless today. That's how you've got to win these kind of games. You've got to play hard the second half.

On the defensive effort in the first half:
"We sort of gave them their first seven, but after that, they got some good plays on us, but we kept fighting, kept fighting, blocked a field goal. They missed a field goal. That's why you've got to keep fighting. Just give yourself a chance to make a play or have them mess up. I think they played hard every play they were out there."

On beating Spurrier two years in a row:
"I was surprised that so many people thought it would be real hard for us to beat them. We beat them last year and I don't know why everybody thought they got so much better than what we were getting. I was glad to get out there and play the game. It was fun."

On using misdirection plays against South Carolina's quick defense:
"They were very aggressive on defense and we always have those plays in the game plan, but with a team that's going to be going hard at you, they're pretty reliable. You can get some things going."

On Stone's two sacks:
"To tell you the truth, I was watching every receiver they had to see where he was and I couldn't describe them to you if I had to right now. I looked down field. I'm an old secondary coach so I looked down field to see if we've got them covered and then I hear everyone cheering and I look back and we have him on the ground. I can't tell you much about them, but I know Steven Stone is relentless and he works extremely hard, and does exactly what you tell him to do."

On VU's blitzing:
"We had a zone pressure or full-out blitz on almost every down. Sometimes it was designed to just get the ball out. I think they started taking advantage of it in the fourth quarter, hitting some passes in the flat, but if it was third and nine and you can get them over there and tackle them and force them to punt, that's the idea."

On Nickson's play:
"I think he did a good job. He was rushed very hard all night, made some big plays for us, got us some situations where they had some great defenses called for some of the plays that we had called out of the huddle. I think he didn't try to force too many things and didn't try to do something he couldn't do so I was very pleased with the way he ran the game."

On the atmosphere:
"It was a great atmosphere here. You could hear the fans, especially the students, and it was great to have those people in the stands pulling for us. I don't know if we completely blacked it out, but we had a bunch of them there yelling for us."

On having a win like this at home:
"We talked about it before the game, that it was time to validate some of the wins we've had on the road and this is an opportunity we had. We beat Arkansas and then had them on the ropes here a couple of years ago and let them off, we had Georgia on the ropes last year and let them off. We talked about it. I don't know if it did any good, but we won. They were aware of it. Football coaches try, but they don't do a lot of motivating right before the game. It's done out there on the practice field and that's where our guys won the game this week."

On the difference in the two halves:
"Mainly it was sorting out what they were doing to us with their defense. It's a lot harder than most people think to try to change what 11 people do according to what the defense is doing. It just takes a little bit of time and then coach Cain did a great job of getting in the locker room and reformulating the game plan, and it worked."

Catching up with George Smith and Reshard Langford

Following coach Bobby Johnson's press conference, I had a chance to catch up with captains George Smith and Reshard Langford as they count down the hours until the Commodores' season opener Thursday night at Miami of Ohio.

GEORGE SMITH

Address how the receiving corps looks in your absence.
GS: We’re strong in the receiving corps. Sean Walker has become one of the biggest vocal leaders I’ve ever seen. He’s got a world of confidence.

It's been reported that Sean Walker has had a great camp, even staying after practice to run routes.
GS: Something like that, staying after practice, is a ritual for receivers. Sean has been working hard. Ever since I went down, I think he knew in his head that he had to step up and be a vocal leader and lead by example.

What should we expect from Jamie Graham?
GS: We don’t like at him like a young guy. He’s played basketball and played in front of big crowds and that gives us a lot of confidence knowing that he can perform under pressure.

Do you think playing basketball helps with football?
GS: I think anybody who’s played on TV or played with games on the line, that definitely has to be taken into effect.

What will it be like to watch from the sidelines on Thursday?
GS: I’m going to be the biggest cheerleader on Thursday and that’s not a tough job for me.

You have to be careful not to hurt the foot again.
GS: I’ve got the one hop on lock. I’m looking forward to cheering on my teammates and making sure that they can do the best that they can do on Thursday.

How has it been preparing for two quarterbacks?
GS: I think it’s a great luxury. Both of them are well-prepared and I think I, along with the rest of the team, have confidence in both of them. Both of them have been in big games and made big plays and that’s exciting to know that you have two quarterbacks capable of winning games.

Who are some guys that you think are in store for a big year?
GS: Jamie Graham, Casey Hayward, a lot of guys on the offensive line...And, how can I forget my No. 1 step-up guy, Chris Marve. I'm looking for a great season out of him. He’s not going to be a freshman, especially after the first game.

Talk about the growth of the program in your time here.
GS: I think this is the fastest team I’ve ever seen, fastest defense I’ve ever seen, and that’s exciting because I get to go against them. That makes me better.

You face both D.J. Moore and Myron Lewis on a daily basis. While D.J. gets a lot of the hype, how do they compare?
GS: Myron is just as good, 6’2", 6’3", 190 (pounds), long arms, can steer you any direction he wants you to.

RESHARD LANGFORD

How excited are you for the season to start?
RL: We’re just ready to go out and play. We’ve been talking about it all season, changing this program, changing things around here. We’re just ready to go play.

How much sleep do you expect to get this week?
RL: I didn’t sleep much last night. But I’m going to sleep, and do what I have to do to prepare myself to get ready for this game.

What will it take for the defense to be as good or better than it was last year?
RL: I feel like playing defense is all about will and how much do you not want the other team to score or complete a pass on you or run the ball on you, and I think we’ve got that. We can be just as good or better than we were last year.

What's the biggest question mark you have with your defense?
RL: I don’t have any question marks at all. I think we’ll go in confident, ready to play, we’ll play hard from start to finish.

What impresses you most about Chris Marve?
RL: His attitude about the game. He loves the game. I enjoy when he’s out on the field, I enjoy all my guys out there. Just his intensity, his love for the game, his spirit about it, is just amazing.

How much different is it being a senior?
RL: It’s a little different. I have a lot more knowledge. I know what’s going on. I can see things differently than some other players might see things. It makes the game a lot easier and it slows it down for me.

Q&A with Joey Manning

With a number of talented recruits heading to Nashville in the fall, it's easy to forget about the Commodores already waiting in the wings. Just a year ago fans and coaches were raving about the potential of outfielder Joey Manning.

"Joey is an Albert Pujols look-alike," said coach Tim Corbin before the season. "He's strong, can run and throw, and is a mature freshman. He's very driven to excel and is our future in the outfield."

However, the presence of seniors David Macias and Dominic de la Osa meant little playing time for Manning. He finished the season 2-for-7 with one RBI and two walks. This summer Manning is starting for the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball. Through eight games, he is hitting .276 with two homers, a double and six RBI to go along with six walks.

After playing against Mike Minor and the rest of the Team USA squad Thursday night, Manning sat down with The Sports VU to discuss a number of topics, including his strengths and weaknesses as a hitter.

Sports VU: Talk about what the atmosphere is like here in Newport.
Joey Manning: It’s just like college. We get just as many fans here as we do back at school. The pitching is pretty good, the competition is pretty good.

SV: How exciting is it to be playing every day again?
JM: At school, it was a little bit frustrating this year having so many older guys in the outfield. It’s nice to come here and play every day. I had to prove myself at first when I got here. People were thinking, “OK, this guy didn’t play a lot at school; he’s probably not that good.” You realize how much talent’s at Vandy when you come here.

SV: While you obviously want to play, I’m sure you had to learn a lot from the older guys.
JM: It’s definitely humbling. You see what you have to do from the preparation stand point every day.

SV: What do you have to do to solidify a spot in the outfield next season?
JM: Just be more consistent.

SV: Do you have a host family here?
JM: Yeah, I’m staying with my best friend from back home, Jack Murphy, he goes to Princeton. We’re staying with Chuck Paiva, who’s actually the GM of the team.

SV: What’s a day like for you here in Newport?
JM: The first week we got here, we had to wake up early and read to elementary school kids every day. Now, it’s just wake up, lift weights, play a little basketball and come to the field.

SV: How did playing for Coach Corbin this year prepare you for this summer?
JM: You have to have great energy and preparation every day. I’ve done that here and it’s paid off for me.

SV: With six walks, looks like you’ve been pretty patient so far.
JM: I don’t get to see too many fastballs and they throw around me a little bit.

SV: What are your strengths and weaknesses as a hitter?
JM: I can hit the fastball, but I just have to learn to hit the slider a little better. I hit a curve ball out the other night, but I need to work on hitting the slider.

Photo [Goldy's Blog]

Q&A with Mike Minor

It seems like just yesterday Mike Minor was a freshman, pitching in relative anonymity behind David Price. Now, he's already a junior.

The left-hander went 7-3 with a 4.28 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 103 innings as a sophomore after going 9-1 with a 3.09 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 90.1 innings as a freshman. Despite the statistical dip, Minor said there is no question he is a better pitcher.

He is playing for Team USA for the second straight summer and took some time to answer some questions from The Sports VU after the Americans' 8-3 victory over Newport about a number of topics, including the reason for his struggles, the development of his third pitch, the dedication of pitching coach Derek Johnson and expectations for next season.

Sports VU: Describe the feeling of wearing that Team USA jersey.
Mike Minor: It’s always a lot of fun to put the USA jersey and representing wherever go, but especially in Newport, such a big town, on the coast. The ballpark in itself is just different – you never see fences this high all the way around, nowhere past 360, restaurant in right field. It’s a pretty cool place.

SV: What it’s like not having Pedro (Alvarez) and Flash (Ryan Flaherty) around this summer?
MM: I had to go with the guys and get to know everybody else instead of just lingering towards Pedro and Flash and having them create friends for me. I had to do it all on my own this year except for Goldy, and he’s with the coaches most of the time.

SV: It seems like you were a freshman. And now you’re about to be a junior. Can you believe it?
MM: I was actually thinking about that the other day. Next year – that’s the big year. It seemed like just the other day I was with Pedro and Flash and they were the big dogs and now I’m at the top, ready to go hopefully in the draft next year.

SV: How excited are you for next year?
MM: I think I’ll be better, be more experienced and I feel like I won’t make as many mistakes and I’ll be more of a leader for the younger guys.

SV: Have you had a chance to evaluate what you did well this season and what you can improve?
MM: I tried to be a leader out there and set the tone on Friday nights, but a lot of times I would get mad at myself if I made a bad pitch here or there. I was too hard on myself and that’s what I need to learn from and next year, just let it go by.

SV: Statistically, you may not have had as good a season as a sophomore, but I’d imagine that you are much better pitcher now than you were there then.
MM: Definitely. Last year I was right behind Price and they were like “let’s just focus on Price, Price, Price,” and then I would get out there and they were like “who’s this guy?” They really didn’t know who I was and now this year, everybody knew I had a changeup so everybody sat on my changeup and hit my changeup. I feel like I’m a better pitcher and developing my third pitch and throwing it more so people can sit on my changeup.

SV: What’s the third pitch?
MM: Slider, but I’m actually working on a curve over the next couple of weeks too so there might be four.

SV: Talk about what it’s like to play for DJ (pitching coach Derek Johnson)?
MM: He’s so dedicated. We lost our last game in the Regional and everybody’s just looking ahead to summer ball and he’s already next year and what we need to work on. We had a meeting for two hours that night just talking about next year and the year just got over. That just shows you how dedicated he is.

SV: Looking ahead to next year, the pitching staff has a chance to be pretty good.
MM: I’m pretty excited about that because I’m a pitcher and don’t really care what the hitters do. You’ve got Sonny Gray and Navery Moore coming in and a lot of guys. Those are just the guys I know from close by. I’m pretty pumped to see what they’ve got and show them tips and have them lean on my shoulder.

SV: Is it tough to watch LSU and Georgia competing in Omaha, knowing it could be you guys?
MM: I feel like we can compete with them, but I guess this year we just couldn’t come together like we did the year before and there were just so many obstacles we would’ve had to overcome to get to Omaha.

SV: How impressive has Kentrail Davis (Tennessee) been so far?
MM: Him and the other SEC guys, Hunter Morris (Auburn). They just light up in BP and in the games. It makes me feel pretty good because during the season they didn’t do much against me.

SV: Learn anything from the other pitchers out in the bullpen?
MM: I learned a couple new grips and new pitches. Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) throws a crazy 12-6 knuckle-curve that I’ll never try because it looks too hard.

Q & A with Curt Casali

In Cape Cod Baseball League action, the Hyannis Mets beat Falmouth 1-0 Monday night in a classic pitchers' duel to improve to 2-0. Vanderbilt reliever Russell Brewer shut down the door in the ninth to pick up his second save, and his battery mate was fellow Commodore Curt Casali.

After the game, Casali took some time to answer a number of questions from The Sports VU about a number of topics, including his early impressions of the league and Jason Esposito's decision to come to Vanderbilt, in addition to signing autographs and helping his teammates with some groundskeeping.

Sports VU: How exciting was it to make your Cape Cod Baseball League debut?
Curt Casali: It was a rush being out there again, just like my first college game. I definitely think I was more nervous for my first college game than I was for here, but there were some butterflies. By the first inning, (Andrew) Carraway (of Virginia) was throwing great and I had to do was stick up the glove.

SV: It must be a blast to play in such low-scoring, high-quality baseball games.
CC: It's a lot of fun and the wooden bats being used add another element that college baseball players just don't even realize when you're playing with metal all the time. It's definitely a pitchers' game. 4-3 our first game and 1-0 today. You go into the ninth with a 1-0 lead, you're feeling good about yourselvesf you're playing with metal, you're like, "We really need to get some extra runs to help us out here."

SV: I'm sure you're really confident in the ninth when Russell Brewer enters the game.
CC: Russ has definitely got his thing going on in the ninth inning. I know Coach Robinson loves him as a closer already and I feel fortunate enough to be in the ninth to catch him. It's a lot of fun.

SV: Talk about how gratifying it is to be playing such a prestigious league.
CC: I've been waiting for this my whole life. It's always been a life-long dream to play in the Cape League. It's close to home and hopefully a couple of my buddies will come up here eventually. So far so good. My host family is awesome. They've treated me like their own son and I couldn't be happier.

SV: What was Carraway doing well tonight?
CC: He was just painting the black. Maybe the umpire was giving him a few inches at the end, but he definitely earned everything he got.

SV: Is this your first time using wood?
CC: No, I've used it before since high school baseball players usually use wood in the summer now, but it's been a long year of using metal so I'm still trying to get back in the swing of things, although I did hit a couple hard tonight. It will come around as it will for anyone else who may be struggling in this league. I'm a firm believer in that.

SV: What is Coach Robinson like?
CC: He's intense, almost as intense as Coach Corbin, but he's a good guy. He's calling a good game behind the plate. After going to college at Vanderbilt with Coach Corbin, you get used to an intense style of play and a fast style of play, and that's exactly what he preaches. Hustling on and off the field and a quick pace of the game.

SV: Will it take you a while to establish a rapport with the pitchers?
CC: It took me a whole fall to get a hold of our pitching staff (at Vandy), but these guys are the cream of the crop and if they're up here, they're up here for a reason. They know what they're doing and I'm trusting their stuff and I'll do whatever it takes to react to it and catch it and help them succeed.

SV: From fall ball to winter workouts to a grueling four-month season and now to this, it's been a long year, but I imagine that you guys aren't complaining about this opportunity.
CC: You can't complain about it. Ask anybody in this league and they'll say it's been their lifelong dream to come up here. Yeah, it would be a nice to have a regular summer vacation like most students, but I'm not compaining whatsoever. This is so much fun.

SV: So Jason Esposito is finally coming.
CC: Thank god. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to him, tried to convince him Vanderbilt was the best place to come. He won't be disappointed. I can guarantee you that.

SV: Already excited about next year?
CC: It was fun being a freshman for a little bit, but then it took its tolls. It will be good to be one of the older guys and establish a leadership roll.

SV: How difficult will it be to replace Shea Robin?
CC: I have some big shoes to fill because I've never seen anybody block as well as Shea has, handle the pitching staff as well as he has and you can ask Coach Corbin about that. I'm a little nervous to take on the responsibility of taking care of the staff, but at the same time I'm really excited.

SV: How will playing in this league help prepare for next season?
CC: Any time you're using a wooden bat, it really strengthens your wrists and your hands and your swing as a whole. You can cheat sometimes with a metal bat and get away with some dinky hits. But if you get jammed here, you break a bat and it hurts too. Playing with the best players across the country, how can you not get better?

Q & A with A.J. Ogilvy

After finishing his freshman campaign at Vanderbilt, center A.J. Ogilvy returned home to Australia, where he kindly answered some questions from the Sports VU about a number of topics, including his summer plans, Festus Ezeli and the weirdest thing about Americans.

SV: Some Websites say that you could have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. What factors led to you to come back for your sophomore season?
AO: To tell you the truth it wasn't even really a decision I made, I didn't even think about leaving Vanderbilt. So I will definitely be back next year!

SV: What are your plans for the summer in terms of basketball? Excited to go back home? I'm sure it's been tough at times being so far away.
AO: Coming back home was amazing, it was awesome to see my family and friends again. Basketball-wise im working out with the Australian National team and trialing for a spot on the Olympic team, so thats really exciting. (Read more about this in his Q & A with The Nashville City Paper.)

SV: How would you evaluate your first SEC season? What do you think were your strengths and weaknesses?
AO: Obviously I wasn't as consistent as I would have liked to have been through the SEC season but I thought I had some good games. My strength is definitely my ability to play off the dribble and take bigger post guys outside and work them, weakness at the moment my post defence it's something that I really need to work on.

SV: Who was the toughest player to guard? What was the toughest place to play? What was the season highlight?
AO: Toughest player to guard was probably Patrick Patterson, he is a great player. Rupp Arena was the hardest place to play in and the one thing from the season that stands out to me in Shan dropping 42 on Senior Night. Pick any of his shots from that game and you have a season highlight

SV: What areas of your game are you working on most this off-season?
AO: Im really working on my jump shot and trying to extend my range, also working a lot on my fitness.

SV: I know that you and Keegan are really close. What was your reaction when he told you he was transferring?
AO: Yeah me and Keegan were really close. I was disappointed when I found out but not surprised. Obviously it has been announced now that he is going to UTC and I wish him all the best.

SV: How would you rate your first-year at Vanderbilt -- the classes, the city, the fans, parties, etc.? What's the biggest difference between here and Australia? What's the weirdest thing about the U.S.?
AO: I had a great first fear, it was amazing fun... the people, the games, teammates, fans, parties, all of it i just loved it. I can't wait for next year. The biggest difference is that the legal drinking age in Australia is 18, so that took some adjustment and the weirdest thing about the US is that you guys drive on the wrong side of the road.

SV: Vanderbilt just signed two more recruits in Jeff Taylor and Brad Tinsley. Did you say anything to convince them to come to Vandy?
AO: They are going to be valuable contributors to our team next year. I told them what everybody already know, we have a great program with great coaches and even better players. We truly are a family and it makes the transition process a lot easier.

SV:Have you gotten to play with them at all on their visits, and if so, what are their games like?
AO: I played with Brad for a little while, he is a sort of do it all point guard. He is a great passer, he is athletic and has good vision. He is also a prolific scorer with a great stroke. I didn't get the chance to play with Jeff though.

SV:You guys already have a couple of great guys coming in in Lance and Steve. How excited are you for them to get here?
AO: I cant wait for the guys to get in and for us to start building towards another great year! Lance and Steve are both excellent players and are gonna improve our team.

SV: Most Vanderbilt fans don't know much about the guy who guarded you in practice every day, Festus. What's he like as a player and how much are you looking forward to seeing him out on the court next year?
AO: Festus was very raw at the beginning of the year but he got better every single day! Vanderbilt fans should be really excited because Festus is long and athletic and is bound to make some highlights on both ends of the floor! I can't wait for Fes to get out there with us, I've seen all the work he put in this year and I can't wait to be there when it begins to pay off.

SV: How much has the way the season ended motivated you to be an even better team next fall?
AO: As a team we havent talked about it much, but i know as individuals we have all thought about it. For me it's what I've been using as motivation when working out since the end of the season, I don't want another great year to end the way last year did so once we get together as a team that will be one of the first things we discuss, how we can make up for last year.

Thanks so much for your time, A.J. Best of luck in your Olympic Trials and we'll see you back here in the fall.

Q & A with Tim Corbin

After guiding his team to a 5-0 week, including a road sweep of Mississippi State, Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin chatted with The Sports VU and other local media outlets about a wide range of topics, including the toughness of second baseman Alex Feinberg, the stellar play of outfielder David Macias and the team's partnership with Nashville RBI.

Sports VU: Talk about Feinberg and how he's dealing with everything.
Tim Corbin: He deals with it as if nothing's wrong with him actually. He came to me the other day and said that he could play and once he got the doctor's OK to play, I said to him, "Well, I've got to make a decision on hitting you or hitting someone else," and he goes, "Well, you need to hit me." He makes it pretty apparent to me that he can play, and it doesn't seem like he's even thinking about that he's hurt.

SV: With his mouth shut, does it affect the team's communication at all?
TC: No, it's kind of welcoming to the ears that he's not talking anymore. I just like see his physical abilities and I'd rather not listen to him (Laughter).

SV: Satisfied with how the week went?
TC: Yeah, I'd have to say so. We went 5-0, we won two midweek games and I thought that was the start. I thought the pivotal part to the weekend was the fourth inning of Friday night's game. Down 7-3 and we come back and put it to them and keep on scoring. I didn't detect any alarm in the dugout at that time, and then Mikie (Minor) came out and in the fifth, sixth and seventh, put holes on the other team.

SV: Good to see the team win in three different fashions -- the comeback, the blowout and the nail-biter?
TC: That's a good point. It's tough enough winning a series on the road, let alone sweeping, I don't care who the opponent is. I told the team after the game yesterday, "If you sweep a series, you're doing things well," and I thought we had a pretty positive approach the entire week.

SV: Talk about your involvement with the RBI Program?
TC: I've known Reggie Whitemore for quite some time, but it was an opportunity opened from our marketing people more than anything else. It made me aware of it, and they asked me what I thought of it and if I'd be interested in making David (Price) aware of it and helping out, and it didn't really take too much thinking to get involved in something like that because it's for the city, it's for kids, and to get them involved in baseball and to get them over here. In this program now, where we've got some role models like a David Price or a Pedro Alavarez or a Alex Feinberg or Ryan Flaherty, they've got personalities that the kids can attach themselves to, and they're good players, so I thought this was as good a time as any.

SV: Talk about the importance of a program like this and the impact on the community.
TC: These are young people who are developing ideas and who have curiosity and interests. I don't know if baseball a lot times is one of those interests of a 12, 13-year-old intercity kid or anyone. When you open up an avenue where they can see it and experience and then think, "Boy, I can do what that kid is doing," and "I could put on a uniform," I might try to do everything I possibly can to do that. You've got Reggie, who's a former Minor Leaguer, Red Sox player, who spearheads this opportunity for the kids and you combine that with a school like Vanderbilt who happens to be playing well and has some good personalities, I think that's eye-opening for a young person.

SV: With players like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant being so popular among today's youth, how important do you think it is to make baseball seem "cool" again?
TC: You know, when I was at the Winter Meetings (in Nashville), that was the biggest concern -- the fact that minorities in baseball is becoming a minority. There's not as many kids coming out and that was the chief concern, and it starts at the grassroots level. It starts at the younger level where kids have an interest in wanting to play, and when you look at Lebron James and the guys they see on TV all the time, that's a basketball thing and obviously there's more interest to want to play that game.
What you have to do is develop leaders and impact people in a community like Nashville that have an influence on other kids. David Price is that guy. David Price has the ability to touch kids both from a physical ability and one-on-one, where he can spend time with kids and have an immediate presence. He's an energy-giver and he's a drawing card.
I think we have a couple of those kids on our team like that right now. Price needs to be involved because he came from a situation like that, albeit it was Murfreesboro, but still he was giving the opportunity to play and look what he's done with it. I think there's a lot of David Prices out there, or could be.

SV: How excited is David to have the opportunity to impact kids that were just like him growing up?
TC: He's all about something like this. He's all about little kids. After all, he still is, and I hope he always stays that way too. I told him that that's his biggest positive, that he treats things as if he's still playing a kids' game, and I hope he never loses that focus. They've got the right kid involved in a situation like this.

SV: Did you sense that for the first time all year, everything sort of came together?
TC: I think midweek, giving up two runs and not making an error in 18 innings, and this weekend, making two errors in 27 innings, and then putting some runs up, I thought that was important. I think there was a time where every facet of the game, we weren't very consistent, and I think this was as close to consistency as there has been on this season up until this point.
Getting back Pedro is a big key, getting Feinberg back on the field is a big key and I think the more we play together and the more we have a full unit out there, I think we're going to be come a better team; I really do. I think our best baseball is ahead of us.

SV: Talk a little about David Macias.
TC: I think Macias is the reason why kids come back and player their senior year of college baseball. They start to figure things out and they start to understand it, and that's exactly what he's doing. Macias and Feinberg, two seniors, are having great years. It just shows that when kids play four years, how much they pick up and how they start to learn the game, and they get comfortable playing after. I think those guys are going to end up playing more baseball. They both have risen in their stock in terms of what other people professionally think about them.

SV: Has Macias, a high school infielder, exceeded your expectations defensively?
TC: No, I wouldn't say that because he's a good athlete. A lot of people think that if Flaherty went down he could step in and be our shortstop. He's kind of a poor man's Ryan Freel. He can (play) any position on the field and excel at it. In center field, he's kind of a gymnast. He gets good step, he's good a very alert arm and can throw accurately. He plays center field as well as any one in this conference, bar none, and it's not the fact that he's just a flier out there. It's just because he's got good instincts, he gets good reads on the ball, he's alert and he can throw runners out.

SV: How good was his weekend, offensively, defensively, the whole package?
TC: Unbelievable. DJ (Derek Johnson) and I were remarking yesterday during BP how he was leaving his feet for every ball hit in BP and making diving catches, and I'm thinking to myself, "Here's a guy who's been in this league for four years and he's never slowed down one step whatsoever." He's still laying out during batting practice when no one's in the stands. It's just what he's used to doing, and he carries the same mentality to the game. He's hitting home runs, he's stealing bases, he's driving in important runs, he's making great catches. He made about five catches during the weekend that were going towards the fence. He made a catch that wasn't a catch and he sold it so it was a catch. He's doing everything.

SV: Among the candidates for Team MVP?
TC: Oh yeah. He's the energizer bunny. He's the same mood every day, same energy level every day. He's been the same for four years. You know how some kids come into your program and they want to work really hard and show you that (they're committed)? Well, he's never stopped from one. He's a very unusual kid in terms of his work ethic and his ability to stay at a high level all the time.

SV: Was this just a case of "what a difference a week makes"?
TC: Alabama and Ole Miss both turned their seasons around on us because both weren't going well until they played us, and I told the team on Thursday, "You know what the problem is. I think that other teams think more of us than we think of ourselves." We're playing like a pretender instead of a contender and we've got to get to the point where you feel like you're the contender and playing like the team you're capable of playing and I think we started to do that this weekend.

Q & A with David Macias

After being named Southeastern Conference Hitter of the Week Monday, Vanderbilt center fielder David Macias sat down with The Sports VU to talk about a number of topics, including the Commodores' first SEC road sweep since 1993 and the reason behind his career-high six homers.

The senior is enjoying the best season of his career. He went 13-for-23 (.565) with a double, triple and homer and four RBI with nine runs scored last week, and currently sports a team-best .386 average, good for third in the SEC.

Sports VU: Going back to last Sunday, after you guys had been swept by Ole Miss, what was said then to help you guys regroup and propel you to such a great week?
David Macias: After that Sunday loss, we just tried to get back to Nashville and get things situated and go back to the basics, just practicing hard and practicing like we play, and ultimately it carries over.

SV: It would have been easier for you guys to panic, but I imagine you all realized that it's more important to peak in the second half of the season.
DM: Absolutely. We all know it's a long season and there's going to be some bumps in the road, and it's just a reflection on the coaches, just to keep us positive and know that good things are going to happen.

SV: For you personally, on the steroids lately? With six home runs already, talk about how well you're seeing the ball and your approach at the plate.
DM: As the leadoff hitter, I'm just going up there and trying to get on base. Fortunately, I'm getting good pitches to hit and a couple of home runs here and there...I've been working on my swing a lot. I think it's changed a little bit since last year, but those home runs at Alabama, the wind was blowing up pretty good. My swing has developed a little bit and I'm just getting good pitches to hit, and fortunately they're going out.

SV: Talk about what it means to this team for you to set the tempo early.
DM: No matter who's leading off the inning, it's just huge to get that leadoff guy on, especially with guys in our lineup like Pedey (Pedro Alvarez), Flash (Ryan Flaherty), Dom (Dominic de la Osa) and Feinberg.

SV: Do you think you get the credit you deserve out there in center field?
DM: I don't know about the credit, but as long as we win, that's all that matters. I just go out there in the outfield and play as hard as I can in practice so that way it carries over to the field, and I can help our pitchers out.

SV: Do teammates joke around with you about your newfound power?
DM: Yeah, they're always joking around with me about it, guys like Dom and Flash, but I'm sure they're happy for me.

SV: What's the mindset of the team heading into the second half of the SEC season?
DM: The mindset is to just go out and practice like you play, just take it one day at a time, so tomorrow's focus is a Lipscomb team.

SV: Guys say you're the funniest player on the team. What are some of the things you do to keep everybody loose?
DM: It's just the way I am. I just go in the dugout or in the locker room and try to be myself and I guess they think that's funny.

SV: Talk about the toughness of Alex Feinberg, who returned to the lineup just a week after taking a 92-mph fastball to the jaw.
DM: I couldn't believe it, but then again I'm not surprised. He's the toughest kid on the team. He can't even open his mouth and he's out there facing these guys at 90-mph and getting the job done.

SV: Talk about the atmosphere at Mississippi State.
DM: It's a big stadium, tough ball club, those people in the outfield are pretty bad...Friday was pretty bad, Saturday wasn't as bad, and then Sunday I guess they started to get along with Dom (right fielder) a little bit. They gave him some food after the game. They were nice fans.

SV: How impressed were you with the pitching staff this weekend? Talk about what's it been like to see these young guys grow up this season.
DM: They're doing great. Caleb Cotham came up in a big spot, and those freshman are doing great. It gives the defense a lot of confidence when you've got pitchers like that on the mound.

SV: How important is it for them to stay ahead and throw strikes, and keep the defense in the game?
DM: It's huge, and that's a reflection on DJ (pitching coach Derek Johnson). That's one of his big aspects, just keep the tempo going and keep the defense on their toes.

SV: It seemed like this past week everything kind of came together and you were firing on all cylinders.
DM: Just like Corbins always said, it's all eventually going to happen and everyone is going to get in sync, hitting the ball, pitching and playing defense.

SV: You have a real knack for getting hit by pitches; is that something you work on?
DM: To tell you the truth, when I work with (Eric) Bakich, I tell him to hit me sometimes so I don't get out of the way when it comes to game time. I'm a leadoff hitter so I do whatever it takes to get on base and let those guys drive me in.

Q & A with Derek Johnson

Vanderbilt's Derek Johnson, one of the nation's best pitching coaches, sat down with The Sports VU following the Commodores' 5-1 victory over Western Kentucky to talk about a number of topics including, Nick Christiani's outing and second-half expectations for his staff.

Sports VU: How important was it for you guys to get off to a good start this week?
Derek Johnson: It was obviously important for us coming off the weekend, but probably more important for (Christiani). He’s kind of been back and forth, had some good outings but inconsistent. So for him to go as long as he did in the ball game was huge.

SV: What was the key for Nick tonight?
DJ: It’s the same as it always is with him. It’s being able to throw the ball across the plate and it’s being down in the zone, where he can use his defense, and he did that tonight. He mixed his pitches well and was down in the zone for the most part and they didn’t hacks off of him.

SV: He said being able to throw the off-speed for strikes was important.
DJ: Yeah, it was huge, but just overall, he has a tendency to be up in the zone and when he is, he gets flat and that’s when things don’t go well for him so just his ability to command the zone better tonight was a big deal.

SV: Confident that Nick will pick it up in the second half of the season?
DJ: I think if he pitches like he has in the fall, then I feel very confident. Up until this point, he’s been inconsistent. He’s shown more confidence in what he’s doing out there as of late and that’s a good sign so my confidence goes up every time he goes out there and gives us a good performance.

SV: With Brett Jacobson, another junior, is it a similar situation?
DJ: Very similar. Both (have been) up in the zone. The bottom line for us to be the pitching staff that we want to be and that we need to be and to be able to play through the postseason, those two guys have to help us, and they know that. Both of them know that. It’s a situation where if we can get some consistency going from them, the younger guys have held their own, we should be in good shape.

SV: Both guys seem to have the tools to be successful, so is it just a matter of putting it all together?
DJ: It’s putting it together. The bottom line is we’re in the second half of the season. The first half sometimes is inconsistent. It’s not what you want it to be, but if you have a good plan, which they do, and you work at it, which they do, then consistency can come. In the second half, that’s what we’re looking for.

SV: Coach Corbin said yesterday that this team has been a joy to coach because of the fact that things haven’t gone smoothly and guys have been tested. Would you agree?
DJ: It’s absolutely a process. Yeah, we didn’t have hiccups last year. We were 20-3 at this time and nothing was wrong. There aren’t many baseball seasons that are that way. Most seasons will have an up and down or peak or valley, and you’ve got to find out what kids are going to be like and what they’re going to do when that happens. We’re finding that out now.

SV: Thoughts on the freshmen’s performance thus far?
DJ: I like them. It’s very similar to those older guys we were talking about. They’ve had their ups and downs. You can’t call them consistent, but they’ve gone out there and thrown strikes and you know what, you’ll take that. Now it’s that second half, you turn it up a notch.

SV: Do you think the book is finally coming out on some of the younger guys?
DJ: I think overall for us to be successful it’s not about what other hitters do; it’s about what we do and how we go about our business and how we adjust to things that are going on. Not so much about what hitter is standing up there or what team we’re playing.

SV: Thoughts on the younger guys getting adjusted to pitching on the road?
DJ: If you look at our numbers, they’re way better at home than they are on the road, and I haven’t been a part of many baseball teams where that hasn’t held true, especially with a younger staff. We’ve got to learn to pitch a little better on the road and I think we will.

SV: Was Minor’s performance last weekend just a matter of not matching up well with Ole Miss, which had a number of right-handers?
DJ: It might have been a bad match-up, but I just think he didn’t have his best performance. He didn’t pitch terribly; he just didn’t pitch like we were used to seeing.

SV: Are you confident that the staff can get to the point that you need it to be by the end of the season?
DJ: I like our younger guys. They work at it, they have good arms, they’re going to be really good and it’s one of two things: they’ll either be good next year or at the end of this year. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

SV: Weekend rotation?
DJ: We’re still kind of looking. We know Mikie is pitching Friday and past that we’re kind of looking at our options and seeing what the best fit is.

Christiani lifts Vandy past Hilltoppers

Junior Nick Christiani gave up one run on five hits in 6.2 innings while striking out six and walking three to lead the Commodores (20-10, 5-6 SEC) past Western Kentucky 5-1 Tuesday night at Hawkins Field. David Macias went 4-for-5 and Dominic de la remained locked in, finishing 3-for-5, to pace the offense.

After the game, Christiani sat down with The Sports VU to talk a little about his performance.

Sports VU: How important was it to come out tonight and make a statement after losing three over the weekend?
Nick Christiani: Any time you get swept, you come out the next game and you’ve still got that feeling a little bit from the weekend so it was good to hit well, to pitch well and play good defense. It was a good win…I had that one inning where I lost it a little bit, but I just tried to throw strikes and let our defense make plays.

SV: What was working well for you?
NC: I was able to throw my off-speed pitches for strikes. I started throwing the curve ball in, and sliders and changeups, and locating the fastball too, but keeping hitters off balance with the off-speed was great.

SV: For you individually, what your goals going forward?
NC: I just want to be consistent and know that I can go out there and give a good outing every single time and help the team.

SV: With some of the younger pitchers struggling somewhat recently, what advice have you given them being a junior who has gone through it all?
NC: It’s more of a resilience and mentality thing, just going out there and competing your nuts off.

SV: Confident the staff will get the point that it needs to be at for you guys to achieve your goals?
NC: I think we’re going to click sooner or later and be really good. We’ve got a talented staff.

Q & A with Tim Corbin

Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin chatted with the local media Monday afternoon about a number of topics, including why he loves coaching this year's team and Alex Feinberg's toughness.

Sports VU: After a weekend like you guys just had, do you just try to forget about it and move on?
Tim Corbin: We just go forward. That’s all you can do. I told the kids, ‘We didn’t go through this last year.’ Maybe we should have. Maybe it would’ve helped us. Now we’re going through some tougher times that I think if we can withstand them, will make us a much better ball club. It’s very easy to get down because I think the perception is we’re supposed to be a good team. When things don’t come out the way they’re supposed to, then you start to think, ‘Do I have to do more? Do I have to work harder?' Well, yeah, you always have to work, but we’ll just positively get through this, somehow some way.

SV: Mike Minor mentioned that confidence may be an issue for some of the younger pitchers. Would you agree?
TC: It’s their first time on the road. Not knowing what’s going to happen and not knowing the atmosphere, they get a little bit shell-shocked at first and they get out of their comfort zone and when they get out of their comfort zone, they’re not experienced enough to get through it. There’s probably some panic, but in the end, these are good times. In a weird way, it’s fun to coach a team like this because it isn’t as easy maybe as we thought it was last year.

SV: It obviously must be great to have Pedro back in the lineup.
TC: Over the course of time it’ll give our team a lot of confidence, but then you turn around and lose your spark plug and your fighter (in Alex Feinberg) so you take one step forward and two back.

SV: Going back to last year, it seemed like the guys had so much pressure on themselves to succeed by the end. In a way, are things easier this year because they’re kind of flying under the radar?
TC: The pressure kept mounting last year because you kept winning and every time you kept winning, the expectation level is well, these guys are good, they can’t lose…What happened to Oregon State last year is they were the returning national champions but they just barely got into the tournament and they almost become the underdog.
Now, I’m not scripting out that’s how it’s going to happen for us. You can’t just snap your fingers and say well they did it, so it’s going to happen to us, but I just think part of that is the fact is that is does take the pressure off the kids a little bit. OK, we’re not at the top anymore so let’s just fight our way through it and in the end we’ll be the team that we want to be.

SV: Has the main problem thus far been the pitching?
TC: It’s a little bit of everything, really. Sometimes we pitch, we don’t hit. Sometimes we hit, we don’t pitch. Sometimes we hit and pitch, but don’t play defense and make some bizarre running mistakes.

SV: How important are these two mid-week games for you guys, to get your confidence and focus back?
TC: They mean a lot. They mean a lot in terms of confidence and wins, they mean a lot as far as RPI, they mean a lot as far as guys getting swings back, it means a lot for pitchers to get into some sort of groove, good weather, rhythm, Pedro more swings. These are huge. Sometimes you wish had more days to practice, but we don’t any more with the new rules, so we’re going in the process just by playing games.

SV: What are your thoughts on the later starting time for the season?
TC: It was put in for the Northern schools, but I don’t think they like it, but there’s nothing we can do now. We made the bed and now we have to sleep in it. It definitely is a little different because you don’t have time to work on areas that you might want to work on. You’re pressed right into playing.

SV: Playing Mississippi State this weekend, thoughts on their coach Ron Polk, who is resigning at the end of the year due to frustrations with the NCAA?
TC: He’s just been fighting a hard battle for such a long time with the NCAA. He’s been a big proponent of battling for kids and his heart’s in the right place and I like him a lot. I just think he got to a point where he’s older and really doesn’t care what he says anymore. He’s fought it for so long that he’s just irritated and said, ‘Forget it; I’m going to say what’s on my mind.’

SV: Thoughts on Alex Feinberg’s character?
TC: He’s your grinder, he’s your Phil Garner, he’s your guy who’s just a battler and doesn’t take no for an answer. It’s a loss because there’s a confidence level that he plays with that kind of goes to our team…The kid wants to play right now, but he’s not going to play for two weeks.

SV: What happened on the play?
TC: It was a 91-mph fastball. Took it in the chin. Sprints down to first base. He’s a tough kid. He never went down on the ground and his face was all over the place. You could see all the way through to his teeth and he goes, ‘I’m not coming out of the baseball game. Find a way to stop the bleeding and I’m playing.’"

Q&A with Keegan Bell

After his announcement that he would be transferring from Vanderbilt at the end of the semester, freshman point guard Keegan Bell sat down to talk to the SportsVU about why he made the decision to leave, his future plans and what he'll miss most about being a Commodore.

SV: How did your teammates react when they heard the news that you were going to transfer? You and A.J. (Ogilvy) are pretty close, I know.
Keegan Bell: You know, just like I knew they would. We’re kind of a family, we’re real close and they were very supportive. They wished me luck and they knew that I knew what was best for me and that there were no hard feelings towards them. They support me, and we’re all going to stay in contact. We’re so close, we’re all kind of like best friends. They’re sad. They’re definitely disappointed and all that, especially A.J. A.J. and I have been so close, we’re kind of like brothers. He was kind of devastated, but he said whatever’s best for me that he’d fully support.

SV: You talked before about you and coach Stallings not seeing eye-to-eye. I remember you were very enthusiastic about coming here, what did you think was going to be your role?
KB: I thought it was going to be more of my style, where I’m a little more of a flashy player.

SV: Like Steve Nash, right?
KB: Right, I kind of like to do that. (Stallings) was just kind of negative about that sort of stuff, and with a number of things it just felt I couldn’t play as much my game as I thought I was going to be.

SV: Had transferring been on your mind for a while?
KB: During the season, I wasn’t going to think about it at all. After every season, I was always going to evaluate how the season went and how things went. During the year I got frustrated a little bit, but nothing like this to even think about transferring. Afterwards, I talked to my family and let the frustrations out and came to this conclusion.

SV: You said you didn’t know where you were going to go, but do you have any specific coach or program in mind?
KB: I just want a coach that knows how I play and wants to play the up-and-down style. I like positive coaches that are very enthusiastic. I want to be able to play my game. I’m a point guard. Yeah, I can score, but I really like to dish the ball. Being somewhere I could push it up and play more and more my style of basketball would be a perfect fit.

SV: That game against DePaul, is that more your style, where you had 12 points and eight assists?
KB: That is. It was more freelancing stuff, that between-the-legs pass and all that kind of stuff, I like to do that. And when an opportunity comes to be able to score more, I enjoy scoring, that’s one of the strengths of my game, I believe. So, yeah, that was more of a hint of my style and how I like to play.

SV: Do you think playing in the SEC has improved your game?
KB: Definitely. Coach has gotten me so much better, I really appreciate everything he’s done. The players have gotten me better. The league is so tough, and it’s definitely given me great experience so when I go down the road, this year’s definitely been beneficial.

SV: Obviously, you’ve got to take a year off because of NCAA regulations. What part of your game do you want to work on the most?
KB: I’m just going to work on everything as much as possible. I really want to try and add a new dimension to my game. I was very 3-point oriented this year, and I want to be able to do it all. I feel that’s what I should do, jump shots and all that kind of stuff. So I’m going to go back and work on that kind of stuff, and improve my defense, fitness, strength and just kind of work on everything.

SV: What do you think you’ll miss most about playing at Vanderbilt?
KB: The fans, the students, the guys. Definitely going to be weird not being around them and my girlfriend, Jence Rhoads, she plays here, so it’s going to be weird not being around her and seeing her progress and having her at the games. Other than that, it’s just a great program. It’s a great place, a great university, and I’m definitely going to miss it.