Commodore Banter: Weekend Edition

After 1,200 miles in the car with my old man (spread over three days, thankfully), I'm finally back in Nashville. Apologies for the slow week on the site, but we should be good to go from here. Anyways, onto the links from the past couple of days...

First, in basketball news, Shan Foster will play in Italy next season. While Foster's dreams of playing in the NBA will be put on hold, it seems like the best business move for him.

Vanderbilt's all-time leading scorer signed a one-year deal with JuveCaserta, a first-division club. The Mavs still retain his NBA rights.

"He performed well in summer league but this gives him a chance to improve," said Mavs president Donnie Nelson. "His future is very bright, and we're excited about him rejoining us next summer."

Meanwhile, we've got some unfortunate news to report on two former Commodores. Offensive tackle Chris Williams, a first-round pick by the Chicago Bears, will mis 10-12 weeks after having surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.

In addition, New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Goff will be out indefinitely after fracturing his transverse process (an injury to the vertebra) in his first preseason game. Hopefully the injury doesn't turn out to be too serious.

As for the current Commodores, here's a look back at some of the top stories from the past few days:

* The Tennessean's Mo Patton breaks down the defensive line. He notes that Steven Stone has bulked up to be able to play both end and tackle, and sophomore end Theron Kadri looks poised to play on a full-time basis. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman T.J. Greenstone and true freshman Rob Lohr have looked good at tackle, and true freshman Josh Jelesky may earn time at end.

* In this notebook, Patton discusses the impressive play of wide receivers Udom Umoh and Justin Wheeler, as well as kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt.

* Brett Hait of The Nashville City Paper has a great story about Corey Chavous' recent inspirational speech to the Commodores.

Chavous challenged the Commodores to become the school’s first team to post a winning season and play in a bowl game since 1982. To the surprise of some players, he knew them by name and says he watches Vanderbilt games on television whenever possible.

“This is my school and I love them to death,” he said. “It’s good to come back and let them know people like me are following their every move.

“I’m proud of what they’re doing here. They’re close to being over the hump, and I just want to let them know how close they really are. We’re at the point with this program now that we’ve been trying to get to for years.”

* Hait also has an in-depth feature about Chris Nickson returning to form. While coach Bobby Johnson has yet to name a starter, this comment was particularly telling.

“I think we're going to be much better at quarterback this year because Chris Nickson is confident and healthy again,” Johnson said.

* National observers have great respect for the job Johnson has done with the Commodores. Need proof? Read this story from Patton and another one by Hait.

In addition, SI.com's Stewart Mandel lists Johnson as the nation's most underrated coach. Explanation here:

How can a coach that's gone 20-50 in six seasons be "underrated," you ask? Because record be damned, Vandy is no longer your father's Vandy. The Commodores, for the first time in a quarter-century, are a legitimately competitive SEC team (and this at a time when the conference has never been tougher).

Over the past three years, they've beaten the likes of Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina while losing heartbreakers to the Vols and Dawgs last year and Florida in '05. And they've come within a couple plays of reaching bowl games in two of those seasons. Hopefully Johnson will get that reward soon to tangibly reflect the impact he's had on that program.

Well said.

* Patton has a good piece about two fifth-year seniors, Jared Fagan and Josh Allen, who are providing depth at cornerback.

"Those guys are still good players," Johnson said. "We just recruited two pretty outstanding guys (D.J. Moore and Myron Lewis) that moved in front of them. We always say in recruiting, our goal is to get better players than we have right now. That's our goal every year, to get better players."

Have a great weekend, everyone, and we'll be back in full force on Monday. Just 19 days and counting until the season opener...

Chris Williams undergoes surgery

First-round draft pick Chris Williams' professional debut will have to wait. The former Vanderbilt offensive lineman, who was selected 14th overall by the Chicago Bears in the NFL Draft, had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back that had sidelined him for the last two weeks.

The good news is he won't be put on Injured Reserve, meaning the Bears think he'll be good to play again this season.

Earl Bennett, however, was able to make his professional debut in the Bears' preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, returning three kickoffs for a total of 52 yards and one punt for nine yards. Not exactly Devin Hester, but at least he didn't fumble any balls.

Commodore Banter (8/6)

A few links to pass along as I finish packing for my trek back to Nashville, which begins tomorrow morning...

The best preseason is one in which nobody gets hurt. Unfortunately for the Commodores, the injury bug has already hit. Starting wide receiver George Smith will be out for at least the next four weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot, reports Brett Hait of The Nashville City Paper.

Smith, a senior co-captain and team’s leading returning receiver, is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday and will likely miss the season opener Aug. 28 at Miami of Ohio. Redshirt freshman Udom Umoh might assume a starting role in Smith's absence.

"Udom came up big today and has been having a great camp,” said coach Bobby Johnson, who also singled out Justin Wheeler for having a solid camp and noted that freshman John Cole will be a factor. Throw in two-way player D.J. Moore and redshirt freshman Jamie Graham and you have a strong receiving corps. Still, it's an important loss for the Commodores nonetheless.

The Tulsa World has a feature on Mackenzi Adams, who seems to get overlooked as everyone focuses on the quarterback he's trying to beat out, Chris Nickson.

"We're not enemies or anything," Adams said. "I'm just going to go out there and worry about me."

Despite the loss of first-round pick Chris Williams and four other starters, Bobby Johnson isn't concerned about the offensive line, writes The Tennessean's Mo Patton. Couldn't agree more.

"We're experimenting, doing a lot of moving around," said offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell. "Everybody's learning two positions. Our motto's always been, play the best five. If it means changing position, they should know how to do that."

In baseball news, David Price is "very close" to the big leagues, according to his Double-A manager Billy Gardner Jr.

"He's going to be a No. 1 guy, he's going to be anchoring a staff, down the road," Gardner said. "And if he stays healthy, he's going to win a lot of games on the major league level and be an All-Star. He's a very gifted guy."

Meanwhile, talks between Pedro Alvarez and the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone nowhere and with just 10 days remaining in the signing period, the pressure is on.

"We are extraordinarily interested in signing Pedro Alvarez," said team president Frank Coonelly. "But we're not going to take every dollar that this club has at its disposal this year and will next year and give all that money to a player who has yet to take a swing in professional baseball."

In other words, there's still a small chance for Alvarez to return to Vanderbilt...

Commodore Banter (8/5)

A few links to pass along as we anxiously wait for the fall to get here...

In 2005, Earl Bennett broke onto the scene as a true freshman. Looks like John Cole has a chance to do the same, writes The Tennessean's Mo Patton.

Without Bennett and Alex Washington, who's recovering from a knee injury, Cole has a chance to contribute. The 5'11", 170-pound Cole won the Kentucky 100 meters and caught 164 passes for 3,519 yards and 51 touchdowns over the past two seasons.

"We don't have pads on, but he's showing what we thought he would be, all the skills we saw when we signed him," said Vanderbilt receivers coach Charlie Fisher. "He's got a good feel for the game. Obviously he's very quick and very fast. Hopefully he'll keep progressing."

As we talked about in last week's preview, Vanderbilt's linebackers are already drawing praise for their effort and knowledge, writes Brett Hait of The Nashville City Paper.

With junior Patrick Benoist and sophomore John Stokes on the outside and redshirt freshman Chris Marve in the middle, Johnson said he likes what he says. Also, former safety Brent Trice should thrive as a third-down specialist because of his coverage skills.

In NFL news, Earl Bennett is taking lessons from Devin Hester on how to field punts.

Over the weekend, Casey Weathers pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game for Team USA as they prepare for the Olympics.

Finally, Tennessee had the nation's largest athletics recruiting budget in 2007 at more than $2 million, according to a recent study by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Following UT are Notre Dame ($1.75 million), Florida ($1.45 million), Auburn ($1.37 million), Kansas State ($1.3 million) and Georgia ($1.28 million).

Looks like the Vols didn't get much bang for their buck.

Commodore Banter (8/4)

A few links to pass along on this Monday morning...

To understand what Chris Nickson went through in 2007 what a type of person he is, check out this story by The Tennessean's Mo Patton.

"When you've been through what I've been through, you no longer play for the people that criticized you," Nickson said. "I have nothing to prove to anybody except the God I live for. No longer are people involved in what I do. That changed over the past season."

Brett Hait of The Nashville City Paper has a great feature on Reshard Langford, the leader of the Commodore defense.

Center Bradley Vierling plans to take his co-captaincy seriously, write Mo Patton of The Tennessean.

"Nobody likes being put down, but it's how you're going to respond to it," he said. "We're the dog of the SEC and we like it, and we're going to come and bite you. We kinda' dislike it, but it gives us fuel for the fire and we're ready to burn something up."

D.J. Moore spent Sunday's practice with wide receivers and fielding punts, a sign that Moore will be doing pretty much everything for the Commodores this fall.

Hait has more tidbits in this football notebook. Among them:

* The defense dominated Saturday's practice
* Freshman WR John Cole is living up to the hype
* This will be the final season for redshirt junior Jake Bradford

Vanderbilt has become a haven for football players looking for a change of scenery, writes Patton. The Commodores have four transfers this season, third most in the SEC.

"Academics are taken more seriously here," said Andrew Diomande, who will play this fall as a senior after transferring from Clemson. "Clemson was more lenient toward football players. Here, everyone's at the same level. I had to get adjusted to that."

In baseball news, David Price improved to 10-0 in 14 Minor League starts. He gave up one up run on four hits and struck out a career-high 10 over seven brilliant innings Saturday.

"[Price] doesn't expect to have bad outings," Biscuits catcher Matt Spring told the Montgomery Advertiser. "He said earlier in the year that he expects a perfect game every start and that's the attitude he shows every time. You can't teach his drive on the mound."

Pre-Season Football Predictions...

I just thought that I would post a few questions/predictions to The Sports VU readers about this coming football season to get some conversation going.

1) Who are you most looking forward to seeing this year: Jamie Graham

2) Who will emerge this year and surprise people: Jared Hawkins

3) Who are we going to beat: Rice, Duke, Kentucky, South Carolina

a) Number of wins: 4
b) Biggest Win: South Carolina
c) Worst Loss: Miami (OH)

4) Will D.J. leave for the NFL after this season? Yes

5) Freshman that will have the biggest impact: Ryan Seymour (DT)

6) Freshman you are most looking forward to seeing: John Cole

7) Biggest Concern: QB play. Our season depends on it.

8) What do you think is our team's biggest strength this year: I know most will say DBs, but I will say WRs.

9) Best home game atmosphere: Auburn

10) Offensive MVP for the season: Jared Hawkins

11) Defensive MVP for the season: Broderick Stewart (D.J. Moore is too easy)

12) Most Improved Player (Offense): Justin Wheeler

13) Most Improved Player (Defense): Greg Billinger

14) Surprise Team in the SEC: Ole Miss

15) Road games you plan to attend: Georgia, Ole Miss.

16) Game you are most excited to see: Georgia. They could be No. 1, and I have never been to UGA. For a home game, I would have to say South Carolina because I think we will win, and it is on ESPN.

If anyone thinks of any other questions, feel free to add them. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's responses.

Football Notebook: Day 1 Highlights

A look back at the top stories from the Commodores' first day of camp.

1. Fans are going to love Jamie Graham, who's switching from defensive back to wide receiver, writes The Tennessean's Mo Patton.

"I think I can come in and bring that 'fast' mentality to the offense," Graham said, who provided one of the top practice highlights, leaping high between defenders Jared Fagan and Brent Trice to haul in a deep sideline pass from QB Chris Nickson in an early 11-on-11 drill.

"My personality on the football field is a lot more aggressive than it is on the basketball court," he added. "My intensity goes up in football, a whole lot. In basketball, it's high. In football, it'll be out of control."

Johnson agrees.

"Anybody that saw him play in high school would know — he had some unbelievable plays where people couldn't hem him up," Johnson said. "I think he's going to give us an unknown dimension, one that people are going to be fired up about."

2. Few players are more geeked about starting a new season than Chris Nickson, writes ESPN.com's Chris Low.

"I embrace this opportunity more than anything, especially with it being my last year," he said. "I look at it as another opportunity to show the world what you're made of and who you really are deep down inside. I plan to play every down that way."

Johnson said Nickson and Mackenzi Adams will compete for the starting job throughout camp.

"I've got to win the job, and that's how it should be," he said. "When I'm healthy, I feel like I can conquer the world and control the game. It changes things when you don't have to worry about being injured. It allows me to be me and play at a level that I expect."

3. Junior safety Brent Trice has moved to strongside linebacker, reports Brett Hait of The Nashville City Paper.

Coach Bobby Johnson was looking for a way to get Trice on the field and said Trice can be a "hybrid" type of player who is big enough to play linebacker and quick enough to drop back into coverage. He's been playing behind safety Reshard Langford.

4. Hait noted that starting defensive end Steven Stone played some at defensive tackle as the Commodores look to add depth inside.

Doster suspended for season

Redshirt freshman Jermaine Doster was suspended for the entire season by coach Bobby Johnson for violation of team rules, stemming from his arrest two weeks ago for disorderly conduct and two other misdemeanors, Mo Patton from the Tennessean reports.

I'm a little surprised by the harshness of the punishment, but there's no doubt Doster got the message. Johnson holding Doster accountable for his actions should also send shockwaves through the rest of the team to remind them that playing D-1 football is a privilege, and unruly behavior of that magnitude that reflects poorly on the team will not be tolerated.

What do you all think of the suspension? Too harsh? Just right?

The Sports VU: Week in Review

Fall practice begins this morning, which means we're now just 27 days away from the Commodores' season opener at Miami (OH) and The Sports VU is getting restless. Here's a look back at the week's highlights:

Save for the special teams, our position-by-position football preview is completed:

QB Breakdown
RB Breakdown
WR Breakdown
TE Breakdown
OL Breakdown
DL Breakdown
LB Breakdown
DB Breakdown

Five more stories worth checking out if you haven't already:

1. Who's the best Vanderbilt athlete over the past five years?

2. David Price was profiled in this week's Sports Illustrated

3. Ross Neltner and Alex Gordon will be reunited in Turkey

4. The Chicago Bears are already falling in love with Earl Bennettt

5. New NCAA rules are going to put baseball coaches in a bind

Finally, three great videos:

Alvarez talks about committment

Foster posterizes "Fezzy-Winks"

Why I Hate Tennessee

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Vanderbilt Football Preview: DB Breakdown

The Sports VU's position-by-position football preview winds down today with a breakdown of Vanderbilt's talented defensive backs. In case you missed anything, here's what we've looked at so far.

QB Breakdown
RB Breakdown
WR Breakdown
TE Breakdown
OL Breakdown
DL Breakdown
LB Breakdown

STRENGTHS: Talent and experience. The secondary has a chance to be special this fall, and with the Dores replacing four starters in their front seven, it will need to be for them to be successful. Junior cornerbacks D.J. Moore and Myron Lewis are future pros, as is senior safety Reshard Langford, who's as reliable as they come. Moore is a preseason first-team All-SEC selection after recording 83 tackles and six interceptions in a breakout 2007. Lewis flew under the radar playing opposite Moore, but was equally impressive. At 6'3", Lewis had a team-high 12 pass breakups to go along with 49 tackles, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one INT. The hard-hitting Langford has started all 35 games of his career and always seems to be around the ball. Redshirt junior Darlron Spead is a premier nickelback who should be fully healthy after playing through arm and leg injuries in '07, while redshirt junior Ryan Hamilton improved significantly in his second year as a starter at free safety.

WEAKNESSES: If you find one, let me know. In all seriousness, it's hard to find faults with a unit that excelled a year ago and should only improve '08. If you're wondering about depth, the Commodores are fine. Redshirt junior Joel Caldwell and junior Brent Trice are capable reserves at safety, redshirt sophomore Alan Strong has a promising future at cornerback while redshirt seniors Josh Allen and Jared Fagan are former starters. If we're nitpicking, I think that Hamilton could be more consistent and take better angles.

TOP QUESTIONS: While most good defenses feature a dominant front four, can the Dores rely on their secondary to carry them? Will Moore be able to live up the ridiculous hype? Is Spead going to be able to hold up physically for an entire season? Will the secondary come up with enough turnovers and big plays to help jump-start the offense?

INSTANT ANALYSIS: It's hard not to be excited about this unit. Moore is one of the most electric players in college football with incredible instincts and ball skills, while Lewis has the ideal build for a corner. Opposing quarterbacks will have a tough time deciding what side to throw to. The fact that Strong can contribute will also allow Moore to slide into the slot on occasion. Both safeties can pack a punch and have a wealth of experience that is invaluable in the SEC. While the rest of the defense is full of unknowns, coach Bobby Johnson knows he is set in the secondary. That hasn't always been the case.