Trouble in Nashville, Vandy Starting Quarterback to be named before Kickoff

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Second year Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason seems like he is back at square one in Nashville after announcing he will not name a starter for the Commodores opener until just before kickoff on Thursday. This seems somewhat troubling after the disappointing season Vandy went through in 2014, especially under center.

The Commodores went through four quarterbacks last season starting Johnny McCrary, Patton Robinette, Wade Freebeck, and Stephen Rivers. Rivers transferred in the offseason and Robinette called it a career leaving football for medical school over the summer. The quarterback competition is between Freebeck and McCrary after Robinette had seemingly won the starting job during spring practices.

Mason is putting his own spin on the delayed announcement saying, “My idea is to take the pressure off these guys and let’s go play the game. It’s not about who the fans may want to see or what they need to know, it’s what puts these guys in the best possible situation to play well. Right now I’ve sort of been able to provide a shield around these guys, so we focus on the task at hand.”

Of the two sophomore quarterbacks McCrary put up better statistics last season passing for a team-high 985 yards with nine touchdowns against eight interceptions starting the final five games of the season. Freebeck connected on 34-of-72 passes for 376 yards with one touchdown and five picks in four starts.

Mason and first year offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig made the decision on who the starter will be over a week ago but still refuses to tell anyone, not even the guys on the team. Mason tried to hype the decision adding, “You’ll see it Thursday night (at) 7:01. Get ready.”

A head coach keeping his cards close to his chest is nothing new, a little gamesmanship against an upcoming opponent. The reality is both McCrary and Freebeck are in the 6-foot 4, 6-foot 5-inch range. Neither quarterback is a true threat to beat a team running the ball. McCrary had 39 net yards on 22 carries and Freebeck was minus 38 yards on 12 carries. Two identical players both wondering if they will get the starting nod with an entire team trying to figure out who will be their leader on the field for Vandy’s first possession of the 2015 season.

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All the guys on the team should have a pretty good idea of which quarterback has outplayed the other, assuming there is a noticeable separation between the two. But if there is not much of a separation and a couple of receivers, running backs, or linemen like one signal caller over the other, the opening series of the opening game might be an odd transition time for players to accept who will be their leader going forward.

Vanderbilt entered fall camp with eight starters back on offense and nine back on defense leading to high expectations for a bounce back campaign after the 3-9 record posted in 2014. The Commodores start their season at home against a high-powered Western Kentucky offensive team.

Photo credit: ap.org; McCrary drops back to pass against Florida.