The Blue Board

I got a chance to take in Vandy's spring practice last Friday in Nashville. A couple thoughts...

-2012 signees Corey Baty and Caleb Azubike were on hand watching from the sidelines both are guys with the size and physicality to be immediate contributors. Both look the part big time. Azubike told me that he has been told he won't be redshirting and expects to contribute. With his size/athleticism, he could become a beast. Baty could very well end up playing safety but he'll begin his career at WR.

-Azubike told me that the difference between practice today and 2 years ago when he visited as a sophomore are night and day. Said they're so much more organized, energetic, intense and efficient than they ever were under the old staff (assume that is referring to the year under Bobby Caldwell).

-I love watching James Franklin work. He is a very high energy coach that is very hands on in every drill. The practice had a great pace, they compete in every drill. It's what you expect out of an SEC practice in the way it is run and organized.

-The defensive backs will continue to be really good at Vandy under DC Bob Shoop even without Casey Heyward and Sean Richardson. In this year's group it looks like Kenny Ladler and Andre Hal are going to be the stars. Trey Wilson is another guy I've liked in the past but he was wearing a boot when I was there. One guy they really like at DB is Andrew Williamson. He committed to Vandy really late in the 2011 class over TCU and they think he has a chance to be special. The light hasn't turned on yet though.

-For the wide receivers, Chris Boyd looked to be the top dog of the group but admittedly i spent much of practice figuring out who was who. One kid that jumped out a little bit at me was Jacquese Kirk who decommitted from Louisville late in the 2011 class to sign with Vandy. I had thought he was going to play CB at Vandy but is a WR all the way.

-Joshua Grady out of Armwood also signed with Vandy as a QB but has moved to WR because he has a better chance at seeing the field and looked good the other day.

-In the trenches, Wesley Johnson is a beast. The kid can play - and has played - every position on the offensive line. I guarantee you that the DL hate him though. He's always getting in fights and he got in two big fights the practice that I watched. He's #67 and even when Vandy is playing the Alabama's of the SEC, watch him and he'll be mixing it up.

-It looks like Vandy is going to be using the TE a lot and they seem to have a lot of big TE/H-back bodies to go around. Dilon Van der wal made a really nice one-handed catch in a goalline period. Austin Monahan has a great frame, as does Steven Scheu. A lot of guys really look the part at that position.

-There were two early enrollees competing: Darreon Herring and Patton Robinette. Herring played really well as a true freshman, making a few plays, getting his hand on the football in pass game, etc. He always had a nose for the ball at Stephenson and that seems to be playing out early on. Vandy has built a good stephenson pipeline. Robinette is a QB so is coming along slowly but is grasping the offense well and is a smart kid.