Vanderbilt Football: Commodores start first year of rebuild under new regime

Defense looks to reload under new coaching

Vanderbilt football had solid defenses under Derek Mason, who was hailed as a good defensive coach, but things really fell off of a cliff last season and Vanderbilt transformed into the worst defense in the SEC. In 2021, Clark Lea is starting from scratch on the defense he wants.

Raashaan Wilkens Jr is the only returning starter from a bad defensive line a year ago. Wilkens is a senior who is going to be counted on to do a lot for Vanderbilt this season. Elijah McAllister and Christian James should be the starters at the end and both are upperclassmen and Daevion Davis is going to be the other interior player.

At linebacker, Ethan Barr is going to be a breakout candidate for the defense, as he is the most talented defensive player in my opinion. Anfernee Orji has the most experience and De”rickey Wright is going to be getting lots of playing time as well. The linebackers are very young and are going to need time to grow.

The secondary is where the Commodores are most experienced. All four guys that are projected to start played last year and were among the leaders in tackles. Jaylen Mahoney, who was second on the team in tackles with 57, is back at corner alongside Allan George.

Maxwell Worship and Deshaun Jerkins are back at safety. This is a defense that did not do anything really well this past season, so improvement should come.