Can Clark Lea lead Vanderbilt Football to a bowl game in 2023?

Can the Vanderbilt football defense improve the defense?

Unlike the offense, there was no skewing in the numbers for the defense. The Dores opened the door quite often for opposing defense. Vandy was the worst in the SEC, allowing 8.7 yards per attempt. They finished 128th in the country in pass yards allowed.

The rush defense wasn’t much better; finishing 96th in the country in rush yards allowed. Vanderbilt football also allowed over five yards per rush. That means teams were ahead of the chains on most drives. As a result, the Dores finished 125th in scoring defense.

What are the solutions?

Vandy gets Miles Capers back after a season-ending injury in 2022. Sophomore Darren Agu was forced to play as a true freshman and flashed at times. Stanford transfer Aeneas DiCosmo should add to the pass rush as well.

The Commodores are deep in the trenches but lack size. They don’t have any big, beefy space eaters upfront. Who’s the big 350-pounder that can take on two offensive linemen? That’s a concern because Vandy doesn’t do an excellent job keeping linebackers clean against the run.

A lack of size upfront also means that the Commodores don’t make many plays behind the line of scrimmage. Lea and his defensive size are forced to use twists and stunts to get penetration in the backfield. That could leave holes for the running game.

If Lea and his staff can’t make more plays behind the line of scrimmage with the defense line, nothing else matters. They are going to give up yards and points.