2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football
2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Record	0–9 (0–9 SEC)
Head coach	Derek Mason (7th season; first 8 games); Todd Fitch (interim; final game);
Offensive coordinator	Todd Fitch (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Ted Roof (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Vanderbilt Stadium
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 13 Florida x	8	–	2	8	–	4
No. 7 Georgia	7	–	2	8	–	2
Missouri	5	–	5	5	–	5
Kentucky	4	–	6	5	–	6
Tennessee*	3	–	7	3	–	7
South Carolina	2	–	8	2	–	8
Vanderbilt	0	–	9	0	–	9
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^	10	–	0	13	–	0
No. 4 Texas A&M	8	–	1	9	–	1
Auburn	6	–	4	6	–	5
LSU*	5	–	5	5	–	5
Ole Miss	4	–	5	5	–	5
Arkansas	3	–	7	3	–	7
Mississippi State	3	–	7	4	–	7
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * – Tennessee vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. LSU was ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban. Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule. Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by interim head coach Todd Fitch, who replaced Derek Mason after his firing on November 29, 2020. On December 14, 2020, Clark Lea was hired as head coach.

On November 28, in game against Missouri, Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five conference game by delivering the opening kickoff for the second half. Fuller, the Commodores' goalkeeper on the school's SEC championship women's soccer team, was added to the football roster after the team's regular kicking specialists had to be quarantined due to COVID-19 protocols.^[1]^[2] The following game, against Tennessee in the season finale, Fuller would become the first women to score in a Power Five game, going a perfect 2/2 on extra point attempts.^[3]^[4]

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Vanderbilt was predicted to finish in last place in the East Division.^[5]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (East Division)
1	Florida	624 (53)
2	Georgia	613 (43)
3	Tennessee	434
4	Kentucky	405
5	South Carolina	287
6	Missouri	224
7	Vanderbilt	101

Schedule

Vanderbilt had games scheduled against Colorado State, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech and Mercer, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	6:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Texas A&M	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN Alt.	L 12–17	24,073
October 3	6:30 p.m.	No. 20 LSU	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 7–41	2,000
October 10	11:00 a.m.	South Carolina	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 7–41	1,288
October 31	3:00 p.m.	Ole Miss	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	L 21–54	840
November 7	2:30 p.m.	at Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	L 17–24	12,888
November 14	11:00 a.m.	at Kentucky	Kroger Field Lexington, KY (rivalry)	SECN	L 35–38	12,000
November 21	11:00 a.m.	No. 6 Florida	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ABC	L 17–38	1,147
November 28 ^[a]	11:00 a.m.	at Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 0–41	11,053
December 12	3:00 p.m.	Tennessee	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	L 17–42	849
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Central time

^{^[a]}The game between Vanderbilt and Missouri was originally scheduled to take place on October 17. However, due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Vanderbilt program, the game was rescheduled for December 12.^[9]^[10] The SEC postponed Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt to facilitate the rescheduling of the Vanderbilt–Missouri game. The shuffling allows for the opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to play 10 regular-season games.^[11]^[12]

Personnel

2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`2`	Amir Abdur-Rahman	Jr
RB	`3`	Ja'Veon Marlow	Jr
WR	`4`	James Bostic III	Sr
QB	`5`	Mike Wright	Fr
QB	`6`	Jeremy Moussa	Jr
WR	`7`	Camron Johnson	Jr
QB	`8`	Ken Seals	Fr
RB	`9`	Rocko Griffin	Fr
TE	`10`	Gavin Schoenwald	Jr
WR	`11`	Tyrell Alexander	GS
WR	`13`	Jackson Winrow	GS
WR	`14`	Devin Boddie Jr.	So
QB	`15`	Danny Clark	Jr
WR	`16`	Mac Hereford	GS
WR	`17`	Keithan Starling Jr.	Sr
WR	`18`	Logan Kyle	Fr
WR	`19`	Chris Pierce Jr.	Sr
RB	`21`	Keyon Henry-Brooks	So
RB	`25`	Mitchell Pryor	Jr
RB	`32`	Jamauri Wakefield	GS
TE	`35`	Kyle White	Jr
FB	`51`	Luke Blanton	Jr
OL	`52`	Kevo Wesley	Fr
OL	`54`	Tyler Steen	Jr
OL	`57`	Drew Birchmeier	GS
OL	`61`	Jonah Buchanan	Sr
OL	`62`	Julian Hernandez	So
OL	`63`	Grant Miller	Sr
OL	`64`	Stephen Spanellis	GS
OL	`65`	Michael Warden	Jr
OL	`67`	Trent Weaver	Fr
OL	`68`	Jason Brooks Jr.	Fr
OL	`70`	Bradley Ashmore	Fr
OL	`71`	Donald Fitzgerald	So
OL	`72`	Dan Dawkins	Jr
OL	`73`	Jonathan Stewart	Sr
OL	`74`	Cole Clemens	Sr
OL	`75`	Ben Cox	Fr
OL	`76`	Connor Mignone	GS
OL	`78`	Bryce Bailey	Sr
WR	`81`	Will Sheppard	Fr
TE	`84`	Justin Ball	So
TE	`85`	Joel DeCoursey	So
TE	`86`	Ben Bresnahan	Jr
WR	`88`	Jayden Harrison	So
TE	`89`	Diego LaMonica	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`1`	Donovan Kaufman	Fr
CB	`4`	Randall Haynie	Sr
CB	`6`	Gabe Jeudy-Lally	So
DL	`8`	Alex Williams	So
DL	`9`	Daevion Davis	So
DL	`10`	Dayo Odeyingbo	Sr
S	`11`	Justin Harris	So
LB	`12`	Brayden DeVault-Smith	Sr
S	`13`	Brendon Harris	Jr
S	`14`	Maxwell Worship	Jr
CB	`15`	Elijah Hamilton	GS
CB	`16`	B. J. Anderson	Sr
LB	`17`	Feleti Afemui	Sr
LB	`21`	Kenny Herbert	Sr
S	`22`	Chase Lloyd	Fr
DB	`23`	Jaylen Mahoney	So
LB	`24`	Alston Orji	Jr
LB	`26`	Anfernee Orji	So
CB	`27`	Ryan McCord	Fr
CB	`28`	Allan George	Sr
S, LB	`29`	Jack Barton	Fr
S	`30`	De'Rickey Wright	Fr
LB	`31`	A. J. Walsh	Fr
S	`33`	Dashaun Jerkins	Jr
DL	`41`	Elijah McAllister	Jr
S	`42`	Camden Coleman	Jr
LB	`43`	Tré Brown	So
DL	`44`	Christian James	So
LB	`45`	Griffin Lampton	Fr
DL	`46`	Michael Spencer	Fr
LB	`48`	Andre Mintze	GS
LB	`50`	Ethan Barr	Fr
STAR	`52`	Alex Brown	Jr
LB	`53`	Tommy Eckels	Fr
DL	`57`	Drew Birchmeier	GS
DL	`66`	Cameron Robinson	Sr
DL	`69`	Brayden Bapst	So
DE, LB	`88`	Michael Owusu	Sr
DL	`90`	Cameron Tidd	GS
DL	`92`	Derek Green	So
DL	`93`	Tolu Thomas-Ailara	So
DL	`94`	Rutger Reitmaier	Jr
DL	`95`	Raashaan Wilkins Jr.	Jr
DE	`96`	Nate Clifton	So
DL	`97`	Lorenza Surgers	Jr
DL	`99`	Malik Langham	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`32`	Sarah Fuller	Sr
P	`36`	Jared Wheatley	So
K, P	`37`	Pierson Cooke	Jr
K	`38`	Oren Milstein	GS
K	`39`	Javan Rice	Jr
K	`47`	Wes Farley	Jr
LS	`49`	Zach Drevno	Jr
LS	`58`	Wesley Schelling	Fr
LS	`59`	Scott Meyer	GS
P	`95`	Harrison Smith	Jr

Head coach

Derek Mason
Todd Fitch
Interim head coach/Offensive coordinator

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Ted Roof
Defensive coordinator
Devin Fitzsimmons
Special teams coordinator/Tight ends
Tony Ball
Wide receivers
Aaron Henry
Cornerbacks
Tim Horton
Running backs
Marc Mattioli
Defensive backs
Jovan Haye
Defensive ends
Kenechi Udeze
Linebackers
Bret Ingalls
Senior offensive analyst
Jeff Imamura
Defensive analyst
Caden Thomson
Defensive analyst

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 30, 2023

Game summaries

At No. 10 Texas A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	3	2	7	0	12
No. 10 Aggies	7	0	7	3	17

Statistics	VAN	TAMU
First downs	17	17
Total yards	255	372
Rushing yards	105	183
Passing yards	150	189
Turnovers	2	3
Time of possession	33:59	26:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	20/29, 150 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ja'Veon Marlow	16 rushes, 65 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	5 receptions, 72 yards, TD
Texas A&M	Passing	Kellen Mond	17/28, 189 yards, TD
	Rushing	Isaiah Spiller	8 rushes, 117 yards
	Receiving	Caleb Chapman	4 receptions, 40 yards, TD

No. 20 LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Tigers	7	14	13	7	41
Commodores	0	7	0	0	7

Statistics	LSU	VAN
First downs	28	17
Total yards	498	266
Rushing yards	161	153
Passing yards	337	113
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	29:13	30:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
LSU	Passing	Myles Brennan	23/37, 337 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	John Emery Jr.	12 rushes, 103 yards, T
	Receiving	Terrace Marshall Jr.	2 receptions, 67 yards, 2 TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	11/25, 113 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ja'Veon Marlow	17 rushes, 83 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	3 receptions, 63 yards

South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	3	7	17	14	41
Commodores	0	0	7	0	7

Statistics	SC	VAN
First downs	18	15
Total yards	485	249
Rushing yards	289	76
Passing yards	196	173
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	31:27	28:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Carolina	Passing	Collin Hill	16/24, 196 yards
	Rushing	Kevin Harris	21 rushes, 171 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Nick Muse	5 receptions, 85 yards
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	17/24, 148 yards, TD
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	13 rushes, 72 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	2 receptions, 46 yards

Ole Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	21	12	21	0	54
Commodores	0	14	0	7	21

Statistics	MISS	VAN
First downs	35	24
Total yards	641	421
Rushing yards	192	102
Passing yards	449	319
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	29:52	30:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ole Miss	Passing	Matt Corral	31/34, 412 yards, 6 TD
	Rushing	Jerrion Ealy	15 rushes, 95 yards
	Receiving	Elijah Moore	14 receptions, 238 yards, 3 TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	31/40, 319 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	23 rushes, 66 yards, TD
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	14 receptions, 97 yards

At Mississippi State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	0	7	10	17
Bulldogs	14	3	0	7	24

Statistics	VAN	MSST
First downs	30	14
Total yards	478	204
Rushing yards	142	-22
Passing yards	336	226
Turnovers	5	0
Time of possession	32:10	27:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	31/46, 336 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	20 rushes, 115 yards, TD
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	10 receptions, 114 yards
Mississippi State	Passing	Will Rogers	35/46, 226 yards, TD
	Rushing	Jo'Quavious Marks	6 rushes, 10 yards, TD
	Receiving	Malik Heath	9 receptions, 79 yards

At Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	14	7	14	35
Wildcats	14	10	7	7	38

Statistics	VAN	UK
First downs	29	23
Total yards	407	458
Rushing yards	180	308
Passing yards	227	150
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	32:26	27:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	21/32, 225 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	29 rushes, 121 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	7 receptions, 89 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	13/15, 110 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	13 rushes, 149 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Keaton Upshaw	2 receptions, 41 yards, TD

No. 6 Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Gators	7	10	14	7	38
Commodores	10	0	7	0	17

Statistics	FLA	VAN
First downs	29	21
Total yards	586	406
Rushing yards	173	87
Passing yards	413	319
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	34:17	25:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Kyle Trask	26/35, 383 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Dameon Pierce	11 rushes, 55 yards, TD
	Receiving	Kadarius Toney	6 receptions, 107 yards, TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	22/34, 319 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Mitchell Pryor	13 rushes, 44 yards
	Receiving	Chris Pierce Jr.	4 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD

At Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	0	0	0	0
Tigers	7	14	6	14	41

Statistics	VAN	MIZ
First downs	13	31
Total yards	185	603
Rushing yards	82	223
Passing yards	103	380
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	27:10	32:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	11/18, 79 yards
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	15 rushes, 64 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	5 receptions, 33 yards
Missouri	Passing	Connor Bazelak	30/37, 318 yards
	Rushing	Larry Rountree III	21 rushes, 160 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Tyler Badie	7 receptions, 102 yards

Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Volunteers	7	21	7	7	42
Commodores	7	3	0	7	17

Statistics	TENN	VAN
First downs	24	16
Total yards	540	292
Rushing yards	212	53
Passing yards	328	239
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	33:37	26:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Harrison Bailey	14/18, 207 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Eric Gray	13 rushes, 74 yards
	Receiving	Velus Jones Jr.	7 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	22/39, 239 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	20 rushes, 56 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	3 receptions, 69 yards

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	54	Dayo Odeyingbo	DE	Indianapolis Colts

References

^ "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history as first woman to play in a Power Five college football game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ "Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller could be first woman to play in Power 5 football game". ABC News. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history again as first woman to score points in Power Five game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
^ Sparks, Adam (December 12, 2020). "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller becomes first woman to score in Power Five college football game". Nashville Tennessean. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
^ "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
^ Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
^ Dellenger, Ross (July 30, 2020). "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
^ Dellenger, Ross (August 7, 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
^ "Vanderbilt at Missouri Football Game Postponed". SEC. October 13, 2020.
^ "2020 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Department of Athletics. August 7, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
^ Toppmeyer, Blake; Sparks, Adam (November 23, 2020). "Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt postponed; Commodores to play Missouri". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
^ "Vanderbilt University Football Schedule: 2020 Season". SEC.

[1] "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history as first woman to play in a Power Five college football game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[2] "Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller could be first woman to play in Power 5 football game". ABC News. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[3] "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history again as first woman to score points in Power Five game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.

[sparks_12122020-4] Sparks, Adam (December 12, 2020). "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller becomes first woman to score in Power Five college football game". Nashville Tennessean. Retrieved December 12, 2020.

[5] "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.

[6] Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.

[7] Dellenger, Ross (July 30, 2020). "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.

[8] Dellenger, Ross (August 7, 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 18, 2020.

[9] "Vanderbilt at Missouri Football Game Postponed". SEC. October 13, 2020.

[10] "2020 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Department of Athletics. August 7, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.

[11] Toppmeyer, Blake; Sparks, Adam (November 23, 2020). "Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt postponed; Commodores to play Missouri". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved January 11, 2022.

[12] "Vanderbilt University Football Schedule: 2020 Season". SEC.

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v t e Vanderbilt Commodores football
Venues	Old Dudley Field (1892–1921) Curry Field (1922) Dudley Field (1922–1980) FirstBank Stadium (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky Ole Miss Sewanee Tennessee
Culture & lore	History Origin of "Commodores" "Dynamite" Marching band Porter Cup Vanderbilt rape case 1906 Carlisle game 1910 Yale game 1922 Michigan game 2024 Alabama game IMG Sports Newtork
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans All-Southerns NFL draftees Statistical leaders William Lofland Dudley
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championships in bold

2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football

Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	0–9 (0–9 SEC)
Head coach	Derek Mason (7th season; first 8 games) Todd Fitch (interim; final game)
Offensive coordinator	Todd Fitch (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Ted Roof (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Vanderbilt Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →