How Vanderbilt Football Feels About Offensive Line Going Into This Weekend

The Commodores’ front is about to get tested each week. Here is where the program feels like it stands right now.

Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis (2) hugs offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper (56) before a game against Delaware at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt football knows it has not played to its standard on either side of the ball through two games this season.

A season ago, Vanderbilt was one of the most explosive offenses in college football. While that script has not totally flipped for the worst in 2026, there is a lot of room for growth offensively for the Commodores. Vanderbilt got off to a very slow start against Austin Peay and eventually found some rhythm toward the middle parts of last week’s win over Delaware.

A lot of the reduction in production for the Vanderbilt offense has a lot to do with the fact that there is no more Diego Pavia or Eli Stowers. But the other part of it, too, is the Commodores are still in the process of developing its reshaped offensive line.

If there is one word to describe Vanderbilt’s offense so far, it would be the word “inconsistent.” But that can change starting this weekend against NC State. Vanderbilt officially has its starting quarterback for the season, so with a sense of relief at that spot Vanderbilt can focus on the chemistry aspect.

One of the new faces on the offensive line is center Lyndon Cooper, who transferred over from Pittsburgh. Cooper seems satisfied with how the offensive line has held up, but he knows there is plenty of room for improvement.

“I feel like we’ve been playing pretty good ball. We’ve got to clean up some communication with each other and get all on the same page. But overall, I feel like we’ve been playing good ball, getting a vertical movement in a game and trying to keep our quarterback protected,” Cooper said on his assessment of the offensive line’s performance.

Between the run protection and pass protection, Cooper does not think there is a huge disparity in level of performance. He feels both are playing at a pretty even level right now, but he emphasized the need to protect Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback, who will be five-star freshman Jared Curtis.

“We can clean up our communication in the pass pro world to just make sure all the looks are cleaner and make sure nobody touches our quarterback,” Cooper said.

In the rushing attack, Vanderbilt has 286 yards on the ground. Not bad at all, but not good enough to where the Commodores want to be. The lack of consistency has shown in each phase and Vanderbilt knows it has to get its running back duo of Sedrick Alexander and MK Young going more.

Cooper believes that it all starts with the offensive line protecting enough to sustain drives. If they help sustain possessions, that will give the offensive line chances to get more push as the drives and games go along.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to consistency and building chemistry with one another. And while that will improve, Vanderbilt needs to figure it out quickly because the gauntlet of its schedule is about to begin.

The Commodores' game Saturday is a game that could reveal a lot about the direction this season can go for Vanderbilt. The trenches will be the most physical it has been through the first three games.

But perhaps the dust settling on the quarterback competition will help with that. Now that Curtis is the starter and there are no more plans to switch between him and Blaze Berlowitz, it will make things easier between the offensive line and the quarterback.

Cooper agreed it was a challenge dealing with the switching in and out between Curtis and Berlowitz. With Curtis now taking about 80% of the snaps with the ones and playing full games from here on out, Vanderbilt is hoping that will only help.

“Dealing with two different quarterbacks, that’s two different people. So, sometimes there’s different flows to the game. So, we have to adjust to that. I feel like the second game we got more adjusted with playing two different quarterbacks and I got in the flow,” Cooper said. “I won’t say it’s difficult, but it’s two different humans and two different people with two different styles.”

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