How Vanderbilt Football is Approaching Need to Force More Turnovers

Atlanta--Clark Lea knows that Vanderbilt’s 7-6 2024 season could’ve easily been another 2-10 one had things not lined up the way they did for his program.

The margins were small as always for Lea’s program–which won four games by one score–but its blueprint of winning the time of possession battle and rarely giving it away on offense allowed it to do things that nobody outside of its building appeared to believe it could.

Lea looks back on those memories fondly, but knows that what his group did in that season likely isn’t repeatable. Perhaps the results are, but they likely won’t come as a result of Vanderbilt turning it over less than any team in the country. It’s got to do the things that other teams in its league consistently do well.

“The levels we protected the ball last year, I don’t know that they are realistic,” Lea told Vandy on SI in June. “Obviously the quarterback made good decisions and ball security is something we preach, but our lack of giveaways, I don’t know that you can rely on that every year. We have to win the turnover margin, we have to do a better job defensively of attacking the ball and creating more turnovers and giving the offense a little more room for error.”

Vanderbilt was No. 1 in the country in turnovers lost offensively last season, but was tied for 77th in the country in turnovers forced with 16. The Commodores never forced more than two turnovers in a game and didn’t force a turnover in four of their 13 games.

Lea and newly-appointed defensive coordinator’s messaging to their players has included an emphasis on turnover creation. They’re cautioning against making turnovers the centerpiece of their scheme, though.

“I feel like you can’t force it,” Vanderbilt STAR Randon Fontenette said. “It’s all about you knowing the play call and it’s about the scheme, it’s about the team you’re playing that week. If they know you run a lot of zone, they’re going to run a lot of zone-beating routes. So, it’s all about scheming and the team you’re playing.”

Perhaps part of the path forward towards forcing more turnovers is Vanderbilt finding a way to use what it believes to be its improved cornerback depth to play more man coverage and be more aggressive defensively.

Historically, that’s not been something Lea’s program has been able to do often. If it could do it with some level of consistency in 2025, it would change the dynamic for a defense that returns 77% of its 2024 production.

In the case that Vanderbilt can’t turn to man coverage more consistently, junior cornerback Martel Hight–who also plans to return punts and play wide receiver–has the blueprint.

“Attacking the ball,” Hight said of the key to forcing more turnovers. “There’s loose places in spots that ballcarriers tote the ball so just harping in on tagging the ball in those little spots is what’s gonna get it done.”

Listening to Hight speak at Monday’s SEC Media Days was listening to a previously inexperienced piece show his veteran nature. It was a player that had once relied mostly on athleticism and physical traits show a level of maturity. It was watching a guy honed in on articulating an emphasis for the little things.

If Vanderbilt’s going to become a team that forces a significantly higher number of turnovers in 2025 than it did in 2024, it’s got to be like Hight. It’s got to be in the right spots and be aggressive in them. It’s got to make the catches that it should. It’s got to pick up the fumbles that it forces.

Maybe then the margin will be bigger.