Mason Post-Practice Comments Following Day One of Camp

Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason joined the media for a zoom conference call on Monday.

It's been a while since we last spoke with Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason. That ended on Monday when he joined local media on a Zoom conference call to discuss things following the Commodore's first day of camp. 

The most prominent topic centered around the pandemic and new protocols and issues created by its presence.  

"We talked about the health, safety, and welfare of this ball club, and that's' my responsibility along with all the senior staff around me," said Mason in his opening remarks. Health and safety would continue to be a theme throughout the remained of his comments. 

As for football, Mason praised his new coordinators after day one of camp. 

 "We had a good first day of camp, I thought it was great," said Mason. "Our new coordinators are tremendous teachers. These guys provide the critical fundamentals along with skill leadership and experience to our players. Our operations staff and medical staff have been tremendous, and they've done a great job of making sure our coaches and everybody associated with the organization understands what we're doing in terms of following CDC guidelines, (along with) federal, state guidelines for us to get back on the field and play."

Mason also spoke of and repeated "united" as something he mentioned to his players repeatedly, along with goals for this season. 

"The goals I laid out yesterday of being accountable to one another, accountable to player to coach, coach to player, and everybody in this program to each other is where we've got to going being focused on the task at hand," Mason said. 

"We're all focused on competing at the highest level in the SEC and getting better each and every day. That's what' we're doing, added Mason. "I'm glad we're back. I know they're (players) are glad we're back and being accountable, focused night and day, and really committed to the health, safety, and welfare of everybody is part of our common goal for everybody to be able to stay healthy."

Mason admitted that this season would be a moving target because it is unlike anything we have seen before. Then again, the last five months have been nothing like any of us have ever seen before. 

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven.