Mental Errors, Lack of Energy Marks End to First Week of Camp

Vanderbilt’s first padded practice did not go the way it wanted it to ahead of a rest day.

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea watches his players during fall practice Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first week of Vanderbilt’s fall camp wrapped up today, but it did not seem to be the best practice of camp thus far.

Though it was the first padded practice for the team, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea was not pleased with the attitude and energy the team brought to the field Tuesday morning.

“We can’t afford to take the field the way we took it today and expect to do the things we set out to do. That was the message to the team afterward,” Lea said.

Vanderbilt goes into an off day Wednesday and plans that Clark and the team will “take full advantage” of the rest day.

One aspect in particular that was indicative to Lea’s frustration with the team’s energy Tuesday was the mental errors. One of Clark Lea’s right hand men, Jerry Kill, was vocal to the team during practice on the offensive line penalties such as false starts. 

Penalties as small as false starts still prove crucial in every game and magnify in losses. Pre-snap penalties can ruin a possession for a team and potentially take away points for teams that do commit those mistakes. 

For the Commodores to pick up where they left off last season, the discipline of the team has to be at the front and center in the minds of players and coaches. The good news, however, is that the messaging on the penalties to the players has been loud and clear.

“It’s not acceptable,” offensive lineman Jordan White told Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. “We have to get better at our work honestly and be better at the little stuff every day.”

Vanderbilt was one of the more disciplined teams in the country last year and was the second most disciplined team in the SEC in terms of penalties per game. The Commodores ranked 39th in the nation last season with 5.3 penalties per game, which was second in the SEC behind Oklahoma, who averaged 5.2. In order to get back to or even improve on those numbers, the ‘Dores are going to have to clean up its mistakes in practice.

What helps is that it is just the start of camp and there are still 25 days until Vanderbilt kicks off its 2025 campaign, so there is plenty of time to polish up on the issues Lea and the coaching staff identifies.

The practice was not all bad though. At the end of the day, Lea noted that his team was still able to put in some good work. With an off day up next, Lea is looking forward to seeing how his team responds when the Commodores return to the field Thursday.