Projecting Vanderbilt Football's Depth Chart Coming Out of Fall Camp

Nashville--Fall camp is over and Vanderbilt football's first game of 2025 is seven days away. As a result, its depth chart appears to be nearing finalization before its Tuesday release to the media.

Vanderbilt doesn't appear to have all that many areas up for interpretation ahead of Charleston Southern week, but it could have some surprises as things become finalized.

Here's our projected depth chart.

Quarterback

Starter: Diego Pavia

Backup: Blaze Berlowitz

Third String: Drew Dickey

Reserves: Whit Muschamp, Jack Elliott, Jeremy St. Hilaire

Pavia said at the beginning of camp that he felt like he was part of a quarterback battle and while he never actually was, there was an improved level of competition provided by Berlowitz. The junior quarterback seems to have taken a significant step forward since last fall and has all but locked up the backup quarterback role, but he’s still up and down enough that there’s some questions around his ability to lead Vanderbilt if Pavia goes down.

Dickey’s experience appears to have paid off enough to where Vanderbilt feels comfortable with him as the third string guy. Muschamp had some nice moments, but nobody seemed to beat out Dickey or get all that close.

Running Backs:

Starter: Sedrick Alexander

In the rotation: MK Young, AJ Newberry

Reserves: Gabe Fields, Chase Gillespie, Jamezell Lassiter

It was a generally quiet for Vanderbilt’s running back room throughout the fall and its depth chart appears to be generally unchanged.

Alexander is still the guy and while Young didn’t have all that strong of a camp, he’ll still be in the mix for plenty of carries. Newberry is still ramping up and is hoping to add more explosive runs between the tackles, but he’ll probably end with the third most carries in the room. Fields had a few nice carries, but still may be a little bit away from seeing the field.

Wide Receiver:

Starting Caliber: Junior Sherrill, Trent Hudson, Martel Hight, Tre Richardson

In the rotation: Richie Hoskins, Tristen Brown, Joseph McVay

Reserves: Boski Barrett, Kayleb Barnett, Lebron Hill, Chance Fitzgerald, Cameran Dickson

Vanderbilt’s receiver room was better than expected throughout the fall after an influx of transfers and appears to have a clear top seven at this stage.

The strength of the room ultimately appears to depend on how much of a factor Hight can be. There were days in which Hight appeared to be the best player on the field while playing receiver, but his reps were limited due to his stint in the concussion protocol. Whether Hight can be a difference maker offensively like he is defensively is still up in the air at this stage.

The four starting caliber guys–including Hight–as well as Hoskins, Brown and McVay–in that order–appear to have earned their share of snaps, but there does appear to be somewhat of a drop off after those seven. Barnett can fly, but he’s still buried. Hill is a big-bodied piece that can help down the line, but he doesn’t appear to be quite there yet.

The surprising non-impact player to this point has been Fitzgerald–who had big expectations coming into the spring, but hasn’t been a factor in practices all that much.

Tight End:

Starters: Eli Stowers, Cole Spence

In the rotation: Emmanuel Adebi, Brycen Coleman

Reserves: Witt Edwards, Larry Benton

It was a generally quiet camp for Vanderbilt’s tight end room, which may have been the best thing for it.

Stowers and Spence each missed most of camp with nagging injuries while Coleman also missed camp. Vanderbilt appears to know what it has in Stowers and Spence–who is now back to work–but it likely could’ve used a look at Coleman in the fall.

Instead, Vanderbilt was subjected to using Adebi, Edwards and Benton in larger capacities than they’ve been at any point in their careers. Adebi will likely take some blocking snaps–like he did in 2024–but the other two depth pieces likely won’t see the field much if at all.

It still appears as if Edwards’ long-term position is up for interpretation. He’s likely too thin to get reps at tight end at this stage of his development, but perhaps he could put on some weight and use his receiving ability to make an impact there down the line.

Offensive line:

Quick Tackle: Isaia Glass

Quick Guard: Cade McConnell

Center: Jordan White

Strong Guard: Chase Mitchell

Strong Tackle: Bryce Henderson

In the rotation: Sterling Porcher, Orion Irving

Vanderbilt invested heavily in its offensive line throughout the two transfer portal cycles and is hoping to reap the benefits as it throws out at least three new starters, moves Chase Mitchell back to his natural position and a few rotational lineman who it picked up in the transfer portal. It also appears as if McConnell is the leader in the clubhouse to win the quick guard battle with Porcher–who will still play, even if he doesn’t start.

Its starting five appears to be significantly improved relative to what offensive line coach Chris Klenakis had to work with last season–which makes the investment worthwhile–but there’s some obvious concerns with the depth of the room after a poor showing in the second scrimmage of camp.

Vanderbilt knows what it has in White, Mitchell, Henderson and Glass, but things may get dicey if it doesn’t have one or more of them.

Starting interior defensive linemen: Yilanan Ouattara, Glenn Seabrooks

Rotational interior defensive linemen: Aaron Bryant, Zaylin Wood, Jaylon Stone, Joshua Singh, Mason Nelson

Backup interior defensive linemen: Terry Nwabuisi-Ezeala, Nikhil Jefferson

Starting exterior defensive linemen: Khordae Sydnor, Linus Zunk

Backup exterior defensive linemen: Hayden Bray, Jake Stanish

Vanderbilt clearly has improved depth on the defensive line to complement its nucleus of Seabooks, Ouattara, Wood, Zunk and Sydnor, even if it doesn’t have a standout.

Every body on the defensive line that Vanderbilt threw out there had a few impact moments throughout the fall and has a body type that looks like it could hold up in the SEC. Perhaps it’s not going to get Vanderbilt’s defensive line to the top of the league, but it’s a step.

Starting EDGE: Miles Capers, Nick Rinaldi

Backup EDGE: Keanu Koht, Mason Carter, Bryce Cowan

Capers missed some time in camp, but looks a tad quicker and significantly stronger than he did this time a year ago. That’s a bonus for Vanderbilt, and so is Rinaldi’s emergence off the EDGE.

Rinaldi could be listed as the primary starter here, but he’s also likely to play some linebacker and be more of a swiss-army knife than a mainstay at any specific position. Carter has added significant weight, but his time may be next year more than anything. Koht has all the tools, but had a quiet camp. Cowan says he’ll get some time on the edge in certain packages, but it still appears as if he’s more likely to play more snaps at linebacker.

Linebackers

Starters: Langston Patterson, Bryan Longwell

In the Rotation: Nick Rinaldi, Bryce Cowan

Reserves: Prince Kollie, Jamison Curtis

Linebacker Coach Nick Lezynski’s ability to keep a position group of surplus together truly is impressive and is reflected in Vanderbilt’s depth chart.

Patterson and Longwell have earned their keep, although there is a path to Cowan and Rinaldi taking a share of their reps if their performance slips. Vanderbilt is optimistic that Patterson’s improved health can allow him to have a season reminiscent of his 2023 campaign rather than his 2024 one.

Perhaps Kollie is a microcosm of the room more than anyone. He’s a former highly-touted recruit that’s flashed over the years, but there’s never been much upward mobility. Yet, guys like him and Cowan have stayed.

It’s not Vanderbilt’s most top-heavy room on the roster, but it’s perhaps its deepest.

STAR:

Starter: Randon Fontenette

Second-String: Jailen Ruth

Reserves: Tate Hamby, Vanzale Hinton

Fontenette is the no-brainer starter and potential NFL player once the year is over, but didn’t practice a ton throughout the fall due to a nagging injury and some load management.

The junior STAR not being out there all that often was an opportunity for Ruth and Hamby to get extended reps, for the most part it appeared as if they took advantage of them as they were both around the ball often throughout camp.

Ruth has paid his dues in Vanderbilt’s program and has transitioned well to a new position, while Hamby appears to be rising. Ruth’s experience probably puts him ahead.

Cornerbacks:

Field Starter: Martel Hight

Boundary Starter: Marlon Jones

In the rotation: Jaylin Lackey, Kolbey Taylor, Mark Davis

Reserves: Jordan Matthews, Cayden Daniels

Hight is the guy in this room and it appears as if there’s clearly time for Jones, Lackey and Taylor to share. Jones had a nice camp in his return from cancer while Lackey was up and down and Taylor was more in check, disciplined than he was last fall. Vanderbilt also appears to like the idea of using Davis as a press corner as it tries to play more man.

Matthews has some upside and could find his way onto the field, but the depth in the room may prevent him from doing that as he recovers from an injury that held him out throughout the majority of fall camp. Daniels is buried, but is an encouraging prospect.

Safety:

Boundary Starter: CJ Heard

Field Starter: Marlen Sewell

Rotational pieces: Dontae Carter, Carson Lawrence

Reserves: Jalen Gilbert, Davin Chandler, Trudell Berry

Who Vanderbilt trots out there on Aug. 30 is still a topic of discussion, but the safe money goes with its highly-recruited transfer Heard as well as its biggest veteran in Sewell. Heard didn’t come here to sit and Vanderbilt didn’t recruit him to do that and in a room with just one combined start, Sewell makes sense.

The real upside is in Carter and Lawrence, who are two of the program’s top 20 recruits in its history, though. Their athleticism and raw ability will get them on the field, but perhaps not in a starting role. They’ll have to continue to refine the little things in their games in order to beat out two older guys.

Vanderbilt likes Gilbert, Berry and the long-term upside of Chandler, but will go with its headliners.

Special teams:

Starting Kicker: Brock Taylor

Starting Punter: Nick Haberer

Starting Long Snapper: Durham Harris

Starting Kick Returner: Junior Sherrill

Starting Punt Returner: Martel Hight

Special teams is an area that effectively summarizes Vanderbilt’s growth as a program. There’s a higher quality of talent all over the board here, as there appears to be on its roster.

Time to see if they can perform, though.