Vanderbilt Commodores Must Address Shaky Depth Behind Star Offensive Player
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The 2024 college football season was a major success for the Vanderbilt Commodores.
For the first time since 2013, they finished a season above the .500 mark, going 7-6. A victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Birmingham Bowl sealed the deal for Clark Lea and his squad.
It was the first time they won a bowl game since 2013, as well as worked their way into the rankings, reaching as high as No. 24.
A big reason for that success was the production of dynamic quarterback, Diego Pavia.
He transferred into the program from the New Mexico State Aggies and made an immediate impact both with his arm and legs.
Through the air, Pavia completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2,293 yards with 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He was also the team’s leading rusher, gaining 801 yards on 192 carries, adding another eight scores.
He is the heart and soul of the team’s offense, as they go as far as he will take them. Should anything happen to him and he is forced to miss time, things would get ugly quickly for the Commodores.
That is the case for many programs, as going to a backup at the most important position isn’t an easy thing to do. But, what makes it even more complicated for Vanderbilt is that their depth chart behind Pavia has zero playing experience.
As shared by ESPN, the competition behind Pavia for the backup job is going to be between Blaze Berlowitz and Drew Dickey, who have yet to make an appearance in a college football game.
“With Nate Johnson's transfer back to Utah, remaining backups Blaze Berlowitz and Drew Dickey have yet to appear in a game for the Commodores. Dickey spent the 2024 season ahead of Berlowitz on the depth chart, but Berlowitz's experience under coordinator Tim Beck at New Mexico State could give him the edge in a battle to back up Pavia in 2025.”
That will be something worth keeping an eye on as the offseason rolls around.
Convincing an established quarterback to commit to the program with a player already entrenched as the starter is a hard sell. But, Lea and his staff need to keep their eyes open for potential additions under center.
Not having a single quarterback on the roster with playing experience behind Pavia is risky. Given his style of play, he absorbs more hits than the average quarterback as he is featured as their leading runner as well.
Vanderbilt is certainly hoping that Pavia can have a healthy campaign and not miss any time. But they need to have a contingency plan in place in case something does happen and having two backups with zero experience is certainly far from ideal.
