Vanderbilt Defensive Lineman Speaks on his Long-Awaited Return to the Field This Season

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt football defensive lineman Yilanan “Issa” Ouattara lined up across a coaching staff member acting as an offensive lineman, holding a pad. Ouattara pushed by the pad using a move to finish his rep. It’s a feeling he has been waiting a while for. Now that he is back on the field, he cannot help but feel excited about being back.

Ouattara, now a graduate senior at Vanderbilt, missed all but a few snaps of the 2025 season. The Cologne, Germany native made an appearance in the Commodores’ 44-20 win at Virginia Tech after missing the season-opener against Charleston Southern. Ouattara said going into the game he was feeling good, but shortly after he went into the game, he felt the injury in his shoulder again.

“I was trying to get back and I thought it was going to work out. I felt good at Virginia Tech, went back out there and I think it was like 15 plays, felt it back. My arm was weak, it just didn’t make sense. The shoulder was unstable, so I kind of had to go get surgery,” Ouattara said as he recalled the night where he would find out later that season he would be out for the year.

This season though, he is back and cannot wait to get back in action. Spring football so far has only made him more hungry and wanting to get back in games.

The rehab process has gone well and putting his uniform back on has been something he has been wanting to do since he left the field last season. Being on the field with his friends and teammates was something he missed, and as a football player, it’s something he loves.

“It’s been great honestly. John, the athletic trainer, is doing a great job. I’ve been working with him one-on-one. He gets on me every day, pushes me in rehab, too, so that I can get back out here and get back on the field – which I’ve been feening for. Getting a helmet back on and getting pads back on has been fun,” Ouattara said on his recovery and return to practice action.

Though he was already on the roster, Ouattara feels like an added addition to Vanderbilt’s defense that went under the radar of the offseason because of the fact he was in Nashville already. Ouattara provides plenty of experience on the defensive line and a guy that younger guys can look to as leader on the defense.

During the 2024 season, Ouattara started in 10 of Vanderbilt’s 13 games, including 1.5 sacks in the Birmingham Bowl win and recovered a fumble in the win over No. 1 Alabama in October 2024.

While Vanderbilt’s defensive line does not have Khordae Sydnor or Zaylin Wood this season, adding Ouattara back into the mix can certainly help account for those departures. One of the hallmarks of Vanderbilt’s defense last year and going into this year is the depth.

Ouattara is a guy that offers his experience of his three full seasons, but also helps make the defense deep. In terms of his skillset, Ouattara feels that he adds more versatility to the defensive line.

“I think I’m a versatile player. I feel like I could play on all downs and help out. I'm big, twitchy, fast, so I feel like I could help us out where we need me all across the line,” Ouattara said. “I know we’re trying to get more exotic on third down and use different rushes in their skillsets. I feel like I can add to that aspect.”

Ouattara’s return even has his coaching staff raving about him and what he brings to the team. Defensive line coach Seth Payne noted Ouattara’s uncoachable size and athletic skills, calling him a “dynamic athlete.”

But another thing about Ouattara that sticks out to Payne is his off the field traits: his personality, leadership, experience and his want to get better.

“He’s a young man who’s been in the system for such a long time and in this program that guys can lean on him. He’s another coach on the field for us. We could sit there and we can talk to him and ask him and he gives us honest feedback about everything,” Payne said. “He’s also very coachable. He wants to get better as an athlete. We’re excited because he’s making strides in the direction we want.”

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