Vanderbilt Football Believes There is a Lot to Like About its Fall Camp Defense

NASHVILLE – There was a different kind of energy in the Nashville air Sunday morning for the fourth day of Vanderbilt football’s fall camp. The energy was high, especially amongst guys on the defense.

Players looked to be extra amped up compared to last week’s start to camp. Defensively, there have been a couple of Vanderbilt players that have put their best foot forward and have looked good in practice. From the strides players have made to how the Commodores’ defensive line has looked, Vanderbilt thinks it is in a good spot right now.

“I like where we’re at. We’re progressing, we’re getting better each and every day. The guys are really working hard. There’s still a long way to go. There’s still a lot of training camp left,” Gregory said of his defense’s performance through four days of camp.

Vanderbilt has a mix of veterans and fresh faces on the defensive side of the ball this year. While each room on defense has someone with experience, there are also rooms on defense that have guys that are new to the program and are building confidence and chemistry each day.

Given what has happened in camp through four days, Gregory believes that his defense is right on schedule with where he wants it to be by the time the 2026 season kicks off.

Speaking of a room with veteranship and new faces, take Vanderbilt’s EDGE room for example. The Commodores have their leader in Miles Capers in the room and brought in Brian Allen Jr. from Iowa and Edwin Kolenge from Boston College in addition to already having Mason Carter, who is looking to have an important role this season.

During the spring it was about the room getting familiar amongst themselves and mixing in together well. A lot of the spring and summer is focused on getting the players in the room comfortable with the scheme and being pushed to play with effort and attitude and what it looks like to do that in the program.

But Vanderbilt defensive ends coach Adam Morris feels that his guys have moved on from that. It is an encouraging sign that has allowed for him to teach them the finer details of the game.

“I think the thing that’s been the most fun so far in camp is the guys are gaining confidence in the scheme and what they’re supposed to do. So, as coaches, we can spend more time on the ‘How.’ I think you probably felt that if you were watching practice today,” Morris said.

But Vanderbilt believes the progress it has made on defense extends to more than just its defensive front. It has been pleased with seeing how the secondary has performed through four days of camp as well.

Gregory pointed to Vanderbilt cornerback Jordan Matthews as someone that he has enjoyed watching in camp thus far. Coaches believe that Matthews has been able to show an improved understanding of the defense this season and the scheme Vanderbilt wants to run.

In Sunday’s practice, Matthews looked impressive and made a couple good plays. It is exactly what Gregory wants to see out of him and thinks he could be set up for a breakout year if he keeps executing.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence, but he’s got to continue to strive to become even better and continue to improve and work on it each and every day,” Gregory said. “But I think this can be a really good year for him if he continues to progress the way he is going.”

There is a lot of room for Vanderbilt’s defense to grow in camp. There are three weeks to go so time will tell how the coaching staff assesses the defense later as the calendar gets toward the end of August. But it has been so far, so good a few days in.

“I think we’re heading in the right direction and I’m really positive about what we’ve been doing,” Gregory said.

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