Vanderbilt Football Defensive Takeaways After Day Six of Fall Camp

NASHVILLE – The pads were officially popping Tuesday at Vanderbilt football’s practice field as the Commodores had their first padded practice of this year’s fall camp.

The team went live for a good amount of time throughout the morning for the sixth practice of fall camp before heading into the second off day Wednesday. It was an eventful practice where the energy was once again being felt from players on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, there were a few standouts from Tuesday’s practice. Here are some defensive takeaways from the day.

Cayden Daniels Continues to Have a Good Camp

Vanderbilt’s cornerback room has had some guys people may not normally think of that have looked really solid throughout camp. One of those guys is cornerback Cayden Daniels.

Daniels was already having a nice showing through five days of camp, but he was a camp standout in Tuesday’s practice. Daniels was in the area of the ball often and made a few plays with the opportunities he was given.

Whether it was in coverage or at the end of plays, Daniels made plays. He showed that he is someone that could increase his role this fall if he continues to perform and improve his game at the rate he has been thus far in camp.

Two More Defensive Backs Keep a Positive Trend

While Daniels has been good in camp, Vanderbilt cornerback Jordan Matthews has looked perhaps even better. After Monday’s practice, it really looked like Matthews was starting to cement himself in the spot for cornerback No. 2.

He trended more in that direction Tuesday as well. Where Matthews really stood out the most was how he did in coverage. Matthews made plays in coverage as he continued the good camp that he showed through the first five days.

The way Matthews has looked, he is closer to where Martel Hight is at than the third cornerback slot.

But that was not all. Vanderbilt safety Davin Chandler was in the mix again Tuesday. Chandler once again was able to get involved in the area of the ball often and made plays off of those scenarios.

While Chandler has been practicing well, it is not enough yet to say that he is the third best safety in the room, but Chandler’s performance does say that Vanderbilt’s safety room is deep and does have options it can turn to if need be.

It does not just feel like Chandler has been making plays, it looks like that is the reality. Vanderbilt safeties coach Melvin Rice spoke to the media after Tuesday’s practice and talked about what he has seen out of Chandler so far this month.

“He just brings it every day. He can play a lot of positions and position effects ability. He just makes a play every practice and we love that about him,” Rice said.

A Defensive Lineman Looked Good, Too

His name has not been said a ton throughout camp, but Vanderbilt defensive lineman Aaron Bryant was another player that had his moments Tuesday.

Bryant was one of the primary catalysts in stopping run plays when Vanderbilt went live during practice. Bryant's ability to get a push against the offensive line early in live plays while finishing a couple plays was noticeable.

The interior part of the defensive line is going to be an interesting story to monitor through the rest of camp in terms of how it matches up with the offensive line, especially in rushing situations.

Ricardo Jones is Not Afraid to Talk

If there are 11 defenders communicating on the field, Vanderbilt safety Ricardo Jones is one of them. If there is one defender talking to teammates on the field, it would probably be Jones.

In his post-practice press conference Tuesday, Jones talked about how much he values communication with his teammates and letting his guys know where not just himself, but others need to be. One thing is for sure: Jones is not the quiet, shy type of player.

“I pride myself on being the person on the defense who communicates the most. If nobody else is going to talk, No. 7 is going to say something before the play. So, that’s one thing I pride myself on, just being the person out there who communicates because talking will take you a long way on defense,” Jones said.

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