What Clark Lea Said About His Defense After the Final Scrimmage of Fall Camp

NASHVILLE – In contrast with how Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea felt about some aspects of his defense after the first scrimmage of fall camp, Lea had a more positive idea of where he is at with his defense after his team closed out fall camp with a second scrimmage Saturday.

In the first scrimmage, Lea felt his defense struggled defending against the run and pass on the perimeter of the field and was susceptible to the big play.

Whatever he said to his defense from the time between after the first scrimmage and leading into the second one, his guys responded well. Throughout the final week of fall camp, it looked like Vanderbilt’s defense played with an extra gear than it had the first half of the camp. And it translated well into the second scrimmage.

“For sure it’s better. I think that was evidenced in the way they pursued the ball tonight. I actually thought there was better coverage. I thought Steve [Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Steve Gregory] did a little more with the packages,” Lea said on if he felt the play of his defense was better than the first scrimmage. “I thought they responded well.”

Perhaps another area in which Vanderbilt’s defense looked better in the second scrimmage compared to the first was the way in which the secondary kept pass catchers in front of them a majority of the time.

In the first scrimmage, it looked as if pass catchers were able to get down the sideline past cornerbacks and safeties more than they probably should have. But Saturday night, that was not so much the case. There were plays that receivers made downfield, but for what felt like a majority of the scrimmage the secondary played with more discipline by keeping receivers in front of them.

Overall, Lea and his coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball seem to like where the defense is at now post-fall camp and under two weeks away from kicking off the 2026 season against Austin Peay.

Vanderbilt learned a lot about the defense it will have going into this season. Maybe the best thing Lea learned about his defense over the course of the month is how deep the defense could potentially be.

The Commodores had depth guys in each defensive position making standout plays often throughout fall camp practices. Combine that with some of the experienced veterans they have that will likely start on defense and it could end up being the best defense Vanderbilt’s roster has had during the Lea tenure.

And the Vanderbilt defense may need to play like the best defense in the Lea era, too. With a new quarterback that will be at the helm of the offense, Vanderbilt knows it is going to take time for the full potential of this season’s offense to be unlocked. That creates a lot of responsibility on the defense to do everything it can to help the offense out.

The playmaking ability for Vanderbilt’s defense will have to be heightened and that has seemed to have been one of the biggest points of emphasis defensively throughout camp. Lea is at peace knowing he will need to put more on his defense’s plate, though.

“What winning is going to ask of us this year is different than what it was last year. And that’s a group that needs to get off the field on third down. We need to turn the ball over. We were able to do that today,” Lea said. “I think we’re heading in the right way. We’ve got to stay low and just keep at it. But that’s a unit we’re going to rely on, especially early in the season.”

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