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Vanderbilt vs. Wake Forest

Vanderbilt

Coach Johnson's Monday Press Conference
8/29/2005
Vanderbilt head football coach Bobby Johnson met with representatives from the media Monday afternoon for his first press conference of the 2005 season. A portion of his comments are available below:
Head Coach Bobby Johnson
(Opening remarks)
Good afternoon. Thanks for coming. We’re at the point where we’re tired of practicing against each other and want to play some real football. That’s the great thing about college football – the preseason doesn’t last that long and you have to get at it and go right to it. We’re anxious for Thursday to get here and see what we can do.
(On Wake Forest’s program)
It’s going to be two hungry teams coming in there Thursday, both wanting to do well right off the bat. They’ll give us some challenges. They run the ball extremely well and I know they’re trying to improve their passing game. They think Benjamin Mauk will be a very good quarterback for them to do that. In high school he threw a lot and he was a record-setter. It’s going to be an interesting game. We’re looking forward to it.
(On Preseason All-SEC QB Jay Cutler)
We’re going to use Jay Cutler to the fullest so that obviously means we’re going to throw the football. But if you sit back and throw the football all the time in the ACC and SEC, where there are great pass rushers and great defensive coordinators who can do things to you if you’re going to be a pass-only team, then your yards per attempt are probably going to go way down. So we’re going to have to run the football – there’s no doubt about it. But the threat of Jay’s passing ability, I think, will allow us to do that better. We’re going to use him to throw it and we’re going to use him as a threat to throw it. And hopefully we can still stay balanced and make people defend everything against us instead of just Jay Cutler.

Vandy Newspaper
Vandy plans to play freshman corners

Duo tries to fill shoes of suspended Dixon

By BRYAN MULLEN
Staff Writer


Vanderbilt cornerbacks Jared Fagan and Josh Allen have never played in a college football game.

On Thursday both will. And one will start. This has to be an issue, right?

“We don’t have the luxury of it being an issue,” Commodores secondary coach Jamie Bryant said. “Because they’re both going to play.”

While that may sound simple enough, the issue of making your first collegiate start, in the first game of the year, on the road, is a tad more complex.

Vanderbilt will be without junior Sean Dixon on Thursday when the Commodores travel to Wake Forest. Dixon, the starting cornerback opposite senior Andrew Pace, was suspended for the game because of an unspecified violation of team and NCAA rules.

Vanderbilt’s coaches have yet to name Fagan or Allen as the starter. And the players may not know until the last minute.

“It will be one of those late decisions,” Vanderbilt Coach Bobby Johnson said. “They are very similar. It will probably be the one who recognizes things the best and makes the calls we need to make. He needs to be aware of certain sets.”

Johnson and Bryant said the two cornerbacks are similar in talent, and unfortunately for Vanderbilt, are also similar when it comes to game experience. When it comes to performances at practices during the past week, neither has pulled away from the other, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, coaches said.

“I think that they are both trying to do the best they can,” Bryant said. “They’re good players. They are pretty much even right now. When we get (to Wake Forest), we’re going to line up and play with one of them, but they’re both going to play in the game.”

If it weren’t for their jersey numbers, it would be difficult to tell Fagan and Allen apart. Fagan is 5-foot-10 and 172 pounds. Allen is 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds.


Both are still learning about responsibilities as a starter, and quite frankly, still learning the position as it relates to the collegiate level.

Both are inexperienced when it comes to not only playing college football games, but also playing college football games on the road in front of hostile crowds.

But both are also quick and shifty and break on the ball well.

“I think they both have good feet and they both have good hips,” Bryant said. “They’ve learned the system. They’ve been here a while, so it’s time for them to go out and play.”

They will be playing a team facing a worse scenario. Wake Forest has to replace their two starting cornerbacks from last season. Eric King was a two-time All-ACC selection, and Marcus McGruder set the single-season ACC record in interception returns for touchdowns (three).

Filling one of the spots will be Riley Swanson, a junior who played in all 11 games but started just one last year. Behind him are sophomore Johnny Edwards and three redshirt freshmen.
More weather issues: Hurricane Katrina could affect everyone else in the Vanderbilt football program.
The Commodores are scheduled to travel to Wake Forest for a Thursday night game.
Projections yesterday showed that the remnants of the storm are expected to hit Tennessee around midday on Wednesday, the same time the Commodores are scheduled to leave for Wake Forest.
Vanderbilt is scheduled to leave the Nashville International Airport on a Delta charter at 3 p.m.
"We are waiting on the actual direction the storm will take, as well as the landfall direction," Vanderbilt Director of Sport Operations Brian Reese said.
With only four days before their season opener, the Commodores have managed to avoid serious injuries to their starters. And as a whole, the team is surprisingly healthy.
The most pressing issue deals with defensive tackle Ray Brown, who had been wearing a protective boot on his injured left foot. Brown has not worn the boot the past two days. Yesterday, Brown pulled on his shoulder pads for the first time and did some side work with a blocking sled.
"Getting Ray Brown back is pretty big," Johnson said. "He's got a chance, but when you're not out there doing all the adjustments, it's just hard for him to be able to play."
Freshman tight end Jake Bradford is wearing a sling after dislocating his right shoulder. Bradford would like to redshirt this season, but injuries and other factors may not make that possible.
"What we probably would have done, like we did with Curtis Gatewood and Jonathan Goff, we would have probably dressed (Bradford) and had him ready to go just in case," Johnson said. "But we would have hoped to not play him."
Offensive lineman Nigel Seaman has been sidelined for several practices after suffering a concussion during contact drills. Fullback Steven Bright (neck stiffness) continues to wear a non-contact red jersey and will do so until game day.
"It's no use to take it off. We're not going to hit anymore," Johnson said. "Just having it on keeps people from accidentally hitting him."
Keeping up with Pace: Senior cornerback Andrew Pace continues to impress the coaches and is becoming more comfortable at his new position. Pace, who moved from safety to cornerback in the spring, intercepted a pass by backup quarterback Chris Nickson yesterday.
"Just reliable as you can be," Johnson said about Pace. "He works hard. Heck, he could probably play quarterback if we wanted him to."


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