2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	0–9 (0–9 SEC)
Head coach	Derek Mason (7th season; first 8 games) Todd Fitch (interim; final game)
Offensive coordinator	Todd Fitch (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Ted Roof (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Vanderbilt Stadium
Seasons ←  2019 2021  →

2020 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 13 Florida x		8	–	2					8	–	4
No. 7 Georgia		7	–	2					8	–	2
Missouri		5	–	5					5	–	5
Kentucky		4	–	6					5	–	6
Tennessee*		3	–	7					3	–	7
South Carolina		2	–	8					2	–	8
Vanderbilt		0	–	9					0	–	9
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^		10	–	0					13	–	0
No. 4 Texas A&M		8	–	1					9	–	1
Auburn		6	–	4					6	–	5
LSU*		5	–	5					5	–	5
Ole Miss		4	–	5					5	–	5
Arkansas		3	–	7					3	–	7
Mississippi State		3	–	7					4	–	7
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * – Tennessee vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. LSU was ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban. Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule. Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by interim head coach Todd Fitch, who replaced Derek Mason after his firing on November 29, 2020. On December 14, 2020, Clark Lea was hired as head coach.

On November 28, in game against Missouri, Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five conference game by delivering the opening kickoff for the second half. Fuller, the Commodores' goalkeeper on the school's SEC championship women's soccer team, was added to the football roster after the team's regular kicking specialists had to be quarantined due to COVID-19 protocols. ^{[1] [2]} The following game, against Tennessee in the season finale, Fuller would become the first women to score in a Power Five game, going a perfect 2/2 on extra point attempts. ^{[3] [4]}

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Vanderbilt was predicted to finish in last place in the East Division. ^[5]

Schedule

Vanderbilt had games scheduled against Colorado State, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech and Mercer, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	6:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Texas A&M	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN Alt.	L 12–17	24,073
October 3	6:30 p.m.	No. 20 LSU	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 7–41	2,000
October 10	11:00 a.m.	South Carolina	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 7–41	1,288
October 31	3:00 p.m.	Ole Miss	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	L 21–54	840
November 7	2:30 p.m.	at Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	L 17–24	12,888
November 14	11:00 a.m.	at Kentucky	Kroger Field Lexington, KY (rivalry)	SECN	L 35–38	12,000
November 21	11:00 a.m.	No. 6 Florida	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ABC	L 17–38	1,147
November 28 [a]	11:00 a.m.	at Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 0–41	11,053
December 12	3:00 p.m.	Tennessee	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	L 17–42	849
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Central time

^{^[a]} The game between Vanderbilt and Missouri was originally scheduled to take place on October 17. However, due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Vanderbilt program, the game was rescheduled for December 12. ^{[9] [10]} The SEC postponed Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt to facilitate the rescheduling of the Vanderbilt–Missouri game. The shuffling allows for the opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to play 10 regular-season games. ^{[11] [12]}

Personnel

2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Amir Abdur-Rahman Jr RB 3 Ja'Veon Marlow Jr WR 4 James Bostic III Sr QB 5 Mike Wright Fr QB 6 Jeremy Moussa Jr WR 7 Camron Johnson Jr QB 8 Ken Seals Fr RB 9 Rocko Griffin Fr TE 10 Gavin Schoenwald Jr WR 11 Tyrell Alexander GS WR 13 Jackson Winrow GS WR 14 Devin Boddie Jr. So QB 15 Danny Clark Jr WR 16 Mac Hereford GS WR 17 Keithan Starling Jr. Sr WR 18 Logan Kyle Fr WR 19 Chris Pierce Jr. Sr RB 21 Keyon Henry-Brooks So RB 25 Mitchell Pryor Jr RB 32 Jamauri Wakefield GS TE 35 Kyle White Jr FB 51 Luke Blanton Jr OL 52 Kevo Wesley Fr OL 54 Tyler Steen Jr OL 57 Drew Birchmeier GS OL 61 Jonah Buchanan Sr OL 62 Julian Hernandez So OL 63 Grant Miller Sr OL 64 Stephen Spanellis GS OL 65 Michael Warden Jr OL 67 Trent Weaver Fr OL 68 Jason Brooks Jr. Fr OL 70 Bradley Ashmore Fr OL 71 Donald Fitzgerald So OL 72 Dan Dawkins Jr OL 73 Jonathan Stewart Sr OL 74 Cole Clemens Sr OL 75 Ben Cox Fr OL 76 Connor Mignone GS OL 78 Bryce Bailey Sr WR 81 Will Sheppard Fr TE 84 Justin Ball So TE 85 Joel DeCoursey So TE 86 Ben Bresnahan Jr WR 88 Jayden Harrison So TE 89 Diego LaMonica Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Donovan Kaufman Fr CB 4 Randall Haynie Sr CB 6 Gabe Jeudy-Lally So DL 8 Alex Williams So DL 9 Daevion Davis So DL 10 Dayo Odeyingbo Sr S 11 Justin Harris So LB 12 Brayden DeVault-Smith Sr S 13 Brendon Harris Jr S 14 Maxwell Worship Jr CB 15 Elijah Hamilton GS CB 16 B. J. Anderson Sr LB 17 Feleti Afemui Sr LB 21 Kenny Herbert Sr S 22 Chase Lloyd Fr DB 23 Jaylen Mahoney So LB 24 Alston Orji Jr LB 26 Anfernee Orji So CB 27 Ryan McCord Fr CB 28 Allan George Sr S, LB 29 Jack Barton Fr S 30 De'Rickey Wright Fr LB 31 A. J. Walsh Fr S 33 Dashaun Jerkins Jr DL 41 Elijah McAllister Jr S 42 Camden Coleman Jr LB 43 Tré Brown So DL 44 Christian James So LB 45 Griffin Lampton Fr DL 46 Michael Spencer Fr LB 48 Andre Mintze GS LB 50 Ethan Barr Fr STAR 52 Alex Brown Jr LB 53 Tommy Eckels Fr DL 57 Drew Birchmeier GS DL 66 Cameron Robinson Sr DL 69 Brayden Bapst So DE, LB 88 Michael Owusu Sr DL 90 Cameron Tidd GS DL 92 Derek Green So DL 93 Tolu Thomas-Ailara So DL 94 Rutger Reitmaier Jr DL 95 Raashaan Wilkins Jr. Jr DE 96 Nate Clifton So DL 97 Lorenza Surgers Jr DL 99 Malik Langham Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 32 Sarah Fuller Sr P 36 Jared Wheatley So K, P 37 Pierson Cooke Jr K 38 Oren Milstein GS K 39 Javan Rice Jr K 47 Wes Farley Jr LS 49 Zach Drevno Jr LS 58 Wesley Schelling Fr LS 59 Scott Meyer GS P 95 Harrison Smith Jr	Head coach Derek Mason Todd Fitch Interim head coach/Offensive coordinator Coordinators/assistant coaches Ted Roof Defensive coordinator Devin Fitzsimmons Special teams coordinator/Tight ends Tony Ball Wide receivers Aaron Henry Cornerbacks Tim Horton Running backs Marc Mattioli Defensive backs Jovan Haye Defensive ends Kenechi Udeze Linebackers Bret Ingalls Senior offensive analyst Jeff Imamura Defensive analyst Caden Thomson Defensive analyst Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 30, 2023

Game summaries

At No. 10 Texas A&M

See also: 2020 Texas A&M Aggies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	3	2	7	0	12
No. 10 Aggies	7	0	7	3	17

Statistics	VAN	TAMU
First downs	17	17
Total yards	255	372
Rushing yards	105	183
Passing yards	150	189
Turnovers	2	3
Time of possession	33:59	26:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	20/29, 150 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ja'Veon Marlow	16 rushes, 65 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	5 receptions, 72 yards, TD
Texas A&M	Passing	Kellen Mond	17/28, 189 yards, TD
	Rushing	Isaiah Spiller	8 rushes, 117 yards
	Receiving	Caleb Chapman	4 receptions, 40 yards, TD

No. 20 LSU

See also: 2020 LSU Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Tigers	7	14	13	7	41
Commodores	0	7	0	0	7

Statistics	LSU	VAN
First downs	28	17
Total yards	498	266
Rushing yards	161	153
Passing yards	337	113
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	29:13	30:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
LSU	Passing	Myles Brennan	23/37, 337 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	John Emery Jr.	12 rushes, 103 yards, T
	Receiving	Terrace Marshall Jr.	2 receptions, 67 yards, 2 TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	11/25, 113 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ja'Veon Marlow	17 rushes, 83 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	3 receptions, 63 yards

South Carolina

See also: 2020 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	3	7	17	14	41
Commodores	0	0	7	0	7

Statistics	SC	VAN
First downs	18	15
Total yards	485	249
Rushing yards	289	76
Passing yards	196	173
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	31:27	28:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Carolina	Passing	Collin Hill	16/24, 196 yards
	Rushing	Kevin Harris	21 rushes, 171 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Nick Muse	5 receptions, 85 yards
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	17/24, 148 yards, TD
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	13 rushes, 72 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	2 receptions, 46 yards

Ole Miss

See also: 2020 Ole Miss Rebels football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	21	12	21	0	54
Commodores	0	14	0	7	21

Statistics	MISS	VAN
First downs	35	24
Total yards	641	421
Rushing yards	192	102
Passing yards	449	319
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	29:52	30:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ole Miss	Passing	Matt Corral	31/34, 412 yards, 6 TD
	Rushing	Jerrion Ealy	15 rushes, 95 yards
	Receiving	Elijah Moore	14 receptions, 238 yards, 3 TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	31/40, 319 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	23 rushes, 66 yards, TD
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	14 receptions, 97 yards

At Mississippi State

See also: 2020 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	0	7	10	17
Bulldogs	14	3	0	7	24

Statistics	VAN	MSST
First downs	30	14
Total yards	478	204
Rushing yards	142	-22
Passing yards	336	226
Turnovers	5	0
Time of possession	32:10	27:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	31/46, 336 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	20 rushes, 115 yards, TD
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	10 receptions, 114 yards
Mississippi State	Passing	Will Rogers	35/46, 226 yards, TD
	Rushing	Woody Marks	6 rushes, 10 yards, TD
	Receiving	Malik Heath	9 receptions, 79 yards

At Kentucky

See also: 2020 Kentucky Wildcats football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	14	7	14	35
Wildcats	14	10	7	7	38

Statistics	VAN	UK
First downs	29	23
Total yards	407	458
Rushing yards	180	308
Passing yards	227	150
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	32:26	27:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	21/32, 225 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	29 rushes, 121 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	7 receptions, 89 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Terry Wilson	13/15, 110 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	13 rushes, 149 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Keaton Upshaw	2 receptions, 41 yards, TD

No. 6 Florida

See also: 2020 Florida Gators football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Gators	7	10	14	7	38
Commodores	10	0	7	0	17

Statistics	FLA	VAN
First downs	29	21
Total yards	586	406
Rushing yards	173	87
Passing yards	413	319
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	34:17	25:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Kyle Trask	26/35, 383 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Dameon Pierce	11 rushes, 55 yards, TD
	Receiving	Kadarius Toney	6 receptions, 107 yards, TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	22/34, 319 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Mitchell Pryor	13 rushes, 44 yards
	Receiving	Chris Pierce Jr.	4 receptions, 97 yards, 2 TD

At Missouri

See also: 2020 Missouri Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	0	0	0	0
Tigers	7	14	6	14	41

Statistics	VAN	MIZ
First downs	13	31
Total yards	185	603
Rushing yards	82	223
Passing yards	103	380
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	27:10	32:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	11/18, 79 yards
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	15 rushes, 64 yards
	Receiving	Camron Johnson	5 receptions, 33 yards
Missouri	Passing	Connor Bazelak	30/37, 318 yards
	Rushing	Larry Rountree III	21 rushes, 160 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Tyler Badie	7 receptions, 102 yards

Tennessee

See also: 2020 Tennessee Volunteers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Volunteers	7	21	7	7	42
Commodores	7	3	0	7	17

Statistics	TENN	VAN
First downs	24	16
Total yards	540	292
Rushing yards	212	53
Passing yards	328	239
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	33:37	26:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Harrison Bailey	14/18, 207 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Eric Gray	13 rushes, 74 yards
	Receiving	Velus Jones Jr.	7 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	Ken Seals	22/39, 239 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Keyon Henry-Brooks	20 rushes, 56 yards
	Receiving	Amir Abdur-Rahman	3 receptions, 69 yards

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	54	Dayo Odeyingbo	DE	Indianapolis Colts

References

1. Sallee, Barrett (November 28, 2020). "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history as first woman to play in a Power Five college football game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
2. "Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller could be first woman to play in Power 5 football game". ABC News. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
3. "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history again as first woman to score points in Power Five game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
4. Sparks, Adam (December 12, 2020). "Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller becomes first woman to score in Power Five college football game". Nashville Tennessean. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
5. "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
6. Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
7. Dellenger, Ross (July 30, 2020). "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
8. Dellenger, Ross (August 7, 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
9. "Vanderbilt at Missouri Football Game Postponed". SEC. October 13, 2020.
10. "2020 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Department of Athletics. August 7, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
11. Toppmeyer, Blake; Sparks, Adam (November 23, 2020). "Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt postponed; Commodores to play Missouri". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee . Retrieved January 11, 2022.
12. "Vanderbilt University Football Schedule: 2020 Season". SEC.