Vanderbilt Football Injury Update Ahead of Road Test

Vanderbilt is getting ready for its first road test of the season this weekend at Virginia Tech under the light of Lane Stadium.

The Commodores are coming off a big 45-3 win over Charleston Southern. Not only did they come out of Saturday night looking strong and playing mostly clean, but they avoided any major injuries. However, Vanderbilt did have a few players that had nagging injuries earlier in the week that head coach Clark Lea did provide updates on in Thursday’s press conference.

Wide receiver Junior Sherrill and backup tight end Cole Spence both had small injuries early this week, but Lea said progression has been made and both are listed as probable going into Saturday night.

“Cole and Junior have progressed through the week,” Lea said. “They were able to practice today, so they’ll be listed as probable for the game, but I think they showed they are going to be able to contribute. From what I saw today, I’m excited that they’ll be playing.”

Having both Sherrill and Spence at quarterback Diego Pavia’s disposal is crucial to the Vanderbilt offense. With more pass catchers available, the more efficient the Commodores can play offensively. Having Sherrill available gives the offense a big boost. The Nashville, Tennessee native contributed meaningfully last week with three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also led the wide receiver room in 2024 in receiving yards.

Regardless of how much Sherrill will contribute against Virginia Tech, Lea feels that the depth of his team at the receiver position this year will be able to account for any lack of production from Sherrill.

“I probably feel better this year than I would have in past years. I think part of it is that we just feel like we have quality depth. My hope is that Junior’s able to go from snap one to snap whatever, and he’s able to impact the game. It has been nice to see the action plan in place where if we don’t have him, we feel like we can account for it by moving some pieces around, but not compromising the mission,” Lea said.

Spence was targeted once in Saturday’s win, but is able to contribute when star tight end Eli Stowers gets a break throughout games.

Another injury that came up earlier this week was to offensive lineman Gunner Givens, who sustained a lower body injury Wednesday. Lea said that Givens’ status for Saturday is questionable.

“We’re going to get a little more information on it. It just flared up this morning. I’m hopeful for him that he’ll be with us and be able to play. He’s obviously earned his snaps. We held him out today just to be cautious with it and get a little more information on it, so we’ll see how it goes,” Lea said.

This weekend is a little bit of a homecoming for the Covington, Virginia native. Givens went to Lord Botetourt High School, which is under two hours northeast of Blacksburg. Last week, Givens got snaps on the offensive line very early in the game and was a part of the offensive line that created a lot of push and gave Pavia plenty of protection to throw.

Vanderbilt kicks off against Virginia Tech at 7:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.

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