Vanderbilt Football’s Clark Lea Gives Message of Hope at SEC Media Day: The Anchor

Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea began his opening statement during his press conference at the podium of SEC Media Days on Monday sharing the hope he has for his team going into the upcoming season.

“Being around my team every day brings me energy, gives me hope, and so I'm grateful. It's easy to be excited about a team that returns as much production as we do, especially considering the retention of our coaching staff,” Lea said.

Lea also talked about where the ability to maintain the retention of players and coaches year over year stems from: belief and resources.

“Retention is the product of two things: It starts with the shared belief in what's possible for our program, the belief in last year as a beginning and not an arrival,” Lea said. 

“But in the current state of affairs, current landscape of college football, you're not talking about retaining without resources, and so I'm deeply grateful to Chancellor Diermeier and Candice Lee for having the courage and vision to go beyond historical limits that have held our program back in the past and to champion a new era of growth and support.”

Vanderbilt has 14 returning starters from last season, five on offense and nine on defense. That is tied for the fifth-most returning starters on a roster in the FBS going into this fall. Illinois, Arizona State and Clemson have the most returning starters this season with 16.

Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers highlight the returning starters on offense while Martel Hight and Randon Fontenette are notable returning starters on the defensive side of the ball.

Today’s Commodores Schedule

No games scheduled.

Did You Notice?

Former Vanderbilt baseball player Jacob Humphrey signed a contract with the Colorado Rockies as an undrafted free agent on Tuesday, Vanderbilt baseball announced on X. In 50 games this past season, Humphrey batted .279 with four home runs and 22 RBIs. Humphrey joined Tommy O’Rourke as the other Commodores to sign to a MLB team as undrafted free agents.

There were seven Vanderbilt players who were drafted during the 2025 MLB Draft over the weekend.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2025 Football Season Opener

44 days

Commodores Quote of The Day

“Outlined against a blue, gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below.”Grantland Rice

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