Clark Lea on Vanderbilt quarterback competition: 'It's anyone's ball'

Vanderbilt has a quarterback competition that’s still very wide open according to Clark Lea.

Lea spoke about the battle and the names still within it during a media availability following the Commodores’ opening practice of the fall on Wednesday. He said the starting spot at the position is still available to all of them. He also laid out what he’s still looking for from the one who will eventually be their QB1.

“Well, right now, it’s anyone’s ball, you know,” said Lea.

“They’ve got to come out and show the ability to protect the football, make decisions, empower the other 10 guys on the field to make plays,” Lea explained. “We want to give them time and space to do that.”

The two main names in the competition are a pair of transfers in Diego Pavia (New Mexico State) and Nate Johnson (Utah). Both were Top-40 QBs in the portal at No. 36 and No. 34 respectively per On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players.

Pavia, a graduate student, comes to Nashville after two seasons apiece at New Mexico Military Institute and New Mexico State. That included appearing in 27 games with 23 starts, including all 15 last season as the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, for the Aggies. While in Las Cruces, he threw for 4,423 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions on 57.9% completion. He also rushed for 1,431 yards and 13 more scores. Now, with his transfer, he follows his former head coach, Jerry Kill, to Vandy.

As for Johnson, an incoming junior, he arrives in Music City after two seasons with the Utes. In that time, he played in 11 games, including three starts last season. In his opportunities this past year, he threw for 499 yards and a trio of touchdowns on 54.2% completion.

There are then six other quarterbacks on the roster for Vanderbilt.

The matter now is whittling the list down from a handful to two and finally to one. For that to happen, Lea trusts in the thoughts of his offensive staff to make a decision on that quarterback.

“I think the challenge for us is going to be, as we go, you know, we can’t get four guys ready to play,” Lea explained. “We’re going to have to be strategic with how we distribute those reps and ultimately take a competition of four to a competition of two. Then have a starter by the time we’re playing against Virginia Tech.”

“With Coach Beck and Coach Kill, you’ve got a ton of experience on that side of the ball. I trust their eyes on it,” said Lea. “I’m excited about what they’re doing offensively. You know, it has challenged me as a defensive coach. They’ll do a great job ultimately narrowing those reps down and picking a starter for us.”

With it being the first of the month, there’s 30 days between now and Vanderbilt’s season opener against the Hokies. That gives each around three or four weeks to be who earns the starting spot for the Commodores in 2024.