Clark Lea 'withholding comment' on status of Marlon Jones, Makhilyn Young

When asked by a local reporter about the absence of a pair of transfer commits — Marlon Jones and Makhilyn Young — from the Vanderbilt roster as fall camp begins, head coach Clark Lea demurred on Wednesday.

Both Jones, an cornerback transfer from Eastern Washington, and Young, a running back from New Mexico State, had both committed to Vanderbilt out of the portal without incident. And Lea didn’t offer much by way of details on the two players as fall camp gets underway.

“I want to withhold comment on that, right now,” Lea said.

According to reports, Jones will miss the 2024 season due to an injury but join the team in January. Young’s status is unclear.

Whenever the status for one or both of the transfers becomes clear, though, it does seem Lea will be forthright.

“And I will get back to it, but I don’t want to talk about something I shouldn’t talk about right now,” Lea said.

The Commodores have an open quarterback competition

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 for the Aggies as the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year. 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.