Vanderbilt fires running backs coach Jayden Everett

Vanderbilt is reportedly moving on from one of the members of their coaching staff with the removal of Jayden Everett as the Commodores’ running backs coach.

Robbie Weinstein at 247 reported the news out of Nashville on Monday evening in regards to the change on the staff for Clark Lea.

Everett spent one season at Vanderbilt after coaching the position at several other programs over the past decade. He also coached the running backs at Indiana State, Central Michigan, Akron, and Tulsa since 2013.

The Commodores’ run game didn’t find much success this past season. They ran for only 95.3 yards per game on 29.1 carries per contest. That was good for just 3.3 yards per carry on the year. In total, their rush offense finished second to last in the conference ahead of only South Carolina as they posted 1,144 total yards on the ground for the campaign.

Sedrick Alexander and Patrick Smith led Vanderbilt in rushing last fall. Alexander was in first with 96 carries for 371 yards and four touchdowns. That was enough to earn him a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Smith, a junior, wasn’t far behind in second, though, with 327 yards and two scores on 79 carries in one less appearance. However, he has since entered his name into the transfer portal.

Vanderbilt has seen several changes to their staff, both with additions and subtractions, this offseason. Now, as of today, Everett is the latest shift as the program will now look for a new coach for their stable of backs.

Wisconsin formally names AJ Blazek as offensive line coach

Wisconsin named AJ Blazek as the team’s new offensive line coach under Luke Fickell.

Blazek was most recently in the same position at Vanderbilt.

In three years, Blazek coached up Vanderbilt’s offensive line but he has ties in the Big Ten. He played for Iowa from 1999-2000 and also coached at Rutgers for three seasons (2016-18) as their offensive line coach.

Blazek released a statement upon his hiring in Madison.

“I can’t wait to get to work with Coach Fickell and his staff in Madison,” Blazek said. “I’ve admired the program from afar for a long time and I’m honored to be leading a unit that has such rich history at Wisconsin.”

Fickell also released a statement upon bringing Blazek onto the Badgers’ staff.

“We’re thankful to have AJ joining our staff,” Fickell said. “He has a track record of success across college football. AJ brings a familiarity of playing in the Big Te, as well as recruiting experience in traditional Big Ten areas, to our program.”