Clark Lea offers injury update from Vanderbilt practice

Vanderbilt has kept a generally clean bill of health throughout the offseason and into the back stretch of training camp.

However, the injury bug hasn’t completely left the Commodores alone, head coach Clark Lea revealed.

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“We held Cole Spence out today,” Lea said on Thursday. “He’s going to be fine. He’s dealing with just a sprain, and it shouldn’t be anything that lingers honestly, beyond Sunday, when we start our prep. But you know, everything else we’re in good shape.”

Spence missed the entire 2023 season after seeing time on the field in four games for the Commodores as a true freshman in 2022. Knowing that the tight end’s injury will not keep him out for very long is reassuring for those excited to see what he can do in Lea’s offense.

While he hasn’t caught a pass in his collegiate career, Spence was a sure-handed option as a senior in high school. He made first-team all-state in Georgia as a senior, catching 55 passes for 957 yards and five touchdowns. This came after he caught 42 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns as a junior the previous year.

A two-time state placer as a wrestler in high school — including being the Georgia high school runner-up at the heavyweight division as a senior — and a lacrosse player, Spence’s natural athleticsm and background makes him an interesting target for Vanderbilt at the tight end position.

Of course, as a tight end it will also be Spence’s job to help keep the running game afloat. While Spence was sidelined due to injury for the year, the Vanderbilt rushing unit tallied 1,144 total yards with no backs eclipsing the 400-yard mark on the season. On top of that, the Commodores ranked last in the SEC in total offense and 13th in scoring offense, averaging just 22.8 points per game.

It helped cap a 2-10 season for Vanderbilt, marking the second time in three years the Commodores finished with that record. In 2022, they finished 5-7 to just miss out on a bowl game.

As the Commodores look to not only add Spence back into the mix at tight end, they’ll also be looking for him to help improve their collective run-blocking in the hopes of maintaining a consistent identity on the offensive side of the ball.

Vanderbilt kicks off its 2024 season against Virginia Tech at home.