What South Carolina coordinators said about Vanderbilt

South Carolina coordinators Dowell Loggains, Clayton White, and Pete Lembo previewed Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

Dowell Loggains

– Says Xavier Legette means everything to this program. When he first arrived, everyone wanted to talk about Juice Wells but Loggains was impressed by Legette once he saw him. Calls him a great role model for the younger guys and someone you hope your son looks up to. Not only because he’s talented but because of his leadership ability. Shared in the off-season that Legette wouldn’t just go and work on a three-cone drill by himself. He’d also reach out to teammates to bring them out there too to get extra work in.

– They’ve had to convince him recently to take fewer reps in practice to help keep him fresh. He’s been banged up and leaves it on the field anytime that switch turns on but they also know they need to help him by staying as fresh as he can.

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– Having been an OC in the NFL and in college, Loggains loves the idea of using helmet technology in the college ranks. It would help both offenses and defenses out tremendously, while it would also cut back on sign stealing. It would change college football greatly if that were to ever happen.

– The great thing about when NFL scouts/teams ask him about Spencer Rattler is that he can tell them the truth. He doesn’t have to sugarcoat anything. He’s been able to handle adversity well this season and continues to be a great leader and teammate.

– Vandy’s defense is really sound. Need to be fundamentally sound and protect the football this weekend

Clayton White

– JAX State had too many explosive runs. Need to do a better job of stopping that

– They’re well aware that many players on defense have played a lot of snaps this season. They’re continuing to have communication with both Luke Day and the nutritional staff to make sure they’re putting their players in the best position to succeed. Know that they still need to get work in practice to work on fundamentals so it’s about players meeting them halfway

– You don’t have time to get mad. Says every second he’s either thinking about this program or his family

– Calls it perfect timing that Stone Blanton came up with the interception. Didn’t watch the return because his eyes quickly went to the QB/ref to make sure there wasn’t a flag

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– Has been extremely proud of the way Blanton “stays in the fight.” October wasn’t an easy month but guys like Blanton and others continue to stay committed. Knowing that he’s only a sophomore, he’s been very proud with the way he’s blocked out the outside noise

– With the 3-3-5, they have LBs who are emerging that can help them down the stretch with speed

– With JAX State going with tempo, it makes things tough with getting the calls in quickly. Requires everyone to be on the same page. With the defense with young, there were times they needed to do a better job of looking to the sideline quicker rather than celebrating the previous play since JAX State would get right back to the LOS.

– LaNorris Sellers has been running scout QB. How good of a look has it been? “It’s been too good of a look.”

Pete Lembo

– There’s three coaches on Vandy’s staff who used to work under Lembo, including Vandy’s special teams coordinator

– Says you can see the effort Vandy is playing with in all three phases. It might not show in terms of results but they’re getting better. Follows that up by saying they are getting results on special teams as they rank first in the SEC in that category

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– Have been talking to Kai Kroeger a lot about his technique and watching film with him. Have a good rapport and he’s been putting in a lot of work. They’ve been putting in some extra time for him in practice

– With so many younger players playing on special teams, at this point of the year being organized and focused on crucial. Coaches have the ability to see how many hours players are watching film on their own (on Hudl) and he’s been pleased to see guys continuing to be locked in

– On Xavier Legette’s penalty on special teams: great players make mistakes at time. But are we learning and growing? Shares that Pup Howard is an example of that. That he doesn’t view Pup as a freshman anymore because he’s played a good bit now. Says X keeps learning and wanting to get better.

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