How a trip to Las Cruces rebuilt Vanderbilt and stimulated

• Mark Schlabach, ESPN

  • Senior Citizen WriterOct 8, 2024, 07:00 AM ET Close Senior college football author Author of seven books on college football
  • Graduate of the University of Georgia

If Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea could get his hands on one of those memory-erasing “neuralyzers” Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones utilized in the “Men in Black” films, he would make everyone forget the Commodores’ football past.Lea would

wipe away the 10 straight losing seasons and the 10-game losing streak at the end of 2023, as well as the reality the Commodores haven’t won a conference championship in 101 years and have actually ended up with a winning record in SEC play just two times in the past 50 years.

“If I might just eliminate memories,” Lea told ESPN. “We’re held back a lot by our past and by this old mentality that simply kind of will not leave us.”

Vanderbilt’s feeble performance history is what made its 40-35 upset of No. 1 Alabama on Saturday so amazing. The Commodores had lost every one of their previous 60 games against top-five groups in the Associated Press poll. They hadn’t beaten the Crimson Tide in 40 years and were outscored 148-3 in the previous 3 meetings.A week earlier, Alabama knocked off No. 2 Georgia in a thrilling 41-34 success and appeared poised to contend for another CFP national championship under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide had won 79 straight games versus unranked opponents, the second-longest streak in the AP poll age given that 1936, according to ESPN Research.Editor’s Picks 1 Associated Vanderbilt’s stunning success wasn’t a fluke. Before goal posts from FirstBank Arena

were brought down Broadway Street in Nashville and dumped into the Cumberland River, the Commodores bullied the Crimson Tide for 60 minutes. The 22 1/2-point underdog scored the game’s very first 13 points, never routed and controlled the clock for more than 42 minutes by converting 13 of 19 3rd- and fourth-down shots.”It was psychological for me,”Lea said.”But that doesn’t indicate that it wasn’t something that we had prepared for and that we didn’t expect

to take place. We definitely understood the strategy. We understood that we were going to have a great shot to win it. No one was surprised here internally.” Vanderbilt’s plan for toppling the Crimson Tide was conceived in December when Lea was dealing with the most significant crisis of his brief head-coaching career. After beating Hawai’i and FCS program Alabama A&M to begin the 2023 season, the Commodores didn’t win again, finishing 2-10. After a 48-24 loss at Tennessee, Lea and his most trusted employee brainstormed concepts on how to reverse Vanderbilt’s program.”I sort of concerned realize that there was some internal fracturing in our locker space that was damaging our capability to contend,” Lea said.”I sort of discovered it a little too late.”Oddly enough, Lea found a not likely

lifeline in Las Cruces, New Mexico. 2 weeks after the Commodores lost 31-15 to Auburn in your home, New Mexico State throttled the Tigers 31-10 for its first victory over an SEC program.”

I most likely enjoyed that game nine times, which was before I was thinking of making a modification,” Lea stated.”I was fascinated with what that looked like. What were the markings of that group that permitted them to separate in that game? I anticipated to turn on the movie and see some overlooked 6-foot-6 quarterback slinging the ball all over. “ Butch Dill-Imagn Images Rather, Lea watched Diego Pavia, a 6-foot quarterback, lead New Mexico State to the not likely upset, throwing for 201 lawns with 3 goals in the Aggies’turning point win.That wasn’t all that impressed him about New Mexico State, which would end up 10-5 under coach Jerry Eliminate in 2023, an impressive turn-around for a group that went 2-10 in 2021 and had actually won more than 3 games only once given that 2010.” I saw a defense that was sound, strong and simple and was able to develop stops and limitation big plays,” Lea stated.”The offense played tough and played together. It was clear that there was creativity in the playcalling with several developments and numerous personnel groupings. They knew how to utilize the quarterback to run the ball and to produce gaps. It interested me. I knew that’s who we needed to be. “Lea, 42, had reached a crossroads at Vanderbilt. There was no question he was emotionally bought reversing the woebegone football program. The Nashville native won an NAIA national championship in baseball at Birmingham Southern, before moving to Belmont University in the Music City. He played fullback for the Commodores from 2002 to 2004. A well-respected protective coordinator at Notre Dame, Lea was a rational option to replace Derek Mason after the 2020 season. But after compiling a 9-27 record in his very first three seasons, Lea appeared predestined to become another victim of what had actually become a graveyard job for a lot of coaches before him.

He realized he required to make big changes if he was going to turn things around.In December, Lea flew to Las Cruces to speak with New Mexico State offending coordinator Tim Beck. Beck graded well in the metrics Lea wanted in his next planner: game-control offense, red zone scoring, effective running game, explosive plays in the death game and a quarterback friendly system.At the time, Eliminate could not drive because of

medical issues; he had seizures from epilepsy throughout his coaching profession. Beck was bringing Eliminate to and from practice, so when Beck notified him he was satisfying Lea at a Las Cruces hotel, Kill accompanied.” He and Tim are super close, “Lea said. “Jerry and I struck it off. There was mutual respect.”After the interview,

Kill told Beck he wasn’t sure he was going to return for a third season at New Mexico State in 2024. If Lea used Beck the task, Eliminate told him he probably required to take it.On Dec. 22, Vanderbilt announced Beck’s hiring. Eliminate stepped down as the Aggies’coach the

next day.By the time Lea was done transforming his personnel, he likewise brought over New Mexico State assistants Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford(running backs), Melvin Rice( securities)and Garrett Altman (quarterbacks). There was one more big wheel Lea wanted to land: Eliminate, who was more interested in traveling to Mexico to consume margaritas than returning on a college football sideline. For days, Lea tried to offer Kill on rebuilding yet another program after he had actually worked magic everywhere from Southern Illinois to Northern Illinois to Minnesota to New Mexico State.”He kept working on me,”Kill stated.”He stated, ‘You understand, I require somebody. I’m more youthful, and I need someone that understands

how to build programs. I need somebody that can assist. I actually require you to come.'”Lea had impressed Eliminate throughout Beck’s interview. He liked his genuineness and calm behavior. Kill is a fan of c and w and relocating to Nashville would get him closer to his family in southern Illinois.”I wanted to learn from him and use him as a coach,”Lea said.”These positions get pretty lonesome pretty rapidly. I

revealed that to him. I think he saw an opportunity to have an impact. I think he felt a connection to Tim however also to see what Vanderbilt football is and is aspiring to be as a program. It

was a chance to come in and kind of do what he’s done through his profession– aid put the finishing touches on a build to make Vanderbilt football pertinent.”On Jan. 17, Vanderbilt revealed it had actually hired Kill as Lea’s primary expert and senior offensive advisor. Lea stated Eliminate has been a lot more than that in his almost 10 months at Vanderbilt.(Under new NCAA guidelines passed in June, any staff member is enabled to offer guideline to players throughout practices and games.)”I am grateful to have him in the building,”Lea stated.” In my best days, he’s there to celebrate with me. On my worst days, he exists to have a conversation and listen. I think among the excellent things he’s helped me with is simply the push and the pull. I

think as a head coach, sometimes you wish to do more, more, more, due to the fact that there’s not enough time in the day to accomplish all the important things you want to get achieved. However he’s taught me how to pull back to offer people a possibility to recover.”The last piece of the Las Cruces to Nashville migration was Pavia, who was called the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year after passing for 2,973 yards with 26 goals and running for 928 yards with seven scores in 2023. Pavia, who matured in Albuquerque, didn’t have a single FBS or FCS scholarship offer coming out of high school. Only 2 Department II schools– Western Colorado and Western New Mexico– provided him an opportunity to play quarterback.” I just think they were terrified of my height, “Pavia stated.” Individuals like to focus on height, weight and 40-yard dash times. I like to go off movie. I move well. I seem like I toss the ball well. I

seem like I run well. I simply don’t have God-given height and weight.” Pavia played two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute, ultimately winning the beginning job after fighting through a three-man competition. In 2021, he led the Broncos to an 12-1 record. New Mexico State hired him, however the Aggies were more concentrated on Iowa Western Community College quarterback Nate Glantz.After Eliminate and a number of his assistants viewed Pavia lead the Broncos to a 31-13 success over Iowa Western to earn the

program’s very first NJCAA national championship on television at a Hooters, they provided Pavia a scholarship rather.”If you met his household, they’re very competitive individuals,”Eliminate said. “I think he was raised that method and he’s been combating all his life. People said he didn’t appear like a quarterback. He’s had a chip on his shoulder and he’s got the’it ‘factor. He’s needed to show up the hard way which’s probably why he is who he is. “When Eliminate retired, Pavia got in the transfer portal with one season of eligibility staying. He went to Vanderbilt but was informed he ‘d need to graduate with a degree from New Mexico State

before transferring, which implied he ‘d have to return to Las Cruces for spring term. He took sees to North Texas, UTSA and Nevada.Pavia committed to play for the Wolf Pack during his check out and called Beck to tell him the news. Eliminate called Pavia a few minutes later while he was still at the Nevada campus. Butch Dill-Imagn Images “Hey, boy, I’m headed to Vanderbilt as the offending head coach,”Kill informed Pavia. “I already informed everybody you’re including me, so I’ll see you there.”

Pavia transferred to Vanderbilt in June and rapidly won over his brand-new teammates with his work ethic. Aggies quarterback Blaze Berlowitz, tight end Eli Stowers and running back Moni Jones also joined their former coaches in Nashville.”It’s been terrific to take that chemistry that they all have together and sort of plant it into our environment,” Lea said.

“Those guys are all so aligned with who we are and what we do, and so I’m grateful to have them all. “Increased NIL spending has actually helped the Commodores attract much better skill.

Lea said just three or four

players had NIL deals in 2023.”There are things that we can do now that we have actually never ever done previously, which is to head out and get skill, “Lea said.”

That’s never belonged of Vanderbilt’s procedure.” After losing 10 straight games to end up the 2023 season, the Commodores managed one of the greatest surprises in Week 1 by knocking off Virginia Tech 34-27 in overtime. Pavia threw for 2 touchdowns

and ran for another.The Commodores followed that victory with a 55-0 rout of FCS program Alcorn State, however then fell to Georgia State 36-32, giving up 426 lawns to the Panthers. A 30-27 loss to then-No. 7

Missouri in 2 overtimes on Sept. 21 showed to Lea that his group wasn’t too far away from breaking through.Even if college football fans never ever saw the upset of Alabama coming, Lea insists he wasn’t amazed. And he hopes it’s only the beginning of among the best turnaround stories in the sport’s history.The Commodores will attempt to build on their turning point

distressed when they dip into Kentucky on Saturday night (7:45 p.m ET/SEC Network).”I’m never going to be a part of something that I do not think can be the very best, “Lea said.”I’m never going to register for something that’s okay being second tier or middle of

the pack. Now, I understand that not everybody can comprehend my words, and they don’t all comprehend how I bleed and what makes me who I am.”I never ever thought it was going to take place overnight or it was going to occur rapidly. People increased to that obstacle and revealed me that there’s numerous people pulling for our success.

And you understand this is about doubling down and continuing to move it forward, but we will get there. “