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Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 9:31 am
by AuricGoldfinger
Camden Coleman, Harrison Smith, and Michael Spencer. Enjoy the moment.

[tweet][/tweet]

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:18 am
by BrentVU
OK... perhaps some things to talk about here. Harrison Smith is one of the best punters Vandy has had in recent memory, and he has evidently decided to use the Covid option to come back for a fifth year. Camden Coleman has been inspirational in his work on special teams the last two seasons. If anyone deserves it, those two do. Michael Spencer... I doubt many Vandy fans could tell you much about him, but he has a chance to play a lot in the secondary this season, with the secondary as depleted as it is.

But someone might argue, shouldn't the coaches have tried to bring in some impact players off the transfer portal to fill some glaring holes?

This is Clark Lea's way... he is going to reward those players in the system who have demonstrated loyalty and perseverance to the program. And decisions like this are always going to be popular with the players.

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:45 pm
by AuricGoldfinger
BrentVU wrote: Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:18 am This is Clark Lea's way... he is going to reward those players in the system who have demonstrated loyalty and perseverance to the program. And decisions like this are always going to be popular with the players.
And as Lea himself tweeted out today, no one understands the value of a walk-on more than him (being a former walk-on himself).

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 5:58 pm
by Seadog73
Wish the audio was a little better. I could barely hear CCL. But then again, some in my family say I am deaf.

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 6:17 pm
by Nashmann
I think it is awesome when hard-working walk-ons get scholarships...especially Harrison. He should have had one anyways as the starting punter!! I do think CCL's idea of not looking to the portal is unwise as we have plenty of openings for senior/grad players to shore up where we are short players like DB's......Happy for the 3 that got well-deserved scholarships!!

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:26 pm
by vandy05
I'll continue to beat the dead horse and say I haven't seen anything in print where CCL said he wasn't willing to go to the portal. Even with that being said, my sense is that there is something else underfoot with his strategy. The extra year of eligibility has made things really wonky with rosters and recruiting. There is a bit of a glut and its hard to say where it is and how it will sort out in the future. I could see some value in working through the glut and bringing in the guys you feel are right from a high school perspective.

There is a reason he brought in Barton Simmons and that is going to be high school recruiting (I would imagine). The extra eligibility won't last forever and we'll have some things shake out. I'm willing to sit tight and give CCL leeway on this and that he won't go the way of the dodo bird.

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 7:15 pm
by BILTMORE
vandy05 wrote: Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:26 pm I'll continue to beat the dead horse and say I haven't seen anything in print where CCL said he wasn't willing to go to the portal. Even with that being said, my sense is that there is something else underfoot with his strategy. The extra year of eligibility has made things really wonky with rosters and recruiting. There is a bit of a glut and its hard to say where it is and how it will sort out in the future. I could see some value in working through the glut and bringing in the guys you feel are right from a high school perspective.

There is a reason he brought in Barton Simmons and that is going to be high school recruiting (I would imagine). The extra eligibility won't last forever and we'll have some things shake out. I'm willing to sit tight and give CCL leeway on this and that he won't go the way of the dodo bird.
At this point, '05, I cannot recall where I read or heard it, but it appears that others heard same and we're not just feeding off each other. I would also say that the proof is somewhat in the pudding. The portal is overflowing with players and Vandy has lost their share of high quality contributors.
Yet Lea has not brought in a single guy via the portal since his arrival. He did honor the commitments of the previous staff, but as far as I can tell, there have been no "transfer recruits" by the Lea staff and it seems like if you were going to do it, you'd have done it in the spring.

Let me be clear I'm all in on Clark Lea. He's a fellow Nashville boy and he went to my HS alma mater! I love his energy and his approach to the job. I just have this one minor quibble.

Who knows - maybe the coach knows that this crazy amount of portal attrition is unsustainable and that it'll be revoked. He's getting ahead of the curve.

Re: Three walk-ons awarded scholarships

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:28 pm
by vandy05
BILTMORE wrote: Thu Jun 10, 2021 7:15 pm
vandy05 wrote: Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:26 pm I'll continue to beat the dead horse and say I haven't seen anything in print where CCL said he wasn't willing to go to the portal. Even with that being said, my sense is that there is something else underfoot with his strategy. The extra year of eligibility has made things really wonky with rosters and recruiting. There is a bit of a glut and its hard to say where it is and how it will sort out in the future. I could see some value in working through the glut and bringing in the guys you feel are right from a high school perspective.

There is a reason he brought in Barton Simmons and that is going to be high school recruiting (I would imagine). The extra eligibility won't last forever and we'll have some things shake out. I'm willing to sit tight and give CCL leeway on this and that he won't go the way of the dodo bird.
At this point, '05, I cannot recall where I read or heard it, but it appears that others heard same and we're not just feeding off each other. I would also say that the proof is somewhat in the pudding. The portal is overflowing with players and Vandy has lost their share of high quality contributors.
Yet Lea has not brought in a single guy via the portal since his arrival. He did honor the commitments of the previous staff, but as far as I can tell, there have been no "transfer recruits" by the Lea staff and it seems like if you were going to do it, you'd have done it in the spring.

Let me be clear I'm all in on Clark Lea. He's a fellow Nashville boy and he went to my HS alma mater! I love his energy and his approach to the job. I just have this one minor quibble.

Who knows - maybe the coach knows that this crazy amount of portal attrition is unsustainable and that it'll be revoked. He's getting ahead of the curve.
Its definitely in the pudding, that can't be disputed. I do think there are one or two transfer guys.

My understanding had also been incorrect on this. I thought that the NCAA is allowing a penalty-free transfer, meaning kids don't have to sit out, for this year only. I didn't realize it was here to stay. That does mean it will be a part of long-term strategy going forward. I don't see them being able to claw this back.