New Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason was known as a defensive mastermind capable of shutting down Oregon’s vaunted spread offense during his tenure at Stanford, and he is bringing his defensive philosophy with him to Nashville. The Commodores will be making the change to a 3-4 base defense although they will still make use of some 4-3 elements.
Many have questioned this change following former defensive coordinator Bob Shoop’s success running a 4-3, but the change could give the defense a boost. Despite several years of recruiting to a 4-3, the Commodores’ personnel are fairly well suited to making the shift. Changes were made in the spring with several DTs moving to DE and many of the former DEs moving to OLB.
The defensive line play should be solid, with Adam Butler and Barron Dixon manning the DE positions and the powerful Vince Taylor clogging up the middle at NT. After a strong second half to the 2013 season, Butler could become a star in this system. He has the quickness to bring a strong pass rush and the power to be a force against the run. Mason will use the defensive line to occupy offensive lineman and free up the linebackers to make plays.
Linebacker will be the most important position in Mason’s defense. OLBs Caleb Azubike and Kyle Woestmann will be tasked with getting to the quarterback and setting the edge against the run, while sometimes dropping into pass coverage. With the emergence of run-heavy spread offenses, their role in setting the edge and taking on blocks from pulling guards will be essential to making the 3-4 click. This defensive alignment depends on forcing the running back inside into the teeth of the defense. Losing containment on key downs will break the defense’s back.
While Mason’s Stanford defenses were always fierce against the run, the pass defense struggled from time to time, although it consistently finished in the top half of the Pac-12. Vanderbilt has the size and talent to be a top rush defense out of a 3-4, but with zero returning starters in the secondary, the defensive backs have much to prove. Fortunately for the Commodores, the 2014 secondary will be littered with three and four-star talent, and a strong pass rush should further help. Mason will ask his cornerbacks to play physical and aggressive man coverage, often leaving them on an island. In addition to their coverage responsibilities over the top, safeties in the 3-4 are very important to stopping the run and will line up in the box at times. In fact, the athletic Oren Burks moved from linebacker to safety in the spring and it appears that he will start opposite of veteran Andrew Williamson, one of the most underrated defensive backs in the conference.
Perhaps the biggest change that Mason’s defense will bring is variety. It is much easier to blitz anywhere from three to six rushers out of the 3-4 compared to a 4-3. This base defensive alignment also offers a variety of effective zone blitzes designed to prevent a quarterback from making good reads. The extra linebacker will help on obvious passing downs when Vanderbilt wants to drop an extra man into coverage.
Overall, Mason’s defense will be physical, aggressive, and stout against the run, particularly read-option spread attacks. After three consecutive Top 25 finishes in total defense for the Commodores, 2014 could be the season that Vanderbilt’s defense truly becomes elite.
