SEC summer size-up: What to know about Vanderbilt, Missouri's fourth conference opponent

The start of Missouri’s conference season is going to be difficult. The Tigers open SEC play on the road against an Auburn team featuring a coach on the hot seat who could be going all-out to keep his job, then takes on the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs at home before heading to Gainesville for a matchup against Florida. 

The first and possibly only respite for the Tigers should come in the fourth SEC game, when Vanderbilt comes to Columbia on Oct. 22.

Long the conference’s traditional doormat, the 2022 season looks to be no exception for the Commodores and Missouri should be favored to win.

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Here’s what to know about Vanderbilt going into the 2022 season. 

The rebuild continues

When Clark Lea took over the Commodores ahead of the 2021 season, it was fairly obvious that the rebuild would take a while. After one season at the helm, that assumption hasn’t changed. 

On the one hand, Lea improved Vanderbilt by two games from its 2020 win total. On the other, the 2020 Commodores were unable to eke out even a single victory during the abbreviated season. 

Lea appears to have made some large changes to the way Vanderbilt has done business. As an alum of the school and football program, he is uniquely positioned to deal with the natural disadvantages the team faces, given its academic status. 

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The Commodores struggled immensely in recruiting during the Derek Mason years. Lea’s plan to remedy the situation started there, trying to find athletes who fit the system and pulling in one of the better classes in school history. 

Lea has attempted to lead the program out of the SEC basement in other areas as well, including stadium and athletic facilities upgrades. Time will tell as to whether he will be successful at the job, and it doesn’t appear that 2022 will be the year to expect the Commodores to make much noise in the SEC. 

Need more points

Last year’s Vanderbilt offense was less than stellar, averaging 15.8 points per game. The Commodores faced a tumultuous year after Lea made a change at offensive coordinator just before the season in August. 

Vanderbilt is currently dealing with a battle for the starting quarterback position between Mike Wright and Ken Seals. Wright is the better passer of the two, while Seals is the superior athlete. 

Both of them have starting experience for the Commodores. Whoever the starter is will need to deal with what was a terrible offensive line last season, even before the unit lost its best player, left tackle Tyler Steen, to Alabama through the transfer portal. 

Other offensive weapons for Vanderbilt include wide receiver Will Sheppard, who finished last season with 577 yards and four touchdowns on 43 catches and tight end Ben Bresnahan.

Running back Re’Mahn Davis was injured for all but three games of last season but will return for 2022. 

No rush

It’s a new regime for the Commodores defensively with Nick Howell taking over the unit. Last year’s Vanderbilt defense managed to come up with 13 interceptions, finishing in the upper half of the SEC in that category. 

However, the team struggled up front, only managing nine sacks throughout the season, last place in the conference by a wide margin, with second-last Arkansas getting 24 sacks in 2021. Lea will need to hope for better results in that category if his team is to make much of an improvement. 

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If Vanderbilt has a defensive strength, it’s at linebacker. Ethan Barr returns as an outside presence from last year, and Anfernee Orji is back inside. 

Those two are joined by Kane Patterson, who transferred from Clemson. Other possible contributors on defense include Elijah McAllister, Daevion Davis, and Florida transfer Malik Langham. 

Before taking on Missouri, Vanderbilt will play Hawaii, Elon, Wake Forest, Northern Illinois, Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia. The Tigers beat the Commodores 37-28 last season. 

Matt Stahl is the Missouri athletics beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @mattstahl97.