Coach Analysis: AJ Newberry

VandySports.com caught up with South Grand Prairie offensive coordinator Cam Sanders to discuss new Vanderbilt running back commit AJ Newberry.

- On what kind of player Vanderbilt is getting in AJ Newberry:

Cam Sanders: "AJ is a an extreme team player. He is a threat to score pretty much anytime he touches the football. He’s a learner. He studies the game, and he wants to know what is going on during any given play. He sees things that made calling plays a lot easier this year. If you got a guy like that, it makes the whole team better, and that is what he did. He is explosive. He is not selfish by any means. Great kid. He is very level headed. He is quiet. He just makes you real proud to coach him.”

- How AJ’s skill set translates to the college game:

Sanders: "I do think he can play early. Just with his speed alone, you know all young backs have things to work on. His vision is very good. His speed is way above average. He’s got tremendous speed and scores from far away if he gets to the second level. He’s not going to pull away from guys in the SEC like he has pulled away from guys in high school, but he is still going to pull away from a lot of them. His speed is tremendous. He is very strong. He catches the ball well out of the backfield. I think he can play pretty quick.”

- On his favorite memory of AJ Newberry:

Sanders: "It was our first win last year when he was a junior. I had a couple of quarterbacks who were great kids that I love to death, but we got there late last spring. As far as our install, we were definitely behind the eight ball. In was our first win, which was our second game that year. He threw the first touchdown pass on a jump pass. We were in a heavy package on the goal line going in. So he threw our first touchdown pass. It wasn’t one of our quarterbacks. AJ catches a snap in the wildcat and faked the downhill wedge or what we call zone. The up back went up and went to the corner of the endzone. AJ threw his a touchdown pass. He can sling it a little bit too.”

- On his leadership qualities:

Sanders: "He’s a quiet leader. He leads by example. He works hard in the weight room. He’s a great off-season kid. He’s a great track kid. He was gradually developing into and still is, but he was getting to be a very good vocal leader. He’s not the cheerleader or the stern person, but he’s the one always trying to promote and support. He helped kids if someone was possibly having a tough day. His leadership is something that made him one of the best.”

- Does AJ Newberry have some swagger:

Sanders: “It comes out. It comes out a lot. He gets a lot of chatter at him because he’s got a target on his back every game. So, he gets a lot of chatter at him. When he busts a long run or makes a great play, he doesn’t do too much. He did get one 15-yard penalty this year, but we couldn’t tell why. Then, we saw that he waved bye to other team’s cheerleaders. I’ve seen him do a little bit of that, but not too much.”

- On how current physical skills:

Sanders: “Right now, he’s working out on his own and getting ready for track. If he’s not 6-foot-1, I’d be real surprised. He is floating between 198 and 205-pounds. He is a very large human being with a lot of speed. ”