It was tangible. You could almost feel the air come out of the place as the ball hit the ground and ended up in the defense's hands in Vanderbilt's third spring scrimmage at Ensworth.

Everyone on the field knew they'd be hearing about that as they gathered around Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea and offensive coordinator Tim Beck around midfield at the end of the scrimmage.

A moment like Vanderbilt experienced that day has happened too often with Lea at the helm of the program. He knows that.

As a result, the fourth-year head coach has hammered home that message to the media, to his coaching staff, more than all Lea has communicated that message to his quarterbacks.

"The number one focus at that position is gonna be ball security," Lea said of the quarterback room after a spring practice.

Lea knows that as he turns his quarterback room over, he won't be able to win with that group having second most interceptions thrown in the SEC again. The fourth-year head coach knows that his team can't have a negative turnover margin like it did last season, either.

That's especially important at Vanderbilt.

"Here we have to take control over all the things that we have control over to force the opponent to beat us," Lea said. "That goes back to what we learned a year ago when we turned the ball over at a rate that I hadn't seen.

"That's no formula for any team. That's certainly not a formula for Vanderbilt."

That turnover formula feels like a microcosm of the way Vanderbilt operates relative to the rest of the SEC and what it's up against. It can't make the same mistakes that everyone else does. It has to be different. Otherwise it will get more seasons like it got in 2023.

Lea seems to know that.

As Vanderbilt's second spring scrimmage wound down Lea's tone wasn't like him. It wasn't easygoing or flowery. It was more stern than normal.

Vanderbilt's head coach was frustrated, not because of missed throws or lack of talent. Because of what his offense did in the areas that will define it.

"The biggest thing to me is the ball being on the ground," Lea said. "That's what we have to move past in this program. I would like to be further along that way."

That message has turned into a daily emphasis point.

A look at a Vanderbilt football practice will be a look at a practice centered on ball security.

"I'm wondering if we're talking about it too much," offensive coordinator Tim Beck joked in the spring. "We spend a period on it every day. Just talking about ball security and taking care of the football."

Regardless of how much of an emphasis point the control piece of the equation is, Beck feels as if there's only so much he and Lea can do.

It has to come from within for the message to get through.

"The bottom line is the player has to understand how to handle the ball."

As Vanderbilt enters the fall it does so with a clear message from Lea. That message may define its season.

"We've gotta take care of the ball."