Vanderbilt's running game will likely look significantly different in 2024 than it did in 2023.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though.
Vanderbilt struggled immensely while failing to have a rusher that surpassed 400 yards, rushing for just 3.3 yards per carry and ranking last in the SEC in total yards per game.
Not everything is different, though.
In the backfield that starts with Sedrick Alexander, who led Vanderbilt in rushing as a freshman with 371 yards on a team-high 96 carries while catching 18 balls for 133 yards.
As a sophomore, it's almost inevitable that Alexander will see a role expansion with the departure of Patrick Smith. Smith ran for 327 yards on 79 carries and led the team's running backs in yards per carry in 2023.
Vanderbilt's run game in 2023 was second to last in the SEC with just 1,144 total yards and 95.3 per game on the ground.
For it to have a chance in Tim Beck's offense, it will have to have a significantly improved run game.
That won't just be on Alexander or AJ Newberry's shoulders, it will be on the offensive line and the quarterbacks more than it has been in past seasons.
Whether it's Diego Pavia, Nate Johnson or Drew Dickey running the show, it feels like Vanderbilt's quarterback will have a puncher's chance to be its leading rusher this season like Pavia was in Tim Beck's offense at New Mexico State in 2024. Johnson is also a talented runner that Vanderbilt may attempt to utilize whether he starts or not.
The run game will look significantly different for Vanderbilt under Beck than it did under Joey Lynch. Vanderbilt's quarterbacks are all mobile now, its packages will likely be more creative and it will be more intentional about getting the quarterbacks involved.
None of that will matter if Vanderbilt's transformed offensive line isn't significantly improved. That group was completely revamped with the additions of Liberty tackle transfer Chase Mitchell, UTEP tackle/guard Steven Hubbard, Mississippi State transfer Steven Losoya and Minnesota center/guard Cade McConnell as well as new offensive line coach Chris Klenakis.
The complement at running back will presumably come in the form of his classmate AJ Newberry, who redshirted last season but showed some things including what appears to be the best breakaway speed in the room.
Vanderbilt will also look to get contributions from Chase Gillespie, whose best role should come in short yardage situations, as well as New Mexico State transfer Makhylin Young.
Young was New Mexico State's fourth back in 2023, but ran for 6.8 yards per carry as well as more total yards than anyone on Vanderbilt's roster outside of Alexander and Smith. The transfer back enters the season with three years of eligibility remaining and projects to have a role of some sort.
Perhaps that role could be significant with an impressive camp.
The role for freshman back Johann Cardenas, who is a gifted player in an open room, could also be worth following.
If 2023 was any indication, there will certainly be more carries to go around. Under now Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck, New Mexico State ran it 527 times as opposed to Vanderbilt’s 349.
Vanderbilt will have plenty to prove in a place that was largely troublesome for it in 2023 and it seems to be making an effort with a reinvented attack.
In 2024, for better or for worse, it will look significantly different. It will feature its quarterbacks, it will show creativity in getting receivers and tight ends involved in the run game and it will offer Alexander as well as a few other young backs a chance to take over the room.
The running game doesn't project to be anywhere near the top of the SEC, but its transformation and blueprint change provides hope that its direction could be trending more positively than it previously has.
