Khordae Sydnor is Back Healthy, Mentally Tougher, and Hungry
Defensive Lineman Khordae Sydnor showed flashes of playmaking capability last season but was hampered by an ankle injury throughout most of the year. When asked about being 100% now, Sydnor was enthusiastic to answer.
“It’s a blessing, man – I learned a lot from that rehab process. Just taking it day by day, stacking good days … It’s great to be back.”
When asked to expand on what he learned, Sydnor elaborated
“I would say just from a mental standpoint, I was kind of down and stuff like that, but if you stack good days on top of good days, everything will soon end up well.”
There is obviously a lot more depth in the defensive front 7 than past Vanderbilt teams, while Sydnor is a big part of that depth, he was specifically asked about playing alongside Alabama transfer Keanu Koht.
“We have a lot of depth. Keanu, he’s a ball player man – athletic. He can bend and he just flies around. I’m super excited to see what he’s doing. And the rest of the guys, all the transfers, they’re coming along, man. We got a good group and the depth is going to be awesome. We got to keep stacking the young guys and getting them better, but I’m super excited to see what we’re going to do this year.”
Even playing through injury last season, Sydnor put up respectable stats – 14 tackles, 2 passes defensed, and 4 sacks. Khordae was asked how he can improve on last season, outside of the obvious – staying healthy
“Just playing fast and not just trying to like read everything. Just D-line play fast, physical, get vertical … From a pass rush standpoint, getting to my counters quicker and just rushing, being relentless – high motor.”
Alongside Zaylin Wood, the health of the defensive line is the main concern for this room. The talent is there, the depth is there, but this front 7 was banged up by the end of last season. Theoretically, another offseason under the strength coach Robert Stiner and the improved depth to allow more consistent rotations and reduce snap count should help.
According to TDR Fall camp insider Trevor Hulan, Sydnor has had a great Fall camp so far – specifically standing out today during the third practice.
