Top 10 Vanderbilt "What If?" Moments

With some of the dog days of summer still remaining ahead of SEC Football media days and the start of Fall Camp, I decided to go a little outside the box and take a stroll down memory lane with Vanderbilt Athletics. While what has happened in sports is always interesting to re-hash, it’s always a fun exercise to think about what COULD have happened. This article does just that. 

So much in sports is left to chance. The right matchup. The right week during a season. The right play. The right coach. The right call. The right schedule. With the roller coaster of Vanderbilt Athletics, many Commodore fans have been left to think “what if” over the years? 

As a younger Vanderbilt fan, I put together a list of ten “what if?” scenarios in Vanderbilt Athletics history. This list is in no particular order and covers on-field results, coaching, injuries, and recruiting. With the Vandy Boys winning two national championships, this list is light on baseball (when you win that much, you can just focus on what is as opposed to “what if”). So without further ado, here’s my list of ten notable “what if” scenarios in Vanderbilt Athletics history. 

1. What if Jay Cutler played a 12 game modern day college schedule as the Vandy QB in 2005? 

Smokin’ Jay Cutler still remains the greatest quarterback in Vanderbilt Football history (although Diego Pavia may have a thing or two to say when his Commodore career is all said and done). However, despite Cutler’s monster numbers (9,953 total yards, 59 touchdowns, 8,697 passing yards, and 76 combined touchdowns, he finished his Commodore career with an 11-35 overall record (6-8 Non-conference, 5-27 SEC). The brutal SEC slate was especially tough on Cutler, who never made it to a bowl game in his four seasons under center in Nashville. 

In today’s college football framework, teams play a 12 games schedule, with four non-conference games and eight SEC games. During his Vanderbilt career, Cutler fared much better in non-conference games than SEC play. An additional guaranteed non-conference game every year would have helped him in his four seasons as a starter. 

In 2005, Cutler has his best season at Vanderbilt as well as his greatest weapon, Vanderbilt legend Earl Bennett. With an 11-game schedule, Vanderbilt finished 5-6, one game short of bowl eligibility capped off by a memorable win in Knoxville on national television. Add in another non-conference game in 2005 and the Cutler–Bennett connection is leading Vanderbilt to a bowl game and a Commodore victory. Bobby Johnson could have had his signature moment with two of his best players during his tenure. 

2. What if Mookie Betts came to Vandy instead of Tony Kemp?

Tony Kemp is one of my favorite Vanderbilt baseball players ever. The Swiss-army knife utility man could do it all with his bat and his glove and was a category five hurricane on the basepaths. Forgotten by some Vandy fans is that Kemp was recruited by Tim Corbin over local Nashville star, Mookie Betts. While Betts then committed to the University of Tennessee, Betts in a show of wisdom elected to skip out on the backwater dump that is Knoxville and enter the 2011 MLB Draft, where the Red Sox selected him. 

As good as Tony Kemp’s college career was, had Corbin elected to go with Betts instead in his recruiting class, Vanderbilt would have benefitted greatly. And that’s no disrespect to Kemp, Betts is just an exceptional talent. Mookie Betts would have thrived on a Tim Corbin coached team. Imagine a Swanson–Betts double play combination or Betts manning one of the corner outfield spots. Betts also would have been lethal on the basepaths on West End. 

Adding Betts glove and bat to the 2013 and 2014 Vanderbilt baseball teams could have been program changing. Had Mookie committed to Vanderbilt and stayed on campus, the Commodores may have gone back-to-back and won national titles in 2013 and 2014. 

3. What if admissions had let in Ron Mercer  to Vanderbilt and he decided to come on campus? 

To the Vandy fans who remember the 1990s, I’m sorry, this one is going to reopen some old wounds. To the younger Vanderbilt fans, Ron Mercer was one of the best high school players in the Nashville in the early 1990s. Think Jeff Taylor, but with a better handle, more consistent scoring, and a little more creativity off the dribble. In Nashville’s suburb of Madison, Mercer won Mr. Basketball twice while at Goodpasture Christian School before transferring to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson Virginia, a factory for future NBA Players over the years with alumni including Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Josh Smith, and the man who nearly killed Vanderbilt basketball, Jerry Stackhouse. 

Mercer was one of the highest rated recruits in the class of 1995 and had many suitors, including Vanderbilt. In an era where the administration did not care much about athletics, disaster struck when Mercer received a rejection letter from Vanderbilt University. The reason? As reported by Nashville newspapers at the time, his grades weren’t up to par. This was a rough look for Vanderbilt as one of the best local players of 1990s was told he wasn’t good enough to attend a university on his list of desired schools. It’s one thing if a recruit doesn’t choose your school. That is par for the course in recruiting. It’s an entirely different scenario when a school effectively tells a player, “Sorry you’re not up to our standards be a student here,” which is one of the worst mistakes a school can make. To add insult to injury, Mercer would go on to win a national championship with sleazy Rick Pitino at rival Kentucky and play in the NBA. In the aftermath, Commodore fans from that era are left thinking what could have been. 

If admissions had let Ron Mercer come to Vanderbilt, Mercer could have decided to commit to Vanderbilt. Having grown up in Nashville, Memorial Magic was clearly on his radar as well as the talented teams of the 80s and early 1990s. At Vandy, Mercer would have formed one of the country’s best backcourts with Drew Maddux. The Commodores would have likely made the tournament with Mercer’s addition in 1996. And from an optics standpoint, Memorial Gym would have drawn even more local fans with one of Nashville’s own donning black and gold alongside Maddux, a third-generation Commodore player and another local star. 

With Mercer on campus, Vanderbilt could have also pushed back against the narrative that the university didn’t truly care about sports and was not willing to adjust or adapt to get dynamic athletes on campus. The “same old Vanderbilt” maxim could have been put to bed, or at least sent on a multi-year sabbatical. 

Basketball, while a team sport, is a sport where the injection of one star player can make a world of difference. With Mercer, the Vanderbilt Commodores would have had that player to help carry the program through the mid to late 1990s. Even though Mercer played at Kentucky for just two seasons, those two years in Nashville could have been program changing for the Commodores. 

4. What if AJ Ogilvy returned for the 2010-2011 season? 

Kevin Stallings had a knack for finding diamonds in the rough, particularly international players and under-recruited high school players. One of those diamonds was AJ Ogilvy, an Australian 7 footer who was a three-time Second Team All-SEC player in three seasons with the Commodores and averaged 15.7 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. 

Instead of returning for his senior season, Ogilvy elected to enter the 2010 NBA Draft, where he went undrafted. In the spring of 2010, there was a great deal of risk for anyone entering the NBA Draft as there were no rules in place like today that allow players to enter the draft while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. 

Had Ogilvy returned, the outcome would have been intriguing for Vanderbilt program who needed front-court scoring outside of Festus Ezeli in the 2010-2011 season. Down the stretch of the 2010-2011 season the Commodores were beaten up on the glass at times and had trouble finding consistent scoring on nights when Jenkins struggled. 

While Ogilvy played center during his three years on West End, Stallings could have experimented with a double big lineup of Ezeli and Ogilvy, with Ogilvy playing the four position, a more natural position for his skill set. This could have helped create several mismatches and benefitted Ogilvy tremendously given his shooting touch. The combo of Ogilvy and Ezeli on the floor at the same time could have also forced defenders into the paint and created more shooting windows for John Jenkins and matchups for Brad Tinsley and Jeff Taylor to exploit due to the extra defenders crowding around Ogilvy.  

The Commodores 2010-2011 season ended with a heartbreaking first-round exit in the tournament to Richmond. With Ogilvy returning, that team is a Sweet Sixteen Team. And coming off a couple of tournament wins, Ogilvy would have heard his name called in the 2011 NBA Draft.

5. What if Bill Parcells had become the head coach for Vandy football? 

Legendary coach Bill Parcells was once an assistant at Vanderbilt in 1973 and 1974 as a linebackers coach. The Big Tuna was right on West End and was offered the Commodores job in 1975. According to a 2005 ESPN article by Mike Puma, Parcells said thanks, but no thanks, because the fit was not right. 

Throughout his head coaching career, Parcells was a builder who won everywhere he went. Had he accepted the Vanderbilt head coaching job, Vanderbilt football could have had a James Franklin type turn around in the late 1970s. Could you imagine a Parcells led defense on West End with punishing linebackers and a defensive line feasting on quarterbacks? And the press conferences would have been unbelievable must-see viewing, especially since Parcells has never been afraid to speak his mind. 

If Parcells had come to Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt wins a bowl game or two before the 1980s and would become one of the SEC East’s most reputable defensive teams. And the annual games against Tennessee would have turned into backyard brawls. While understandable that Parcells said no to the job, one can only wonder about the heights Vandy could have reached with Parcells at the helm. 

6. What if Coach K had become the head basketball coach instead of Duke? 

Mike Krzyzewski is a legend in college basketball. Before landing at Duke in 1980, Coach K was the Head Coach at Army from 1975-1980 where he followed in the footsteps of his mentor Bobby Knight. Towards the end of his Army tenure in 1979, the Vanderbilt Men’s’ Basketball head coaching job became open and Coach K was considered. As local lore would have it, Coach K wanted to see the campus and the university did not accommodate him. Pain, pain, pain. 

Had Coach K come to Vanderbilt, it could have been game changing for the future of Commodore basketball. Vanderbilt Basketball in the 1980s was at the height of its popularity locally and likely would have reached a fever pitch with Coach K leading the Commodores. Rather than UNC-Duke, Vanderbilt-Kentucky could have become the biggest rivalry game in college basketball. Imagine players like Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, and Grant Hill donning black and gold?

Love him or hate him, Coach K knew how to build teams from the ground up and recruit players to come to a school with high academic standards. Had Coach K come to Vanderbilt instead of Duke, Vanderbilt would have at least one basketball national championship. 

7. What if Pascal Siakam came to Vandy in his brother James’ footsteps?

While his older brother James Siakam was a project and a role player at Vanderbilt, Pascal Siakam has emerged as an NBA All-Star and was a key cog on the Toronto Raptors 2019 roster. Prior to his NBA career, Pascal Siakam was a star at New Mexico State University where he averaged 16.6 points per game, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game in two seasons. Given his penchant for international players, it is surprising that Kevin Stalliings did not make a major push for Siakam on the recruiting trail. 

Had Pascal Siakam come to Vanderbilt, the Commodores could have had one of the best front lines in program history with Siakam at the three, Damian Jones at the four, and Luke Kornet at the five. With Siakam’s versatility and ability to shoot, adding him to a Stallings team would have created matchup nightmares for opponents. And with this much talent, Vanderbilt would have gotten some more tournament wins and Kevin Stallings likely keeps his job. 

8. What if Darius Garland stayed healthy his entire freshman year at Vandy?

Darius Garland was nothing short of electric during his brief time on West End. And as a local player and the highest ranked recruit in program history, Garland’s commitment appeared to heal the some of the wounds left by the Ron Mercer snub decades earlier. Prior to a brutal meniscus tear that end his season, Garland averaged 16.2 points per game, 2.6 assists, and shot a blistering 47.8% from three point range in the 2018-2019 season. 

Garland’s Commodore career ended before conference play began. If Darius Garland stayed healthy, the 2018-2019 season would have ended on a much different note for Vanderbilt. Regardless of who Garland played against, he got buckets. There is no reason to think this trend would have stopped in SEC play. A healthy Garland likely leads Vanderbilt back to the tournament to win at least one game to erase the memory of a painful loss against Northwestern in 2017. And the nation would have fallen in love with Garland’s bucket-getting game in the first weekend of the tournament. The bad news? It would have saved Bryce Drew’s job in Nashville. 

9. What if the 2014 James Franklin class enrolled and did not follow him to Penn State? 

One of the most painful aspects of James Franklin’s departure from Vanderbilt was the destruction of his 2014 recruiting class, who mostly followed him to Happy Valley. The 2014 class included notable names such as Trace McSorley, Montez Sweat, and Chance Sorrell and multiple four stars including Koa Farmer, Lloyd Tubman, Kyle Gibson, and local star Michael Sawyers. With such a talented group, one has to wonder what could have been had these recruits chose to be “men of honor” as Franklin once famously said, and maintain their commitment to Vanderbilt. 

If the core of the 2014 Football recruiting class came to West End, the Derek Mason era would have gotten off to a much different start. Rather than search for a consistent starter prior to Kyle Shurmur, the Commodores would have had a blue-chip quarterback prospect in McSorley likely winning the starting job his freshman season, especially with his athleticism and mobility. And Montez Sweat would have led the Commodores defense as a game changing pass rusher along with local star Michael Sawyers. On the offensive line, Chance Sorrell would have been a key starter to protect McSorley in multiple seasons. 

While Mason got the Commodores to two bowl games, Vanderbilt could never get over the hump while he was the head coach in Nashville. Had the 2014 class entered campus as projected, Mason may have obtained that elusive bowl game win and years of decline could have been prevented. 

10. What if Warren Norman stayed healthy his entire Vanderbilt career?

Warren Norman was one of the most talented recruits brought in by Bobby Johnson. When Norman got to the outside, his blazing speed was hard to stop. During his freshman season, Norman broke Herschel Walker’s (yes, THE Herschel Walker) SEC single-season freshman all purpose yardage record with 1,941 yards. With essentially no offensive line, Norman averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored 4 touchdowns. As a kick returner, Norman averaged 26.3 yards per return and ran three kickoffs back for touchdowns. The following season, Norman averaged 6.0 yards per carry and had four rushing touchdowns. A knee injury in the 2010 season would eventually end his football career. 

If Warren Norman had stayed healthy, the Commodores would have had a dynamic one-two punch with Norman and Zac Stacy. While Stacy was an excellent between the tackles runner, he did not have the game-breaking speed that Norman possessed as both a back and a kick returner. The Commodores special teams would have been particularly deadly under Franklin with Norman as a kick returner. The addition of Norman could have given Vanderbilt a ten win season with Vanderbilt and potentially a 3-0 bowl game record. It really is a shame Norman’s career ended the way it did. 

What are some of your biggest “what if” scenarios in Vanderbilt athletics? Let us know.