Everything Clark Lea said after Vanderbilt's streak-breaking win over South Carolina

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea spoke to the media late Saturday night after upsetting No. 11 South Carolina. The win over the Gamecocks was the Commodores’ first since 2008, their first at Williams-Brice since 2007.

Here is everything Lea had to say after the victory.

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Opening Statement

“Obviously, I’m ecstatic for our players and our program. Really proud of them. I wanted to start by saying that we talked as a team on Tuesday that it’s been 17 years since we beat South Carolina, and I’ve got so much respect for Coach (Shane) Beamer and this program. And in so many ways, I think our programs mirror each other. We’re a physical team, they’re a physical team. They want to win all three phases; we want to win in all three phases.

“But what was important to me talking about the history of this rivalry, this game, was the fact that the last head coach to beat South Carolina was Bobby Johnson. And, obviously, Bobby was my coach. You know, Bobby means so much to me, means so much to our Vanderbilt family and our community. You want to talk about a first-class human being. And, as a player here, I was here during a time where we didn’t have a lot of success. I think the silver lining I took was, hopefully, the time I invested, the work that we put in, we did to set up guys like Earl Bennett for the success he had, and for the 2008 bowl game.

“I watched Coach (Bobby) Johnson and his staff work tirelessly and never once blamed the team; always came in on Sundays, no matter how poorly we had played.

“I know I wanted Coach to be with us tonight. He wasn’t able to be here. But I know he and Catherine watched the game. I just want Coach Johnson to know we love him, that he is here with us, and that that performance was for him. We wanted to win this game for Coach. How much I admire him and respect him, and how grateful I am that he gave me the opportunity he gave me, and then chose the coach me the way he coached me.”

I guess, elaborate on, first of all, what it means to do the same thing (as Coach Johnson and beat South Carolina?)

“It’s just about, you know, he was here in 2021, when we played them so close and the heartbreak.
And Coach is fighting through some things right now, and he just needs to know that this community loves him and respects him and appreciates him. That’s why it’s important to me. It just so happens that he’s from Columbia. You know, he’s a South Carolina guy. He lives in Charleston now with Katherine, and this is special. And I want to make sure they’re a part of this.

You guys went a combined 7/13 on third and fourth down tonight. What was working so well on the downs that mattered the most?

“Yeah, those conversion downs are about focus and execution. I mean, I think the play designs were good. Obviously, then the players have to take the call and execute on the field, but I probably had really good design, and players stepped up.

“A couple of those were the longer conversions that typically took against the offense. But when we have the o-line playing the way we’re playing. Guys like Diego (Pavia) and Eli (Stowers) and Jamezell Lassiter, you know, they deliver. And so obviously, I think the way we play on offense sets us up for, you know, manageable third downs. Tonight, some of the bigger stories were the chunk gains we got on third downs.”

Coach, the defense forced four turnovers. What happened defensively that went so well?

“Well, I mean, I was proud of the way we attacked off the ball. I thought Zaylin’s interception earlier, that was a huge play, and I think that may have been the biggest of the four. I felt like we were on our heels, you know, and they had a really good plan to start the game. Their quarterback was finding theguys, and they were finding the space, and that didn’t feel great, but Zaylin (Wood) was able to step up and make a big play for us to kind of shift momentum. And then from there, we’ve spent a lot of time. One of the things that we wanted to improve upon from a year ago was taking the ball away. We felt like we had protected it in that we were never one in the country in terms of giveaways, but we needed to create some margin for our offense by taking it away more.”

“Just that work we spent on attacking the ball showed up and we got pressure on the quarterback at times, we were disruptive. You know, the two possessions that started at midfield, one of the 43 one of the 50, both ended in fumbles. And that’s huge in terms of erasing their points. And then the are two interceptions, both of them happen in the red zone. This is the South Carolina team that did perfectly in the red zone coming in. I think they were one of three tonight, that’s a big statistic in terms of the way we feel right now having won the game. So again, a credit to the staff, credit to the guys and the work we put in. And you know, obviously, the more that we can generate possessions for offense, the more we have a chance to kind of impose a physical style that I think can wear some teams out over four quarters. Hopefully, that can continue that obviously to help us.”

Did your game plan change at all after Sellers went out of the game?

“Sure. I mean, I think there are certain things that he does that are unique to him. Some of it is the game plan. Obviously, you’re gonna always kind of know where (Nyck Harbor) is too. And so there’s still some pieces on the field. I thought their tailback had a nice night, you know, if there was things that we needed to adjust as they I think they’re still trying to find their identity. And I thought they had a nice
plan tonight.”

“But, you know, when they brought their second quarterback in it, he’s a good athlete. He was able to extend his legs. There are some things that were, obviously, are just like Sellers. And right off the bat, you know, he was able to find some open windows and I thought played with confidence.”

“So we stuck to the to the bones of the plan. We made a couple subtle adjustments. Obviously, as we got to three possessions, it became a passing game, and we were able to do some more to create disruption.”

Coach after stopping South Carolina’s fourth down attempt. You all converted a fourth-down attempt. What led to that decision to go for it?

“Well, we have an every set of downs, we’ll have a threshold. You always have the choice to go or to not, we had a go line, took a shot, I believe, the play before, which I like. And then we came back with a really nice design and threw a pass to Seddy (Alexander) for a conversion. That’s just the part of our identity, a part of our rhythm, and it’s a part of our operation.”

Do you feel like this win sends a message?

“I don’t, you know, I don’t, I don’t really care, honestly. This win is about our team. It’s about the belief we have, and we’re gonna celebrate it here and go home, hopefully get some rest, and need to turn the page tomorrow.

“This is the beautiful thing about football. You can’t hold it too tight, you know. I mean, you did enough this week to separate on the field tonight. We’re gonna use every page because we have Georgia State next week. They’re going to present some different challenges to us, they did a year ago.

“So as far as messages go, this is more about our team, our confidence, what we believe in we know in our league, you got to show up every week. You’ve got to play physical, play together, and we’re good enough to win all our games, but we have to play a certain way tonight. We’re able to do that.”

You’ve had a lot of bad bad breaks over the series in recent years. What’s that say about this team in particular (with the win)?

“I just think that we we played well enough to win tonight. I don’t tend to pay a lot of attention to the breaks that we’ve gotten or not gotten. I don’t think we’ve been ready to win this game, honestly, that’s how I see it here. In 2021 weren’t obviously, that I can’t go through every year. ’22 they came to our place. ’23 we came here and got stomped.

“You know, last year, I thought they came to our stadium and they played to our identity better than we did. So really, that’s a hard loss for us in a moment where we really felt like we were at a point to really gain some momentum. And that’s scarred us, you know, in a number of time, scars heal, but you learn from them. And so it was important this team to show up certainly and play a certain style tonight.”

What have you seen this season so far with Diego?

“I mean, he’s a great player. Anytime he’s taking us out, I’ve got confidence that we’re gonna win. But it’s the unseen things, sometimes, that make the difference. The quiet connections, the belief he has and in his teammates. He threw a physical block on a reverse today and it made a difference in those plays. And, as much as I don’t love those things, I do love them because that’s exactly who he is. When it’s his teammates’ turn to carry the ball, He’s going to be out in front physically to set a tone.

“When your leaders do that, when your leaders play that way, it gives everyone a license to play that way. So, we believe in him, we think he’s the best there is, and I’m happy for him to be having success.”

You’ve outscored opponents 68-3 in second halves this season. What are you seeing your team coming out of the break?

“I think that’s a credit to our strength and conditioning staff, first of all. Robert Stiner, Ian Bures, their staff. I can’t say enough about how they prepared us to play this season. You know, it’s a testament to our coaching staff to finding the answers or finding the calls that are on the sheet at halftime.

“But I think, but most importantly, most significantly, it’s a credit to our team. This is a team that cares a lot. You know, we have big goals, we have big aspirations, and so you have to play well in the second half to win. And we want to be finishers. We’ve been able to do that, you know, again, it goes back to the fact that every week you reset, you gotta redefine who you are.

“So we’ll celebrate tonight, we’ll get back tomorrow, we’ll go back to work, and we’ll have another challenge ahead of us. But, i’m proud of the way we played in the second half so far this season.”

Coach Beamer said entering the week this may the best Vanderbilt team he’s faced. You showed that tonight. What does that mean to have that praise and to prove it on the field?

Well, like I said, I have so much respect for Shane. His program, his staff, him as a person, the way his team plays. So I take to heart the respect he has for us. I mean, I appreciate that. The idea that we were able to show up and play the way were able to play, again that’s a credit to our players. It was important to them, you know, just I can’t give them enough credit.

They’re the heroes here, the things that we talked about in January, they have been at work, actualizing day in and day out. And when you do that, you become defined by that work. A lot of ways. That’s where that confidence grows from. And so that confidence is showing up for us right now on Saturday. So we gotta keep it up going

On Jamezell Lassiter:

“He’s been so good with the ball in his hand. We saw it in training camp, honestly, we saw in the spring flashes. Now he’s impacted land for us, and I believe there’s more out in front of them. So really, really happy again. You know, sometimes you get those depth charts set, it’s easy just to, kind of like, stay in the box as a coach.

I think what Gahli and Tim have done in the offense staff to get him opportunities to touch the ball, thhat’s what he’s delivered for. So let’s hope for more.”

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