Vandy's Offense is Not About Diego Pavia

vandy's offense is not about Diego Pavia you are locked on Vandy your daily podcast on the Vanderbilt commodor part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day to the lock on vanity podcast on the lockon podcast Network I'm your host Corey Burton thanks for making lock on Vandy your first listen every day we're free and available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube as a part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn these days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business that's why LinkedIn jobs helps find the right people for your team faster and for free post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon colge terms and conditions apply today we look at what the Vandy boys need to do to advance in the Regionals after salvaging the series against Kentucky AJ hogard a transfer from Michigan state is the facilitator this Vandy basketball team needs but first the identity of this Vandy offense is dependent on the running backs not Diego Pavia therefore vandy's offense is not about Diego Pavia so let me explain Tim Beck wants to feature the quarterback run game we know that we've talked about that if you've watched New Mexico State at all and the game that you you all probably did watch was when New Mexico State beat Auburn um he wants to feature the the quarterback run game Diego pavi is a tough Runner he's a good downhill Runner things happen things materialize out of the quarterback run game but that c if that can't happen in this league that won't happen in this league without the running backs okay if the running backs don't perform the quarterback's Run game the RPO the play actions which are all pillars of this offense it cannot work unless the running backs are solid and they perform so um one of the things that you'll see in this offense okay um the options that you'll see okay you'll see inside Zone read okay you'll see you'll see uh jet read or power read if if you will uh which will feature the running back on the edge so it'll feature running back outside Zone quarterback power uh you'll see probably counter and and counter and what's called counter bash which is the quarterback uh read game off of off of the counter scheme okay you'll see rpos where where uh things will open up for the receivers um based off the Run game so the quarterback won't necessarily run there his second option will be to throw and then you'll see also play action which if the running backs aren't solid linebackers and safties won't approach the box and open up pass Lanes behind them so uh starting with the quarterback option game okay and again it's not about Diego Pavia we know he can run we know he's a good downhill Runner we know he's a good leader we know he can do a lot of good things with the football in his hands but if let's let's look at the cast of characters first let's look at the lineup first okay before we determine just how it's going to shake out so right now you have Cedric Alexander AJ Newberry Chase Gillespie m young and Johan cardinas who is coming in from high school okay so you have five guys right there and you'll probably have some Walk-Ons as well that are that are getting um that'll get some practice reps there or if injuries happen they may find themselves in the lineup but um you have to have in this offense for to make this particular scheme go you have to have three good options and right now Cedric Alexander looks to be the top option AJ Newberry looks to be the second option and they're very very similar in their style of play they're Shifty they're good patient Runners that can find different creases Chase Gillespie and Michael and young are good also good Runners uh what what happens with Micha and young is that he knows the system he knows the scheme he was the third back in a year ago uh with New Mexico State he's he scored against Auburn he scored against uh he had like 28 carries for 19 7 yards something like that seven yards a carry not much action uh they they had they were fortunate to have healthy backs all year long star Thomas was just that a star uh for for New Mexico state so Michael Young didn't get a ton of time but when he came in he was effective and he's the type of guy that knows the system so looking at Personnel first I think you've got a a good group of backs here that can really kind of make this thing go all right so Cedric Alexander and AJ Newberry I think where they're going to thrive is they're going to thrive inside Zone because they're patient okay so you're going to have some Zone read stuff that uh Zone double option or Zone triple option okay so you're going to have the running back run it you're going to have you're gonna have Newberry or Alexander running the inside Zone and they're good patient Runners they can find creases and they can explode through them and and they're they're good at that and they're they're good at um you know picking their way through and the offensive line is going to have to communicate obviously okay and if they're good at that they'll defenses will have to dedicate linebackers to the box to stop that and it'll open up things on the edge for for Pavia it really kind of stretches the field horizontally if they can draw people into the box all right if they can't then they can the the defense can really kind of hone in on the perimeter and really shut down what they what they have going on out there whether it's a double option where they're coming down off the edge to stop Pavia or a triple option where there's a a fast screen out there that pavia's kind of run and if he sees daylight he's going to take it or if not he's going to flip it out there to a bubble screen or or a now screen or or some sort of tight end screen or or something going on out there on the perimeter uh as as kind of a third option so none of that happens if the running backs can't get going and of course of course the offensive line comes into play here too uh so you know don't don't get you know don't get a twisted the offensive line probably um plays a massive part in that but when you look at what when you look at what these guys can do they have to like the offensive line obviously has to create running Lanes but these guys also have to make these offensive lineman right if they if the offensive lineman call for a certain combo they have to they have to hit the creases where the creases are whether it's counter power inside zone out side Zone whatever the case may be these backs have to make these line linemen right okay and they also have to be a factor in the in the pass game too because there's going to be some there's going to be some wrinkles here to some of these rpos where the back is actually running a screen like they have a play where it's a quarterback draw or or flare screen to the running back that also has to be a factor so they have to be able to catch out of the back field too so it's a big big job in this offense for the for the for the running backs and that's why one of these guys needs to step up and be a star I think it's going to be Cedric Alexander I think he's going to be the dude I think newberry's going to be right there on his heels I think they're going to have a nice one-two punch there and michaan young coming in uh in relief there uh because of his knowledge of the system and unfortunately Chase Gillespie might be the guy left out in the CT but that's going to be a competition that's going to happen even with AJ Newberry for that I think Cedric alisander is going to be the starter but I think Newberry gespi and young are G to kind of battle it out for car's um opposite of Cedric Alexander if not also getting a spot on the field as uh in 20 Personnel or 21 Personnel where you can get two of those guys on the field at the same time um if you need to so there's a lot of different options you have there's a lot of different things that you have with these guys so just with the just with the double and triple option schemes that they have I I think the running backs being good at that um is going to help everything else kind of unfold because you have some down the- field rpos that it will open up that if they're good at running with their running like I think bash is a is is something that uh teams like to run where they they have counter where they have the back going opposite of the pullers and it's kind of like an outside Zone stretch play where if if the defens in rides with the pullers the back's going to outflank them and and get out in space these backs have to be good in space okay but ideally you also have down the field RPO so guys like uh guys like Daren Daren Wy uh Quincy Skinner Jeremiah Dylan running second third level rpos that can't happen if these linebackers aren't concerned with coming down to tackle these running backs or aren't concerned with coming down and tackling or these safeties aren't concerned with coming down and tackling Diego Pavia if it gets to that gets to that part okay Diego Pavia can't do what he needs to do if or Nate Johnson whoever's in the game can't do what they need to do if these running backs are ineffective so that's why it's so important that's why this offense is not necessarily about Diego Pavia okay now obviously the quarterback's the most important position on the field I get that but the identity of this scheme kind of goes through the running back okay it goes through the running back because play action won't happen if these running backs aren't good and that's the those are the pillars of this scheme RPO play action everything off the run and if they can't get the Run game going they're not a team that's going to sit back and Diego PVE not not a quarterback that's going to sit back in the pocket and just dice you apart um and pick you apart he's not that kind of quarterback he's the kind of quarterback that's going to take advantage of hey you're coming up to stop me or you're coming up to stop uh Cedric Alexander you're coming up to stop michaan young or AJ Newberry whoever the whoever the back is you're coming up to stop them I'm G to pull this pull this rock and throw it right by you and there's not not a dagum thing you can do about it so that's why it's important okay not because I'm trying to March ize what Pavia does pavia's game is not sit in the pocket and pick your part he's not it's not empty Just Launch the ball over the yard down the field it's not it's not air raid okay it's not and that's why pav is the perfect quarterback for the system because he's he's a great complimentary piece he doesn't have to be the guy it's more of a collective effort and it's led by different facets it's led by obviously the offensive line everything led by the offensive line in every scheme that goes without saying um but you have running backs you're more dependent on running backs in this scheme than you are in a lot of other schemes where it's quarterback dependent always except for schemes like this where your quarterback kind of depends on the running backs and the running backs depends on the quarterback like if the quarterback sucks they're their part becomes more difficult okay if the quarterback can't is ineffective running on the perimeter or um he's ineffective in in in reading and delivering rpos their part becomes more difficult and vice versa but their part their part is more pavi is more dependent on them being successful versus the other way around but it all kind of ties in together and all kind of but Pavia obviously is important but the running backs being successful is extremely important so without them the the the pillars of this scheme become way more difficult to to achieve and so they need that star guy they need that guy to be to be a stud I think Cedric Alexander can be that guy and michaan young I think in the future whether it's the very near future or next year or or the year after can also be a star within this offense too so they've got some things cooking over there um on uh on the offensive side of the ball the running backs are going to be really really good I'm I'm excited about that position group but you know who else is excited Mark bton he got his 64 combo guard U that's going to lead the league and assist he's the facilitator that this team needs we'll talk about that commitment and what he means to the basketball team next all right this episode is brought to you by LinkedIn when you're hiring for your small businesses you want to find quality profession that are right for the role that's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and for free LinkedIn isn't just another job board LinkedIn helps you fi helps you hire professionals you can't find anywhere else even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role in a given month over 70% of 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you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming lock on sports today brings you can't miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day so talking uh talking transfer portal Mark bton okay he is crushing it in the in the transfer portal okay thanks for making lock on VY your first listen each and every day by the way um but AJ hogard transfer from M Michigan State okay I almost said mississipp State transfer from Michigan state is I think for what Mark buyington does is the perfect commitment for this offense okay he's a big combo guard he shot uh 40.7% from the field uh he he is an assist leader recorded 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game um during last season at M Michigan State okay he is uh he's somebody that um will come in and add instant ump to this offense and what I mean by that is that he again he is not coming in to be the primary score he is coming in to facilitate and if that means on some possessions just do it himself take it down the take it down the the lane to the rack then sure but most of the time it's going to be him running the floor and finding open lanes he's a great passer he has a great eye for for guys uh coming open he has the the with movement things like that he can facilitate the ball where it needs to go and that's what that's what's going to be perfect for this transition offense because it's not going to be the first it's not going to necessarily be him scoring he's not going to be dependent on the score it's going to you know it's going to be kind of collective here it's going to be it's it's truly going to be one or two passes each time down the floor like you're going to come down he's going to either drive and Dish he's going to he's going to rip it down into the lane to to one of the bigger bigger guys he's going to take it uh he's going to take it and just move it right on up to the wing right right off the rip from half court maybe a long baseball type pass uh to a wing guy like Tyler Nichols for for a three um he's going to you know maybe swing it around to his uh to his guy um to his guard Grant Huffman and those guys but either way or he might he might do a give and go with somebody and and and take it to the rack himself he you know he can do a bunch of different things and and the the the word the adjective of that descri that best describes this program and every program really uh and what Vandy needs in any on any team football basketball baseball they need versatility okay and this guy brings that AJ hogard brings versatility he he is he's somebody that can do a lot of different things he is good from all three levels he can get to the rack he can shoot mid-range and he can and he's pretty good at shooting threes as well and so you're you know you have to look at it as all right I can win with that because you get things you get things going from you know you get things going from the defensive possessions you get things going you get things running you get things you get active with uh with this offense and next thing you know like you're putting points on the board and and now you're winning right now you're now you're sitting there with a chance to kind of take momentum you have a chance at home to get the crowd into a frenzy and now you're you have a chance to win games that you shouldn't because of the sty of play they're not overwhelming you with star power they're not they're not taking a collection of Five Guys and and you know overwhelming you they're overwhelming you with guys that know their role guys that play Within those roles and Excel within those roles and when you can get guys to buy in like that you are going to be dangerous okay you're going to be dangerous and you can't you can't I guess underscore that uh you can't diminish that but like you're going to be successful in whatever you do on the court that you're going to bring exitment to the program now recruits are going to come in now bigger fish are going to are going to get into the boat and then this year went from being like a okay we're just going to lick our wounds and just kind of gradually improve and now the now the floor has risen a little bit okay that's the expectation now the expectations are and we we'll talk about you know we'll wrap up basketball here pretty soon um we'll put it on the shelf for a little while at least but um you know we we we'll talk about what expectations are as of right now going into the you know going into the heart of the off season and then we'll revisit those to see if the expectations have grown shrank or stay the same uh right before the season starts and we'll we'll see kind of how things change how how these guys mesh what what's happening uh with with all of this you know what's what's going on MJ Edwards Mark you know uh Devin mcglockton Jaylen KY who was I think the first portal commit of the mark buyington era but it's a new team it's a new day it's a new new way of new way of play new you know just kind of just new and and everybody's fired up about it and you should be too so um big massive massive get here I think that brings a little bit of credibility to Mark Mark Bon's style of play because I think people were skeptical of that uh they were skeptical of would position this basketball work and we're going to see it kind of play out so we'll see truly if it works once we kind of get on the court but if this transfer portal thing is any indication I think some guys are buying in either they're buying into the system they're buying into to Mark B Anton or they just want to play in the SEC either way we got a pretty good collection of of talent here we got a pretty good team uh with a lot of different moving parts and I think it's style of play that's attracting them because it's a running style of play it's a scoring style of play it's a very exciting style of play and you're you're going to really kind of feature some athleticism you're going to feature some defense you're going to feature transition basketball here within this scheme and I think these guys are perfect for it I think guys like AJ hogard who brings a little bit of size to uh to his position because the guards are a little bit smaller that we have um they're shiftier faster kind of more slasher type guy steel you know press you things things like that but a AJ hogard is kind of more of your combo guy he's kind of more of you know just just not necessarily your point guard but um can be um but he's going to be a good facilitator whether he's bringing the ball up the court or not whether he's the first or second pass in the scheme I think he's going to lead the league in assist so that's going to be GNA be very exciting so you're gonna see Vandy Vandy basketball get it back into postseason conversations but speaking of postseason conversations the Vandy boy Salvage the series against Kentucky after for two really massive beatdowns Thursday and Friday but they Salvage it on Saturday they got a glimmer of Hope um but what's that glimmer of hope mean how do they savish the postseason we'll talk about that next we are also brought to you by FanDuel it's win or take all time in the NBA and NHL playoffs and fanduel's giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning five doll bet yeah you heard me right that's 150 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props parlays whatever you want to do you get that but only if you visit fanduel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count FanDuel is America's number one Sportsbook [Music] so welcome back third and final segment here on the locked on VY podcast on the locked on podcast Network welcome back thanks thanks for making us your first Liston each and every day shout out to the every dayers you make all of this possible make sure you check on locked on SEC next make sure you become the most knowledgeable fan base in the country by listening to the other host of shows that we have right after this one like locked on Old Miss locked on aubert locked on LSU locked on Longhorns locked on Bama the list goes on just follow the schedule if you want to get some insight on the you know if you want to know thy enemy make sure you do that so anyway uh VY boys they well they they make it they're making things interesting okay it went from lots of promise to we're in a slump to okay maybe we got our groove back to holy cow this may not be a slump we may just not be that good to we still have a glimmer of hope in postseason you lose four straight series Superstars wipe you off the face of you know wipe you off the face of the Earth um in those series you know Joe kagon Charlie Condon you know those guys um they really kind of make things difficult but fandy has a ray of Hope okay they have a ray of Hope now they're going to need to do I think if they're and done in the SEC tournament it's not going to be good they're not going to make know they're not going to make a regional I don't think they're going to have to win a game at least and that game is probably going to come against Florida so it's gonna be a tough one um but you know they you know they they've got some work to do but they're going to have to have some help maybe you know it's going to be complicated algorithm but they're going to they're going to sneak their way into a regional if if that's the case so um first things first uh Bryce Cunningham and Carter Holton are gonna have to figure out how to pitch away from the hawk okay they they're brilliant at home but uh on the road away from home and maybe a neutral site will be different but um Cunningham has gotten knocked out of all five SEC Road starts um he hasn't made it more than five innings um he hadn't surrendered any less than five runs in those outings um he's gotten pretty uh pretty beat up kind he went two and two3 on Friday um gave up seven runs I mean just got absolutely pelted Carter Holton um not quite as bad but not much better either both both of those guys get run on the road they just can't seem to pitch away from home something something having to do with the atmosphere I I I don't know what the deal is or like the the maybe the scenery the the fans I I don't know but [Music] um you know they're healthy and they need to they need to bring their aame they need to pretend I don't know what VY needs to do to make to make Hoover Met look like the Hawkins field um but something's gonna have to happen because Carter holon at his best you can't hit him when he's at home if you're facing Carter H Holton at the hawk you can't touch him but you face him on the road hitters can't can't wait to get to the plate against him and they crush him for some reason he can't he can't spin his curveball as good he can't place his fast balls as well and something something happens there so he's going to be he's going to need to be more dependable um if uh if they want to have any sort of shot at at going same with Bryce Cunningham so they're gonna have to figure out how to do that uh Devon futural and JD Thompson I I think they you know they're going to factor in as well Devon futral uh coming back a little bit um you know slowly making his way in um but you know they're gonna have to you know the pitching is overall even I mean I'm just naming names at this point but the pitching is gonna have to find uh find some confidence find some energy and JD Thompson actually might be that energy guy you saw it last series uh against um who was it against it was against Tennessee you saw that um and you saw him Clos in but anyway they uh also those these guys are going to need to find ways to get Joe Jack kagon Hunter hind Charlie Condon Ryan Walt Schmid um you know all of the all the star guys out okay now they're also going need to figure out how to recreate the 12 runs they scored on Saturday they need they need to figure that out too because they're going to have to score a few runs and they're going to have to keep keep runs from Crossing play they're going to have to you know they're going to have to figure out just how to hit for power or they need to hit consistently they just need to just they just need to keep hitting getting guys on base walking having smart plate approaches where you're you're taking pitchers deep into counts which you're racking up Pitch counts in the early Innings if you can get to these teams bull pins quicker a lot of times that's the that's the secret sauce right and and they did that against Kentucky Calvin hwit uh I think had a really nice weekend Davis Diaz is going to have to but ever since Jaden Davis went out things have kind of really went downhill with the offense so they're gonna have to you know again figure out a way to get around that right and they're gonna have to figure out a way to uh to get their uh to get their bats going so pitching is going to have to kind of get back to early season form where they were just absolutely dealing and shutting people down but again the the the the the hitters are going to have to they're going to have to pitch in they're going to have to keep some of the pressure off of this pitching they're going to have to uh they're gonna have to score they're gonna have to get to the bullpens they're that that's the goal get to the get to the other team's Bullpen as quickly as possible that's that's the uh that's the strategy so they're gonna need some help they're gonna need to help themselves um and they're going to have to just really simply they're just G play better so that's uh that's where we're uh that's where we're at but before we go um quick recruiting note um looks like looks like they're putting some uh preference on offensive lineman in this recruiting class they have some guys set for some visits in the summer um they have a new Target Matthew Parker from Jackson prep in Mississippi um he has got a June 6th through 9th visit set to uh to Vandy so that's going to be fun uh some offensive line Byron Nelson is is another one that's uh that's set to visit so um maybe there's maybe there's a bright future ahead for that position we'll see but anyway that's going to do it for us here um on this Monday Edition as we approach summer like a steaming locomotive we're getting closer and closer to not only the release of NCAA 25 but the the start and kickoff of the NCAA football season which gets underway August 31st against Virginia Tech we'll talk more about that uh we'll talk more baseball um as we go as the Vandy boys decide to meander their way through the postseason but until then we'll see you back here tomorrow thanks for listening and we'll talk to you then until then anchor down and behave yourselves peace