QUICK FACTS
Location: Nashville, Tenn. Founded: 1873 Enrollment: 6,402 Stadium: Vanderbilt (39,773) Chancellor: E. Gordon Gee (Utah, '68) Vice Chancellor: David Williams (Northern Michigan, '69) Head Football Coach: Bobby Johnson (Clemson, '73) Off. / Def. Systems: Multiple / 4-3 All-Time Record: 541-535-50 (.503 / 1,126 games) SEC Championships: 0 Bowl App. / Record: 3 / 1-1-1 (.500)
2006 IN REVIEW
2006 Record: 4-8 (2-4 H, 2-4 A, 1-4 vs. Eastern Division) SEC Record/Finish: 1-7 (0-4 H, 1-3 A) / T4th Eastern Division Bowl: None National Ranking: Not Ranked Home Attendance: 209,168 (34,861) / 87.6 % Capacity
SEC/NCAA Statistical Rankings Total Offense: 351.0 (7th - SEC / 52nd - NCAA) Rushing Offense: 149.6 (4th - SEC / 45th - NCAA) Passing Offense: 201.4 (7th - SEC / 55th - NCAA) Scoring Offense: 22.0 (10th - SEC / 73rd - NCAA) Total Defense: 352.7 (10th - SEC / 74th - NCAA) Rushing Defense: 156.0 (10th - SEC / 91st - NCAA) Passing Defense: 196.7 (10th - SEC / 51st - NCAA) Scoring Defense: 23.7 (10th - SEC / 65th - NCAA) Turnover Margin: -2 (9th - SEC / 74th - NCAA)
2006 RESULTS (5-6 Overall • 3-5 SEC)
Sept. 2 at Michigan (ESPN) [--/15] L 7-27 109,668 Sept. 9 at Alabama (FSN) L 10-13 92,138 Sept. 16 ARKANSAS (LFS) L 19-21 32,202 Sept. 23 TENNESSEE STATE W 38-9 27,460 Sept. 30 TEMPLE W 43-14 34,319 Oct. 7 at Ole Miss L 10-17 51,211 Oct. 14 at Georgia (LFS) [14/14] W 24-22 92,746 Oct. 21 SOUTH CAROLINA [--/rv] L 13-31 37,280 Oct. 28 at Duke W 45-28 14,198 Nov. 4 FLORIDA (LFS) [7/7] L 19-25 38,134 Nov. 11 at Kentucky L 26-38 52,235 Nov. 18 TENNESSEE (LFS) [22/23] L 10-39 39,773
[ ] - Opponents' National Ranking (Harris & USA Today) at time game was played. Second column refers to Vanderbilt; listing after opponent is for opponent.
2006 STATISTICAL LEADERS
RUSHING G ATT YDS AVG TD PG • Chris Nickson 12 146 694 4.8 9 57.8 • Jackson-Garrison 12 152 614 4.0 5 51.2 • Jared Hawkins 12 43 298 6.9 3 24.8 • Mackenzi Adams 11 19 86 4.5 0 7.8 VANDERBILT 12 385 1795 4.7 18 149.6 Opponents 12 453 1872 4.1 15 156.0 PASSING G PE A-C-I PCT. YDS. TD YPG • Chris Nickson 12 122.8 292-160-13 54.8 2085 15 173.8 • Mackenzi Adams 11 109.7 29-15-1 51.7 224 0 20.4 VANDERBILT 12 123.1 337-187-14 55.5 2417 16 201.4 Opponents 12 138.4 293-176-14 60.1 2360 18 196.7 RECEIVING G REC YDS AVG TD RPG • Earl Bennett 12 82 1146 14.0 6 6.83 Marlon White 12 25 313 12.5 2 2.08 • George Smith 12 21 313 14.9 3 1.75 Stephen Bright 8 18 228 12.7 2 2.25 VANDERBILT 12 187 2417 12.9 16 201.4 Opponents 12 176 2360 13.4 18 196.7 PUNTING NO YDS AVG LP BLK IN20 • Brett Upson 52 1945 37.4 69 2 12 VANDERBILT 54 1945 36.0 69 2 12 Opponents 50 1917 38.3 57 1 12 KO RETURNS NO YDS AVG TD LP • Alex Washington 19 364 19.2 0 43 • Josh Allen 12 239 19.9 0 32 VANDERBILT 41 732 17.9 0 43 Opponents 45 889 19.8 0 69 PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG TD LP • Alex Washington 10 56 5.6 0 16 • Earl Bennett 8 33 4.1 0 14 VANDERBILT 22 104 4.7 0 16 Opponents 16 95 5.9 0 35 TACKLES TOTAL TFL SACKS INT FC-FR • Jonathan Goff 93 (67-26) 6.0 (-38) 2.5 (-31) 1 2-0 Kevin Joyce 59 (43-16) 7.0 (-28) 3.0 (-21) 0 0-0 • Reshard Langford 51 (36-15) 6.0 (-14) 1.0 (-5) 3 0-2 • Marcus Buggs 50 (40-10) 10.5 (-35) 2.0 (-8) 1 0-1 • Theo Horrocks 49 (31-18) 6.0 (-35) 5.0 (-34) 0 4-1 • Curtis Gatewood 49 (36-13) 8.0 (-50) 7.0 (-48) 1 3-0
• - Returning Player
TEAM INFORMATION
LETTERMEN Returning: 53 (26 Offense, 23 Defense, 4 Specialists) Lost: 12 (4 Offense, 6 Defense, 2 Specialists)
STARTERS RETURNING • 19 Offense (9): WR George Smith (6-3, 195, Jr.) WR Earl Bennett (6-1, 200, Jr.) QB Chris Nickson (6-1, 210, Jr.) TB Cassen Jackson-Garrison (6-1, 220, Sr.) LT Chris Williams (6-7, 315, Sr.) LG Ryan Custer (6-4, 295, So.) C Hamilton Holliday (6-3, 295, Sr.) LG Josh Eames (6-5, 305, Sr.) TE Brad Allen (6-3, 240, Jr.) Defense (8): RT Theo Horrocks (6-4, 290, Sr.) DE Curtis Gatewood (6-3, 245, Sr.) MLB Jonathan Goff (6-4, 240, Sr.) SLB Marcus Buggs (5-11, 232, Sr.) CB D.J. Moore (5-10, 175, So.) SS Reshard Langford (6-2, 218, Jr.) FS Ryan Hamilton (6-2, 210, So.) CB Joel Caldwell (6-0, 185, So.) Specialists (2): PK Bryant Hahnfeldt (5-11, 185, Jr.) P Brett Upson (5-11, 180, So.)
STARTERS LOST • 5 Offense (2): WR Marlon White (6-4, 208, Sr.) RG Mac Pyle (6-5, 315, Sr.) Defense (3): DE Chris Booker (6-4, 260, Sr.) DT Ray Brown (6-3, 295, Sr.) WLB Kevin Joyce (6-3, 228, Sr.) Specialists (0)
NOTE: Specialists include punter and placekicker only.
2007 SCHEDULE
Sept. 1 RICHMOND Sept. 8 ALABAMA Sept. 15 OLE MISS Sept. 29 EASTERN MICHIGAN Oct. 6 at Auburn Oct. 13 GEORGIA Oct. 20 at South Carolina Oct. 27 MIAMI (OHIO) Nov. 3 at Florida Nov. 10 KENTUCKY Nov. 17 at Tennessee Nov. 24 WAKE FOREST
COACH BOBBY JOHNSON
Alma Mater: Clemson (1973) Coaching Experience: Furman Assistant Coach 1976-80; Clemson Academic Counselor 1981; Furman Assistant Coach 1982-92; Clemson Assistant Coach 1993; Furman Head Coach 1994-2001; Vanderbilt Head Coach 2002-.
JOHNSON YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year School Conf. Pct. All Pct. Bowl 1994 Furman 2-6 .250 3-8 .273 1995 Furman 5-3 .625 6-5 .545 1996 Furman 6-2 .750 9-4 .692 I-AA Qtrfinals 1997 Furman 5-3 .625 7-4 .636 1998 Furman 3-5 .375 5-6 .455 1999 Furman 7-1 .875 9-3 .750 I-AA 1st Rd. 2000 Furman 6-2 .750 9-3 .750 I-AA 1st Rd. 2001 Furman 7-1 .875 12-3 .800 I-AA Finals 2002 Vanderbilt 0-8 .000 2-10 .167 2003 Vanderbilt 1-7 .125 2-10 .167 2004 Vanderbilt 1-7 .125 2-9 .182 2005 Vanderbilt 3-5 .375 5-6 .455 2006 Vanderbilt 1-7 .125 4-8 .333 TOTALS 47-57 .452 75-79 .487 13 Years Vanderbilt Record 6-34 .150 15-43 .259 5 Years Furman Record 41-23 .641 60-36 .625 Playoff Record 4-4 (.500)
COMMODORE ASSISTANT COACHES
Charlie Fisher (Springfield, 1981): Wide Receivers/Passing Game Co-Coordinator Bruce Fowler (Furman, 1981): Defensive Coordinator Robbie Caldwell (Furman, 1976): Asst. Head Coach/Offensive Line Ted Cain (Furman, 1974): Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Jimmy Kiser (Furman, 1978): Quarterbacks/Passing Game Co-Coordinator Warren Belin (Wake Forest, 1990): Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator Kenny Carter (The Citadel, 1990): Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator Jamie Bryant (Ohio Wesleyan, 1991): Defensive Backs Rick Logo (N.C. State, 1992): Defensive Line
TOP RETURNEES
WR EARL BENNETT • 6-2, 200, So., Birmingham, Ala. Has earned first-team All-SEC in first two seasons ... Last season, led SEC in catches per game (6.83) and was second in receiving yards per game (95.5) ... Had 82 grabs for 1,146 yards and six TDs in 2006 ... Second-team Rivals.com Freshman All-Americaand freshman All-SEC first-team in 2005 ... Set SEC freshman record with 79 catches in 2005 (876 yards) ... In just two seasons, has 161 career receptions for 2,020 yards and 15 TDs ... Needs just 44 catches and 1,073 receiving yards to become SEC career leader in both categories.
LB JONATHAN GOFF • 6-4, 235, Sr., Lynn, Mass. Earned second-team All-SEC mention by coaches as junior ... Last year, ranked among SEC leaders in solo tackles (69) and total tackles (93) ... Ranked among team leaders in TFLs, forced fumbles and QB hurries ... Posted at least five tackles in 11 of 12 games as junior ... Has started 27 consecutive games entering final year.