HEAD COACH: Clark Lea (2-10, second year)

2021 RECORD: 2-10, 0-8 in SEC East

RETURNING STARTERS: Offense – 5; Defense – 6; Special Teams – 1

PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Mike Wright, RB Re’Mahn Davis, WR Will Shepherd, LB Anfernee Orji, CB Jaylen Mahoney, DL Daeveon Davis.

VERSUS GEORGIA: October 15 in Athens

Will the team be any more athletic than the one in 2021?

When talking about question marks for the Vanderbilt football program, there’s certainly no shortage of topics.

One of the unfortunate facts of life in the SEC has been that the Commodores have never been very good at football. That’s been due to a lack of athletes, historically speaking.

Unfortunately, that’s once again the challenge facing second-year head coach Clark Lea, who returned to his alma mater from Notre Dame a season ago.

While Lea has taken steps to improve the team speed, the talent gap is so far below the rest of the league that improving last year’s 2-10 record will not be a guarantee.

Can Commodores develop any semblance of a pass rush?

New defensive coordinator Nick Howell certainly hopes so.

Last year, Vanderbilt only sacked opposing quarterbacks nine times in 12 games. The Commodores actually return a pair of capable middle linebackers in senior Anfernee Orji and junior Ethan Barr. The two combined for 177 tackles last year, with Orji chipping in with 13 for lost yardage.

Vanderbilt did pick up Clemson transfer Kane Patterson, but otherwise, the Commodores have absolutely no depth on the defensive line.

Starters Daevion Davis and Nate Clifton both missed the entire spring, and there’s just not enough experience currently behind them.

Will the offense be any more consistent?

Losing left tackle Tyler Steen as a transfer to Alabama does not help matters, but the rest of Vanderbilt’s offensive line is back, with five players starting five games over the course of their respective careers.

Quarterbacks Ken Seals and Mike Wright each split the starting duties in 2021. Both quarterbacks threw for over 1,000 yards, although neither completed more than 56 percent of their passes. Wright supposedly had the edge coming out of spring practice, but we shall see.

Running back Re’Mahn Davis has over 1,500 career rushing yards and is back after missing much of last season due to injury.

There’s decent depth at wide receiver, led by Will Shepherd (43-577-4), but this is a team that finished last in the SEC and 128th nationally in scoring offense at just 15.8 points per game.

Obviously, there’s a lot of work to do.