Commodore Nation - March 2008

March 2008

EYES DETERMINATION

TheoHorrocks

has the

ofof__

CN MarV10.indd 1 3/18/08 9:25:21 AM

CN MarV10.indd 2 3/18/08 9:25:32 AM

C O M M O D O R E N AT I O NC O M M O D O R E N AT I O N 1vucommodores.com

table of contents4 National Commodore Club

6 Know Your Teammate Adam Baker and Evan Dufaux

7 Commodores Cubed Know your Commodores

8 Point of View John Ebert

9 Supporting The Commodores Couple takes support to another level

11 Commodore Tidbits By the numbers

12 Well-Dressed Man Shan Foster has a knack for style

13 It’s My Turn — Rod Williamson Commodores shine off the fi eld

16 Looking To Break Through Theo Horrocks looks to continue career

20 Quick Hits A look at Vanderbilt’s sports teams

21 Community Service Spotlight Anastasia Adam

22 Athletes Against Assault Organization stands up against violence

23 2008 Football Signing Class 21-member class hails from 11 states

24 The Last Look

CN MarV10.indd Sec1:3 3/18/08 9:25:37 AM

M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 82

Editorial

Publisher: Vanderbilt University

Editor-in-Chief: Ryan Schulz

Director of Media Relations: Rod Williamson

Designers: Jeremy Teaford

Ryan Schulz

Digital Image Specialist: Julie Luckett Turner

Photographers: Brandon Barca

Neil Brake

Daniel Dubois

Steve Green

Stan Jones

Paul J. Levy

John Russell

Contributors: Andy Boggs

Chad Crunk

John Ebert

John Erck

Larry Leathers

Nick Petrone

Thomas Samuel

Chris Weinman

Administrative

Interim Chancellor: Nicholas S. Zeppos

Vice Chancellor for University Affairs: David Williams II

Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs: Michael J. Schoenfeld

Exec. Director National Commodore Club: Jeff Ulmer

Vanderbilt University’s Mission, Goals and ValuesVanderbilt University is a center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and society at large. Vanderbilt will uphold the highest standards and be a leader in the quest for new knowledge through scholarship, dissemination of knowledge through teaching and outreach, and creative experimentation of ideas and concepts. In pursuit of these goals, Vanderbilt values most highly intellectual freedom that supports open inquiry; and equality, com-passion and excellence in all endeavors.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity,affirmative action university.

ON THE COVER: Theo Horrocks (Photo by Daniel Dubois)

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to National Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville, TN 37212.

SUBSCRIPTION: To subscribe to Commodore Nation, please contact the National Commodore Club at 615/322-4114.

ADVERTISEMENT: To advertise with Commodore Nation, please contact Vanderbilt ISP Sports.Stacy Hall, General Manager615/[email protected]

Around The WebEach day, links to all the stories on the web relating to Vanderbilt athletics are posted on vucom-modores.com. The links are also archived so you can go back and view stories from weeks past.

VUCOMMODORES.COM

Connect with

Joe Fisher’s Daily UpdateListen to what the Voice of the Com-modores has to say about Vander-bilt on a daily basis. Fisher’s daily Vanderbilt updates on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone are archived for your listening pleasure.

Shan Foster SiteWatch highlights, view photos, stats, and awards of senior guard Shan Foster. The site also includes newspaper articles on Foster and downloadable desktop wallpaper.

PodcastsDownload archived audio fi les to your computer or media device. Audio fi les available for download include postgame interviews, weekly press conferences, Joe Fisher’s daily updates and weekly radio interviews.

GametrackerFollow the progress of Vanderbilt’s baseball, basketball, football and soccer games on Gametracker. Gametracker provides live stats of games in progress and is a great way to follow the action when you can’t attend the game.

Desktop WallpaperBrighten up the desktop on your home computer by downloading exclusive Vanderbilt desktop wallpaper.




M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 84

CORNERCOMMODORE CLUB

PHONE: 615/322-4114 vucommodores.com

Elysia and Derrick Wilcox pose with sons Derrick II and Denzel.

You should have recently received your membership renewal for the National Commodore Club. Please mail it in, call 615/322-4114, click vucommodores.com or stop by the office in the McGugin Center to make your gift. Every gift is allocated toward the goal of funding student-ath-lete scholarships. This year’s membership deadline is May 31. Thank you for your con-tinued support of Vanderbilt Athletics. Your Membership Matters!

JOIN THE NCC OR RENEW TODAY!

NCC Benefi ts Include Great Seats

By Jeff UlmerNCC Executive Director

Philanthropy and intercollegiate sports can – and must – coexist. Many people say that they give to the National Commodore Club to “get” great seats, or premium parking, or to be eligible to purchase season or post season tickets. These incentives may be the catalysts for making those NCC gifts before June 30th each year, but the real reason the NCC exists is, well, … to provide great seats!

The great seats I am referring to are, of course, the ones in the class-rooms. Just as NCC gifts can provide benefits to Commodore sports fans, they provide more important benefits to student-athletes. Most of our stu-dent-athletes wouldn’t have the finan-cial capability to attend Vanderbilt if not for the financial assistance the NCC provides. Your gifts to the NCC do provide great seats; they just hap-pen to be in the classrooms of one of the finest academic institutions in the world. Help us perpetuate that message, and please give to sup-port educational opportunities for our student-athletes. Your membership does matter, in so many ways!

For more information please go to vucommodores.com or call 615/322-4114.

MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. AUBURN

Former Vanderbilt coaches John Bostick and C.M. Newton.

Margie and Barry Goheen, Will and Jennifer Perdue, and Charlie Dahlem.

Vanderbilt’s top all-time 3-point shooters were recognized at the Auburn game on Feb. 2. They also enjoyed a reception before the game. Left to right – Sam Howard, John Brown (Shan Foster’s father), Frank Seckar, Barry Goheen, Anita Horne (Shan Foster’s mother), Vince Ford, Mario Moore, Matt Frejie, Chuck Moore, Drew Maddux, Scott Draud.



Vanderbilt Athletics and the National Commodore Club endeavor to endow all athletics scholar-ships. To help in that task, the NCC has cre-ated a new endowment level called the Black and Gold Society. Black and Gold Society members create an opportunity for a stu-dent-athlete while receiving full benefits of the Dudley Society with a five-year, $100,000 commitment.

For more information on the Black and Gold Society and Athletic Scholarship Endowments, please contact John Erck at [email protected] or 615/322-7922.

JOIN THE BLACK AND GOLD ENDOWMENT SOCIETY

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAME AT FLORIDA

NCC Members Harvey Baxter, Burton Augst and former football player Nigel Seaman get together at the game.

FOOTBALL – You should be receiving your 2008 Vanderbilt Football season ticket renewal soon, if you haven’t already. The deadline is March 14. The six-game home schedule includes a Thursday night opener against South Carolina and conference games against Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. Rice and Duke are the non-con-ference opponents.

REMINDER – The football game against Rice has been moved to Saturday, Sept. 13.

BASKETBALL – Expect basketball renewals in April with a May deadline.

IMPORTANT TICKET INFORMATION

Vanderbilt’s SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Headquarters will be the Hilton Atlanta Downtown.

SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

The 2020 Society comprises members of the National Commodore Club, age 40 and younger, who contribute at least $100 annually. If you have been giving to the NCC at this level and are younger than 41, you automatically are in the 2020 Society. The Society is a creation of the 2020 Advisory Committee, a group of young alumni committed to increasing young membership in the National Commodore Club and promoting VU Athletics. If you are a non-alumni member of the NCC and qualify for the 2020 Society but have not been notified, please contact Cal Cook at [email protected] or 615/343-4878.

2020 SOCIETY

MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME AT TENNESSEE

Former Vanderbilt baseball players Jensen Lewis and David Price attended Vander-bilt’s men’s basketball game at Tennessee.

MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME VS. LSU

NCC Members Marshall (Shag) Polk, Ridley Wills and Jim Hunt Sr. have a bite in the Admiral’s Club. NCC Members who give at the Vice Admiral level and above have access to the room at halftime of men’s SEC games.

Lucy Jones (left) recognizes Hank Abbott and Rita Bradley for their gift of a Black and Gold Society scholarship for Commodore Athletics.

NCC Members Joe Barrett, Cal Cook and Harold Sutton made the trip to Gainesville for the women’s win over the Gators.


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 86

Know Your Teammate

JacquiConcolino

Evan Dufaux How well do friends and team-mates Adam Baker and Evan

Dufaux know each other? We put the two to the test. First, each player was asked to answer nine questions about himself. After giving their own answers, each player was asked to guess how the other would answer each question to see who knows the other better.

AdamBaker

THE QUESTIONS BAKER DUFAUX

Middle Name Neel John

Mom’s Name Kim Julie

Favorite NFL Team Titans Bucs

Favorite Sport Besides Tennis Basketball Beach Volleyball

Major Economics and History Philosophy

Earliest Class 10 a.m. 11 a.m.

Strongest Part Of Your Game Serve Serve

Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant Wendy’s Chipotle

Birthday Sept. 9 Sept. 8

EvanDufaux

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

(PO

RT

RA

IT);

PA

UL

J. L

EV

Y (

AC

TIO

N)

and Adam Baker



andreWALKERBasketball

austinWILLIAMSON

Cross Country

rachelDYER

Swimming

meridethMARSHBasketball

Favorite Board Game Growing Up

Mouse Trap Monopoly Monopoly Candy Land

First Job I Ever Had

Sweeping the fl oor at a

barber shop

Working in a chocolate

store called Chocolaterie

Stam

Teaching swim lessons

Running individual basketball

lessons

Most Memorable

Sporting Event

I’ve Watched

Bulls vs. Sonics in the

1996 NBA Finals

Watching Vanderbilt beat No. 1 Florida in basketball from

the front row

Swimming at the 2004

Summer Olympics

Our team winning the SEC

Tournament in 2007

Time My Alarm Goes

Off6:50 a.m.

6:15 a.m. if I’ve got a morning run, no earlier than it has to

otherwise

6:30 a.m.My internal

alarm goes off at 8 a.m.

Favorite Will Ferrell

Movie

Talladega Nights

Blades of Glory Elf Elf

I Wanted To Be _______ When I Was

10

Michael Jordan

A fi refi ghter — It’s still my backup plan if grad school falls through

A lawyer

A basketball coach or a basketball

player

If I Could Be Anywhere

Right Now, I Would Be…

BrazilSomeplace

warm with my girlfriend

At the beachLouisville, Ky. — my home-

town

Favorite Cereal

Apple JacksCracklin’ Oat

BranGranola

Caramel Nut Crunch

Commodores Cubed

Middle Name

Neel

Mom’s Name

Kim

Favorite NFL Team

Titans

Favorite Sport Besides Tennis

Basketball

Major

Economics and History

Earliest Class

9 a.m.

Strongest Part Of His Game

Serve

Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant

Subway

Birthday

Sept. 9

TOTAL: 7

✓

X

✓

✓

✓

✓

X

✓

✓

DUFAUX ON BAKER

When asked how the other would respond to the same questions — here’s what they said:

Middle Name

John

Mom’s Name

Janice

Favorite NFL Team

Bucs

Favorite Sport Besides Tennis

Football

Major

Philosophy

Earliest Class

11 a.m.

Strongest Part Of His Game

Serve

Favorite Fast-Food Restaurant

He doesn’t like fast food

Birthday

Sept. 8

TOTAL: 6

✓

✓

X

✓

✓

✓

✓

X

BAKER ON DUFAUX

X


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 88

Editor’s Note: Each month “Commo-dore Nation” will ask a varsity athlete to sound off on a point of personal in-terest. Ebert is a senior on Vanderbilt’s golf team. He is in graduate school working on his MBA.

V anderbilt offers an endless number of opportuni-ties for its students, allowing each the freedom to choose what they want to make out of their stay in

Nashville. I have found that in my three- and half-year ten-ure, I have been able to take advantage of this luxury and see Vanderbilt from a much different vantage point.

When I agreed to attend Vanderbilt and play on the golf team, I knew I probably would not be traveling with the team in my first season, thus resulting in a redshirt fresh-man season and four years of remaining eligibility. My pre-diction proved accurate and I made the most, both aca-demically and athletically, out of my less travel-intensive schedule. In this first year, I learned of a program that al-lowed one to earn both their bachelor and master’s degrees

in five years, something that immediately captured my interest. With the unbending support of my parents and friends, and in spite of some doubting naysayers along the way, I pushed myself toward my goal of excellence in both academics and golf. As a result, I gave up other opportunities that most other undergraduates enjoyed. For instance, I never had the chance to join clubs, a fraternity, or enjoy the many areas of Nashville.

By the end of my junior year, my eco-nomics requirements were completed, I had taken the GMAT, and I had been accepted into the MBA program at the Owen Graduate School of Management. Although my goal was reached, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into! Playing an extremely time consuming sport such as golf, I knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Fortunately, I played in several tournaments this fall.

To say the least, the first few weeks at Owen were eye opening. I had passed the building every day for the past three years and never knew what went on inside. Now surrounded by people from all over the world, many with years of work experience, and others with incredible intel-lects, I was the only undergraduate and had no business experience. In five months, I have become accustomed to my new environment and have greater comfort than I ever expected. Focusing on finance, I have found an academic interest that has truly captivated me. I owe all of this to the fact that Owen has captured an outstanding mix of faculty and students, creating an educational environment that is second to none.

As they say, you never know what tomorrow may bring, so make the most out of today. Vanderbilt has provided me the opportunity to do this every day while giving me the prospect and the preparation for the brightest tomor-row. Few places in the world could offer me the options to do what I am doing with the added prestige that accom-panies Vanderbilt degrees and SEC athletics. In the end, I am confident that many others will continue to make the most out of Vanderbilt’s limitless opportunities, helping to enhance their lives into the future. ■

Point of View

By John Ebert

622 Church Street East Brentwood, TN 37027phone: 615-277-4000 fax: 615-277-4653

Toll Free: [email protected]

www.brentwoodsuite.com

★ 57 Luxurious Suites with sitting area, fold-out sofa, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron/ironing board, two phones with data ports, and clock radio

★ 74 cable channels including HBO★ Free High Speed Wireless Internet★ We offer a fitness center with cardiovascular equipment★ A business center with Internet, Copy, and Fax★ Deluxe Complimentary breakfast with Omelets, waffles,

sausage, and other items★ Frequent Stay Program

BRENTWOOD SUITES“An Affordable, Luxury, All-Suite Hotel”



Tom ShawHead Men’s Golf CoachShaw is in his second season as head coach of Vanderbilt’s men’s golf team. In his fi rst season, Shaw led Vanderbilt to the NCAA Championships for just the third time in school history.

Now in your second season, is there more of a comfort level with the team?

Absolutely. I know a little more about what makes them tick. On the fl ip side, I think the players are certainly more comfortable with me and know what to expect on a day-to-day basis.

How much has the success that Brandt Snedeker had last year helped your program?

It has helped with the brand recognition of our golf team, so to speak. When Brandt’s name is mentioned on TV or in print, more often than not what follows is that he was a Vanderbilt student-athlete. I think the impact could be greater in future recruiting classes. We now can tell recruits that not only can you get a world-class education at Vanderbilt, but you can also prepare yourself for a possible PGA Tour career. Brandt is a prime example of that.

You were the coach at Tulane during Hurricane Katrina, how trying of a time was that for you?

It was certainly very challenging and forced me to deal with some situations that I was not expecting to ever be faced with. One thing the ordeal did show me, however, was that my approach in recruiting, of choosing character fi rst, was correct. I had a group of young men that handled the whole situation with class and integrity beyond their years. They did what they were asked to do without complaint.

How did you fi rst get into coaching golf?

After my professional golf career of seven years came to a close, I realized I did not want to leave behind the years of experience that I had accumulated in the game. Coaching was a natural fi t because I wanted to share that knowledge with young golfers and also use my experiences as a former student-athlete to help guide them through a very important time in their lives. ■

CORNERC O A C H E S ’

Compliance questions? Please contact:Candice Storey George Midgett John PeachDirector of Compliance Compliance Coordinator Compliance Coordinator615/322-7992 615/322-2083 615/[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

CORNERC O M P L I A N C E

Couple Takes Support To Another Level

Q:

A:

Onside Kick is a prospective student-athlete who is going to sign a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to play football at Vanderbilt. The coaching staff would like to invite Onside’s parents to the press conference announcing the incoming recruiting class. Is this permissible?

No. NCAA Bylaw 13.10.9.2 states that an institution may make an announcement on the institution’s campus for the sole purpose of presenting at one time to the media the names of all prospective student-athletes who have signed a National Letter of Intent or accepted written offers of admission and/or fi nancial aid from that institu-tion, with the understanding that no prospective student-athletes (or their friends or relatives) may be in attendance.

In sports there are many different levels of fans. There are fans who will check the scores, fans who will watch and

listen to the games, fans who will attend occasional games and fans who have sea-son tickets. Then there are fans like Hank Abbott and his wife, Rita Bradley, who are in a separate category.

The couple doesn’t just have season tickets to watch one of Vanderbilt’s teams, they have season tickets to watch four of Vanderbilt’s teams: football, baseball and men’s and women’s basketball.

“It enriches our lives,” Abbott said of Vanderbilt athletics. “Some days when the team has done well, we’re probably happier than we would otherwise be or happier than the average person. When we lose, we are probably sadder than we would otherwise be. Either way, our lives

are enriched by the virtue of living our lives through a small crease of these gifted, tal-ented, young people.”

That type of passion for Vanderbilt is why the couple spends hours out of their week cheering for the Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium, Memorial Gym and Hawkins Field.

“It lets you relax, and it gets you outside yourself,” said Abbott, a 1972 Vanderbilt graduate.

Recently, the couple took its sup-port of Vanderbilt athletics to an even higher level with a $45,000 gift.

“It was a way to more actively participate,” Abbott said of the gift. “Going and cheering is great and it is a wonderful part of it. The mon-etary investment just sort of tracked where our emotions are. We have a great deal of emotional investment in the teams, and it just seemed ap-propriate to make a commitment for a fi nancial investment.”

A great deal of an emotional in-vestment might be an understatement by Abbott when you consider that he hasn’t missed a home football game in 35 years. However, he is quick to point out that that kind of support is not for everyone. “I’m not saying it’s wholesome or healthy or that other people need to do it.”

While the start of each season brings with it a new set of questions and uncer-tainties, one thing that is for certain is that Abbott and Bradley will be in their seats cheering on the Commodores. ■

Hank Abbott and Rita Bradley with Bobby Johnson.


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 810



41 The amount of points (93-52) Vanderbilt beat Kentucky by on Feb. 12 — Kentucky’s worst loss in SEC history.

20-19 The number of points scored by Shan Foster compared to that of Kentucky after Foster made a jumper with 14:28 to play in the game.

11 The number of states members of Vanderbilt’s 2008 football signing class hail from.

4 Members of Vanderbilt’s football team were invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine. Invited were Earl Bennett, Curtis Gatewood, Jonathan Goff and Chris Williams.

1.5 The population of metropolitan Nashville in millions.

5 The number of active coaches The number of active coaches in SEC women’s basketball with 300 in SEC women’s basketball with 300 career wins after Melanie Balcomb career wins after Melanie Balcomb earned her 300th victory against earned her 300th victory against Georgia on Feb. 3. Georgia on Feb. 3.

9:1 Student-to-faculty ratio at Vanderbilt.

• Thirty-seven Vanderbilt student-athletes were named to the 2007-08 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll on Jan. 25. The 2007-08 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll is based on grades from the 2007 Spring, Summer and Fall semesters. Twenty-seven of the honorees were from the football team, while 10 hailed from the soccer team.

• Women’s Tennis Coach Geoff Macdonald earned his 400th career victory on Jan. 26 against Notre Dame. Before coming to Vanderbilt in 1995, Macdonald won 64 matches at Duke and 50 at LSU.

• Former Vanderbilt women’s basketball players Carla Thomas and Chantelle Anderson were among 13 players selected by the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Expansion Draft on Feb. 6.

• Vanderbilt’s 41-point win over Kentucky on Feb. 12 matched the fi fth-largest loss in Kentucky history and the Wildcats’ largest since losing by 55 in 1989.

• The baseball team ranked No. 26 in the country in 2007 with an average at-tendance of 2,091. The number is remarkable when you consider that the listed capacity for Hawkins Field was 2,027 last season.

• Vanderbilt’s lacrosse team placed a league-high 22 student-athletes on the sixth-annual American Lacrosse Conference Academic Honor Roll, as an-nounced on Jan. 21. The honor roll includes student-athletes who maintained a GPA of 3.0 or better during the 2006-07 academic year.

• Vanderbilt’s baseball team was picked to win the SEC in the 2008 SEC Pre-season Coaches Poll released on Feb. 14.

NUMBERST I D B I T SC O M M O D O R E By TheBy The

5 The number of active coaches in SEC women’s basketball with 300 career wins after

Melanie Balcomb earned her 300th victory against Georgia on Feb. 3.


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 812

I t’s late on a Saturday night and Vander-bilt has just earned a victory over Au-burn when Shan Foster returns to the

court to visit with friends and family, who watched the senior score 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

While his teammates are mostly dressed in hooded sweatshirts or polos after the game, Foster comes out of the locker room looking like someone you’d see on the cover of GQ.

Whether it is his favorite – the black pin-stripe – or any one of his assortment of suits, which ranges “between 10 to 15,” Foster’s appearance can be summarized in one word: stylish.

The tradition of wearing a suit after every home game dates back to Foster’s fresh-man year, but he believes the process began much earlier. He credits his parents for instill-ing in him the desire to dress professionally.

“My mom and dad tried to instill in me that it was always important to look profes-sional, and it’s just something that stuck with me,” Foster said. “The main reason (I started dressing up) was that my mom and my dad taught me to be professional in ev-erything that I do. The way I speak, the way I dress, the way I carry myself of that sort.”

Stuck, it certainly has. The conclusion of each game brings intrigue about what Fos-ter will wear next. It also brings a new set of compliments from the many autograph-seekers and fans who swarm Foster when he returns to the court after each game.

Foster’s propensity for style certainly is not lost among his teammates. In fact, they are as intrigued as anyone to see what custom suit Foster will pull out of his closet next.

“He wears suits all the time, and you nev-er know what he’s going to have on,” senior guard Alex Gordon said. “He dresses up for every game, and it is interesting to see what he is going to come in wearing.”

Gordon also believes that Foster’s attire speaks to the character he has and the type of person he is.

“He is a formal guy and he likes to be pre-sentable, verbally and in the way he dress-es, and I think that speaks of his character and the way his parents brought him up,” Gordon said.

Foster’s fashionable appearance after home games has also brought a new set of challenges from his teammates.

Since his freshman year Foster has not only been battling the opposing team on the court, but he also has been battling his teammates for wardrobe supremacy. During his freshman year it was Mario Moore and Julian Terrell. Last season it was Derrick Byars.

“Derrick and I (challenged each other) a couple of times,” Foster said. “Sometimes he’d beat me out and sometimes I’d beat him out. I remember that he had this white pinstripe suit that he’d wear and whenever he wore that it was just hands down. There wasn’t anything I could do to top that.”

As for this season, Gordon and his team-mates have received similar challenges from Foster, but if there is one thing they have learned, it is that challenging Fos-ter to a fashion contest is one battle they can’t win.

“We wouldn’t compete with him for a min-ute,” Gordon said. “He has too many suits. He could wear a different suit for weeks straight.”

Even though his teammates know they can’t compete with his wardrobe on a game-by-game basis, Foster’s stylish dress has led to more players wearing suits after home games.

“Hopefully it is a tradition that is starting,” Foster said of his teammates dressing up. “Those are guys that have their own per-sonalities and they kind of dress accord-ingly. Different guys wear different things for different reasons.”

Although he says he doesn’t follow styles and fashion that closely, when you ask him about his collection of suits his vernacular makes you question your own knowledge of formal wear. With a collection that ranges from three-button to four-button to long suits, Foster’s collection is enough to dwarf that of most anyone else, but just where does he get these suits?

“I have an aunt who owns a formal wear store, and she is the one who supplies me with all my suits,” Foster said.

Like the majority of college seniors, Fos-ter has no idea where he will end up after college. Whether he will be able to continue his basketball career in the NBA is yet to be seen, but if given the chance to play at the next level, Foster leaves little doubt that he will have no trouble living up to the NBA dress code set in place by NBA Commis-sioner David Stern. In fact, as his collection of suits continues to grow, he may become the new poster child for the dress code. ■

Foster after the LSU game.

Well-Dressed Man

Foster addresses the media against Auburn.

ST

EV

E G

RE

EN

(A

UB

UR

N);

JO

HN

RU

SS

EL

L (L

SU

)



I don’t know about you but I can always use a little good news. Sometimes it seems that sports are awash in scan-

dal. This certainly is not the case, but there is no doubt where the spotlight gets focused. Let’s take a different path today, a sunny road less traveled but which is making all the difference.

For the second straight semester, over 300 Vanderbilt student-athletes combined to record a 3.0 grade point average last fall, while their composite community service continues to rise.

You almost never will see this kind of information reported in mainstream media, mostly because it knows the public would rather read about lawsuits and arrests or what school some 16-year-old prep phenom has eliminated from his recruiting list.

But just for a couple minutes, we’re going to talk about the quaint notion of collegiate athletics and academics as potential partners.

Here are some facts from the fall ’07 semester that you can be proud of:

• Our baseball team earned a squad GPA of more than 3.0 grade point for the first time

• 42 members of the football team had 3.0 averages or better • Seven Commodores scored perfect 4.0 averages • 178 student-athletes – over 50% – had over 3.0 GPA’s • 67 ’Dores earned Dean’s List distinction • 10 teams had composite grades of 3.0 or more with men’s cross

country (3.664) and women’s tennis (3.602) leading the way.

These classroom feats occurred while the hours donated to community service have been rising at about a 30% clip.

And speaking of academic achievements, last month the Nash-ville Vanderbilt club celebrated Vanderbilt’s stellar relationship with the 3-point shot. A dozen or more long-range sharpshooters dating back to 1986 came back to be remembered.

Not only did they represent some of the finest shooters in NCAA basketball, every single one of them had earned a degree from Vanderbilt University. I would challenge any other major confer-ence basketball program in the country to match that.

Away from the fields of play, our Commodores are gearing up for a Habitat for Humanity project this month to help a Hurricane Katrina victim get back on her feet. Several teams already have indicated they are on board, with more getting involved each day. Helping build this house means these ’Dores will give up one or more weekends, adding on to their already crowded schedules.

This would be in keeping with their fall community activities, where they collected nearly 1,000 pounds of food for the local Second Harvest Food Bank.

A very successful student-run program is our Kids Zone. Last fall, nearly 2,500 area youngsters received free football tickets through Boys and Girls Clubs, Metro Parks Community Centers, Read to Achieve and other organizations. When the kids arrived on campus, members of various varsity teams interacted with them before kickoff.

As the winter holidays drew near, the Commodores once again sponsored a Holiday Party for local elementary kids. Each child received a wrapped gift from Santa Claus, purchased by a stu-dent-athlete.

This is truly a remarkable group of young people. There was once a time when the goal of a 3.0 composite grade point aver-age seemed worthy but out of reach. Now it is settling into a lofty expectation and the sights are set on matching the overall student grade point average.

We have once again realized that when you challenge a true champion, anything is possible. ■

It’s My Turn

By Rod Williamson


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 814




M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 816

T hink of your favorite hobby and then imagine not knowing if you will ever be able to do that hobby again for the

rest of your life. It’s hard to even fathom, isn’t it? That is the reality facing the almost 1,000 players eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft. With only 255 selections in April’s draft and even fewer free agent contracts to be had, the majority of draft-eligible players are fi ghting to keep playing the game they grew up thinking they’d play for the rest of their lives.

Among those players facing an uncertain future is Vanderbilt defensive tackle Theo Horrocks.

“It is just kind of surreal,” he said. “Foot-ball is what I have done my whole life, and now I’m not 100 percent sure that I’ll ever play in another game the rest of my life. I don’t like that, but that also drives me to work as hard as I can.”

Having been passed over for All Star games and the NFL Combine, Horrocks knows that his fate very well may come down to the biggest day of his football career – Pro Day.

“It is huge,” Horrocks says of Pro Day. “The way I look at it, it is the biggest job interview of my life.”

Held at the majority of universities around the country, Pro Day is where NFL scouts visit college campuses to evaluate each school’s potential prospects through a va-riety of tests, including the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and bench press.

At Vanderbilt, Pro Day is orchestrated by John Sisk, Vanderbilt’s director of strength and conditioning. This year, the event will be March 21, and Sisk is expecting between 50 and 100 scouts to be in attendance.

“We should have more scouts here than when we did it with Jay (Cutler in 2006) just because we have such an array of posi-tions,” Sisk said.

For Horroks, Pro Day will provide one fi -nal opportunity to impress NFL scouts be-fore April’s NFL Draft.

“I’m used to being able to say that I have one more or two more seasons or there is always next year,” Horrocks said. “I didn’t get in an All Star game, so now all my focus is on Pro Day.”

In order to prepare for Pro Day, Horrocks has been working out fi ve or six days a week under the watchful eye of Sisk. Also working out with Horrocks have been Chris Williams (OT), Hamilton Holliday (C), Marcus Buggs (LB), Josh Eames (OG) and Gabe Hall (DT).

Having worked with numerous players who have made it to the NFL during his time at Furman, Western Carolina, Clemson and now Vanderbilt, Sisk knows exactly what Horrocks needs to improve on to get to the next level.

In fact, Horrocks has so much respect for Sisk that he turned down offers to work

out at facilities across the country that specialize in training athletes for the NFL. Instead, Horrocks opted to work out un-der Sisk as he fi nishes his fi nal 12 hours before graduating with a degree in human and organizational development this May. Had Horrocks opted to train elsewhere, he would not have been able to stay in school and fi nish his degree.

“He (Sisk) knows what it takes, and he knows what I need to do,” Horrocks said. “He knows my body as well as I do. I could have gone and worked out with one of the different groups around the country, but

I feel a lot more comfortable with Coach Sisk and he knows my body and how to push me.”

Horrocks’ preparation with Sisk began the day after Christmas and started with a heavy dose of time spent in the weight room. As time has progressed, Sisk has had Horrocks cut back his weight training and focus more on his speed and agility.

“The big thing was that he lost a little weight after the season and we want to make sure we keep him right around 290 lbs.,” Sisk said. “He runs well with that, and we also don’t want to get him too big. As

Horrocks Looks To Break Through

DA

NIE

L D

UB

OIS

(W

OR

KO

UT

); J

OH

N R

US

SE

LL

(KE

NT

UC

KY

)



we get closer and closer to Pro Day, we’ll start trimming down the weight training and doing more change of direction and speed work.”

On top of his play on the fi eld where he was a stalwart on Vanderbilt’s defensive line since his freshman season, Horrocks’ reputation as a hard worker and great lock-er room leader are intangibles that could go a long way toward getting a look at the next level.

“Theo’s been a hard worker his whole ca-reer, and I feel strongly he is going to have an opportunity to make it to the next level,” Sisk said. “He has the intangibles that you want in a hard-working player. He is never sat-isfi ed, and he’s never backed down from a challenge since the day he walked in here.

“He’s a loyal team-mate, and I’m speak-ing as a coach seeing him lead and see-ing guys on the team gravitate toward him. He just loves football, and you can tell it is important to him.”

Like Sisk, Louis Thompson, Horrocks’ coach at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, Tenn., knows fi rst-hand the type of teammate Hor-rocks is.

“He’s always been a team player,” Thomp-son said “He’s just been a hard worker since when he came into the program.”

Although he was passed over for the All Star games and the NFL Combine, Hor-rocks keeps an upbeat attitude and looks at being overlooked as more of a positive than a negative.

“Going to the Senior Bowl or any other All Star game would have been great, but I just look at it as a blessing.” “I had more time to train for what I need to be doing at Pro Day than if I would have had to travel.”

Having been snubbed by the All Star games also has taken Horrocks down a familiar road and one that reminds him of his senior year of high school – that of an underdog.

“Coming out of high school, I was in the underdog-type role as well,” Horrocks said.

“Lamar Divens, who came here with me (from Lincoln County HS), had all the big offers from my team. I wasn’t necessarily overlooked, but I didn’t get much attention from SEC schools. I came in here and took this opportunity to take a challenge, and I’ve just worked hard and I feel like I’ve worked myself into where I’m at today.”

Having the odds stacked against Hor-rocks may turn out to be a positive accord-ing to Thompson.

“He’s the type of kid that if you tell him he’s not as good as the next, he’s going to prove that he is,” Thompson said. “That un-

derdog effect makes him try to achieve a lot more.”

For as much as Horrocks would like to think he will be playing in the NFL next season, he un-derstands that there is a chance that he won’t, but he would still like to keep play-ing football.

“I just want to keep playing football. The NFL is obviously the ultimate goal, so that is my focus right now. Come April when the NFL Draft is, I’ll cer-

tainly check out other options if the NFL doesn’t work.”

And if he gets that phone call on draft day or a few days later telling him he’s got a free agent contract?

“It would be amazing. It has been my dream my whole life, and it would just be the best feeling in the world.”

However, if Horrocks never gets to play another snap or if it is one year or 15 years from now when Horrocks fi nally retires from the game he loves, Sisk has no doubt that he will have put every ounce of energy in his body into making himself a better player.

“If he doesn’t get a chance, he’s going to get his degree and he is going to be able to do something and move on with his life,” Sisk said. “And if that does happen, he’ll be good at whatever he decides to do.

“Some guys that don’t give it their all say, ‘I wish I would have done that. I wish I would have played that hard. I wish I would have

worked that hard.’ I think when he looks back years from now when he just fi nished his last NFL game, he’ll look back and say, ‘I did my best.’ If its next week, next year or 10 years from now, I think he’s a young man that is going to say, ‘I did everything I could. I left it all out there and I’m satisfi ed with it.’”

Whether Horrocks will get a chance to live out a dream and con-tinue to play the game he loves is yet to be seen, but whether he’s

playing defensive tackle or trying to sell snow shovels in Florida, there is little doubt that Horrocks will do the job to the best of his ability.

“He could go out and be a mailman and he’s going to be the best one,” Sisk said. “Whatever he ends up doing, he is going to be the best that he can be at it, and I truly believe that.” ■

Vanderbilt’s Combine ParticipantsEarl Bennett (WR)Jonathan Goff (LB) Curtis Gatewood (DE) Chris Williams (OT)

Vanderbilt’s All-Star Game ParticipantsJonathan Goff (LB) East-West Shrine GameCurtis Gatewood (DE) East-West Shrine GameChris Williams (OT) Senior Bowl

Horrocks has spent between five and six days per week training for Pro Day.

Horrocks finished second on the team among defensive linemen with 39 tackles in 2007.


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 818




M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 820

MEN’S SPORTSBaseball

The Commodores opened their 2008 season on Feb. 22 against Oregon State. Vanderbilt was ranked third in Baseball America’s Pre-season Poll.

• The Commodores were also ranked No. 8 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Preseason Poll and No. 11 in Collegiate Baseball’s rankings.

• Third baseman Pedro Alvarez was named Preseason Player of the Year by Rivals.com. Also earning preseason fi rst team All-America honors from Rivals.com were outfi elder Dominic de la Osa and shortstop Ryan Flaherty.

• Baseball America chose Alvarez to its pre-season fi rst team All-America list, de la Osa to its second team and Flaherty to its third team.

• Vanderbilt was picked to win the SEC in the 2008 SEC Preseason Coaches poll.

Basketball Senior guard Shan Foster was one of 30 players named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Watch List on Jan. 28. Foster is one of just three players from the SEC on the list. Vanderbilt will play South Florida in the 2008 BIG EAST/SEC Invitational on Dec. 16 at Nashville’s Sommet Center. Tennes-see will also play Marquette on the same day at the Sommet Center. Foster was selected as one of 10 fi nalists for the 2008 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award on Feb. 8. Vanderbilt’s 41-point win (93-52) over Ken-tucky on Feb. 12 was UK’s largest loss in SEC history.

Football Bobby Johnson announced the signing of 21 high school seniors to National Letters of Intent on Feb. 6.

• Sixteen of the 21 signees served as captains for their high school teams last year.

• The members of the signing class hail from 11 states. Earl Bennett (WR), Jonathan Goff (LB), Cur-tis Gatewood (DE) and Chris Williams (OT) were invited to the NFL Combine.

Men’s Golf The Commodores opened their spring slate on Feb. 17 at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational. Vanderbilt plays in three tour-naments in March.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Tennis Vanderbilt’s 2008 signing class of Charlie Jones and Alex DiValerio was ranked No. 20 by tennisrecruiting.net in their Winter Recruiting Class Rankings released on Jan. 28. Freshman Alex Zotov was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Jan. 29 for his performance against Michigan State. Zotov clinched Vanderbilt’s 4-3 win over the Spar-tans by winning the decisive match.

• Senior Ryan Preston was named SEC Play-er of the Week on Feb. 19. The honor was the fi rst by a Commodore since 2003. Vanderbilt’s 5-0 start to the season was its best since starting 7-0 in 2005.

WOMEN’S SPORTSBasketball

With Vanderbilt’s win over Georgia on Feb. 3, Melanie Balcomb became just the fi fth active coach in the SEC with 300 wins. Vanderbilt’s 45-point win at Alabama on Feb. 10 matched the largest margin of victory over an SEC opponent in the Melanie Balcomb era.

• Freshman Hannah Tuomi earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 21.

Bowling• The Commodores com-

pete in two events during March.

• The Columbia 300 Music City Classic — the team’s lone home match will be March 15-16 in Smyrna, Tenn.

• Tara Kane was named to the all-tourna-ment team after fi nishing third at the Mor-gan State Bowling Invitational.

Lacrosse• The team placed a league-

high 22 student-athletes on the sixth-annual American Lacrosse Conference Aca-demic Honor Roll.

• Six of Vanderbilt’s matches in March are at home.

• The team opened the season with a 20-4 rout of Cincinnati on Feb. 17. Nine different players scored goals in the win.

Women’s Golf Vanderbilt opened its spring slate on Feb. 25 at the Ari-zona Wildcat Invitational. The tournament was a homecoming for VU Head Coach Greg Allen, who was the head coach at Arizona before to taking over at Vanderbilt.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Soccer Head coach Ronnie Cov-eleskie announced the ad-dition of seven student-ath-letes in the spring signing period on Feb. 15. The class is comprised of Kate Goldin (Herndon, Va.), Emily Grant (Adamstown, Md.), Elizabeth Lillie (Rochester, Mich.), Bridget Lohmuller (St. Louis, Mo.), Chelsea Stewart (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Candace West (Doraville, Ga.) and Lyndsey Wilcox (Arlington, Va.).

Swimming In the Commodores’ regu-lar season fi nale against Georgia Tech and Emory on Jan. 26, freshman Jennifer Molchan placed third in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500-yard freestyle. In the same meet against Georgia Tech and Emory, freshman Leigh-Ann Axt saw her streak of winning at least one race in every dual meet come to an end. She fi n-ished second in the 200-yard butterfl y and 100-yard butterfl y.

Tennis• Junior Courtney Ulery was

named SEC Player of the Week on Jan. 29 for her play against Michigan and Notre Dame. Ulery won both of her singles matches and doubles matches against Michigan and Notre Dame.

• Vanderbilt’s 2008 signing class of Chel-sea Preeg, Heather Steinbauer and Jac-queline Wu was ranked No. 6 by tennis-recruiting.net in their Winter Recruiting Class Rankings released on Feb. 4.

• Three of Vanderbilt’s fi ve wins in January came against teams ranked in the top 38.

Track and Field• Junior Lauryn Smith won the

long jump title at the Middle Tennessee Classic on Jan. 26. Smith won the event with a leap of 18’10”. The event title was the fi rst of the season for the Commodores.

• Kristabel Doebel-Hickok, Taylor Jackson and Lauryn Smith recorded personal best times Feb. 10-11 at the Meyo Invitational.

• Doebel-Hickok fi nished the 5,000 meters in 17:24.08, which ranks as the fourth-fast-est indoor time in school history. Jackson ran the second-fastest indoor time in the 60 meters (7.81). Smith fi nished the 200-meter dash in 25.44, good for the sixth-fastest indoor time in the event.

• Freshman distance runner Rita Jorgensen fi nished third in the mile and seventh in the 800 meters at the Tyson Invitational..

• Mallory Hitt fi nished third in the pentath-lon at the LSU Combined Events.

•

•

•

•

GregAllen

GeoffMacdonald

Cathy Swezey

IanDuvenhage

MelanieBalcomb

Tom Shaw

KevinStallings

TimCorbin

Quick Hits

JohnWilliamson

JeremyOrgan

BobbyJohnson

D’AndreHill

RonnieCoveleskie



ANASTASIA ADAMlacrosse

A sophomore on the lacrosse team, Adam is actively involved with the Children’s Hospital and the Race for the Cure. Adam is a native of Severna Park, Md., and is majoring in human orga-nizational development with a minor in managerial studies.

What type community service work are you involved with?

I help out at the Children’s Hospital close to every month. Additionally, I have both participated and volun-teered in the Race for the Cure for the past seven years both in Nashville and Baltimore.

Why is it important for you to do community service?

I feel as though I have been so lucky throughout my life that it is important for me to help out others who are not as fortunate as I am.

How good of a feeling is it when you are doing community service?

It is great to feel that you have made an impact on a person’s life or have helped them in some way. To see the faces of the patients at the Children’s Hospital light up when you come in the room is truly remarkable.

How much does community service make you realize how fortunate you are?

Especially being a healthy athlete and going to the hospital to help out, I feel so blessed. The things that I take for granted every day such as practice and running suddenly make me realize how lucky I am to be able to play a sport on a day-to-day basis.

When you visit the Children’s Hospital, what do you do while you are there?

We help out in the playrooms on the various floors. Normally I do the teenage floor where patients will come in and do arts and crafts or other activities with you. Sometimes they just want to talk or tell their story, so listening is very important. For me it is always inspir-ing to hear their personal stories. It is truly amazing how brave even young children can be.

Did you have experience with community service in high school?

At the high school I attended we helped out a great deal with the Boys and Girls Club. I really enjoy work-ing with kids, and the organization that we worked with was always so grateful for the services that we provided them.

COMMUNITY SERVICE SPOTLIGHTMen’s SportsBaseball3.1 Iowa (Music City Classic) 4pm3.2 Xavier (Music City Classic) 4pm3.4 Louisville 4pm3.6 Illinois-Chicago 4pm3.7 Illinois-Chicago 4pm3.8 Illinois-Chicago 2pm3.9 Illinois-Chicago 1pm3.11 Western Carolina 4pm3.12 Western Carolina 4pm3.14 South Carolina 6pm3.15 South Carolina 2pm3.16 South Carolina 1pm3.19 Lipscomb 6pm3.21 at Alabama 6:30pm3.22 at Alabama 4pm3.23 at Alabama 2pm3.25 Belmont 6pm3.26 Middle Tennessee State 6pm3.28 Arkansas 6pm3.29 Arkansas 3pm3.30 Arkansas 1pm

Basketball3.1 at Arkansas 3pm3.5 Mississippi State 7pm3.8 at Alabama 6pm3.13-16 at SEC Tournament (Atlanta) TBA3.20-30 at NCAA Tournament (First and Second Rounds) TBA3.27-30 at NCAA Tournament (Regional Semis and Finals) TBA

Golf3.2-4 at Seminole Intercollegiate All Day3.14-15 Kauai Collegiate Cup All Day3.28-30 at Furman Intercollegiate All Day

Tennis3.2 South Carolina 1pm3.4 at Northwestern 7pm3.7 at Arkansas 1pm3.9 at LSU TBA3.21 at Auburn 1:30pm3.23 Alabama 1pm3.28 Ole Miss 2pm3.30 Mississippi State 1pm

Women’s SportsBasketball3.2 Alabama 2pm3.6-9 at SEC Tournament (Nashville) TBA3.22-25 at NCAA Tournament (First and Second Rounds) TBA3.29-4.1 at NCAA Tournament (Regional Semis and Finals) TBA

Bowling3.1-2 at Holiday Classic All Day3.15-16 Columbia 300 Music City Classic All Day

Golf3.2-4 at Seminole Intercollegiate All Day3.14-15 Kauai Collegiate Cup All Day3.28-30 at Furman Intercollegiate All Day

Lacrosse3.1 Duquesne 1pm3.4 Virginia Tech 1pm3.8 at North Carolina 11am3.12 Boston University 5pm3.15 New Hampshire 1pm3.17 Cornell 3pm3.23 Penn State 12pm3.30 at Northwestern 1pm

Swimming3.1 at Last Chance Meet All Day

Tennis3.2 at South Carolina 12pm3.5 at Georgia Tech 1:30pm3.7 Arkansas 2:30pm3.9 LSU 12pm3.13 Furman 2:30pm3.14 Florida International 2:30pm3.21 Auburn 2:30pm3.23 at Alabama 1pm3.28 at Ole Miss 4pm3.30 at Mississippi State 1pm

Track and Field3.3-7 at Last Chance Meet All Day3.28-29 at Yellow Jacket Invitational All Day

The Month Ahead

DA

NIE

L D

UB

OIS


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 822

Student-Athletes Take A Stand Against Violence

In conjunction with Project Safe, Vanderbilt athletics has taken its own approach in opposition to violence against women by creating Athletes Against Assault.Formed this past August, Athletes Against Assault is an orga-

nization comprised of student-athletes from each of Vanderbilt’s 15 athletic teams, as well as advisers from the athletic depart-ment (Alison Bush, Neal Clark and Brian Reese) and Project Safe (Vicky Basra and Kacy Silverstein). The group meets every other Monday to discuss ways to challenge cultural values that support violence against women and ways to hold individuals accountable who perpetrate these crimes.

Located at the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, Project Safe is an organization that strives to prevent violence against women on Vanderbilt’s campus and provides services such as education, advocacy and response service for victims, as well as outreach.

Despite playing different sports and hardly knowing each other before being selected for the organization by each of their head coaches, the student-athletes have come together to serve one common purpose: “We are just trying to raise awareness between our teammates and the rest of campus, and see if we can stop vio-lence against women,” said Alan Metcalfe, a senior on the men’s basketball team.

With two other organizations on campus already dedicated to the same cause as Athletes Against Assault (Men Promoting a Solution and Peer Educators of Project Safe), Project Safe looked to athletics to help spread the word around campus even more quickly.

“We really wanted to have more voices on campus who are talk-

ing about violence against women, and we know athletes are well respected and are a great way to get that message out on a larger scale,” Silverstein said.

Although the organization is still in its infancy, the group has already accomplished quite a bit and is growing in size. Just this past fall, the organization participated in Take Back the Night, These Hands Don’t Hurt, The Clothesline Project and Mentors in Violence Prevention training, to name a few.

However, none of those projects may be as infl uential as the one that will take place at 8 p.m. on March 31 when the group will perform the reading of “Body & Sold” in front of all of Vanderbilt’s student-athletes at Sarratt Cinema.

“Body & Sold” is a documentary-style play that aims to raise awareness of the issues of child abuse, runaways and child prostitution.

Through the performance of “Body & Sold” and the other afore-mentioned projects, Athletes Against Assault hopes to spread the word across campus that others should join them in standing up against violence against women.

Helping Athletes Against Assault spread their message is the way the rest of the student body views the student-athletes as leaders on campus. That type of respect has Bush, Vanderbilt’s CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator, believing that the message will spread throughout campus. “Athletes are viewed as leaders on campus, so if they are setting good examples then maybe that can help infl uence others.”

Despite the organization still being fairly new, Silverstein has been pleased with the success the group has experienced.

“I think it has been really successful and that is all because the students that are on the task force,” she said. “They are interested and passionate about this is-sue and they have really grown as a group in terms of feeling a responsibility for their community.”

Although they were unsure what they were getting into at first, the student-athletes in the organization have come to embrace what they are doing.

“It’s just been a wonderful experience getting to talk with fellow athletes and getting to hear their opinions, share my opinions and become more aware of what’s going on not only on our campus, but around the country,” senior women’s golfer Li-ebelei Lawrence said.

Senior men’s tennis player Evan Dufaux added: “It is an area that I knew nothing about coming in, so it is good to get the education and pass it along to my teammates.”

While there are numerous organizations throughout the country against assault, Athletes Against Assault is unique because it is it is the only known organization that is made up of both male and female student-athletes.

Although the organization is still just in its fi rst year of existence, the success it has experienced has people looking toward the future.

“Depending on how successful this is (at Van-derbilt), we’d like to branch out to other campus-es,” Bush said. “That is something we are looking at for possibly next year and beyond.”

Lawrence hopes that they are at the forefront of a trend that spreads around the Southeastern Conference.

“We are the fi rst committee in the SEC, so we hope it will spread to other schools in the SEC be-yond just Vanderbilt.” ■

(Top) Athletes Against Assault will perform Body & Sold at Sarratt Cinema on March 31. (Left) Alan Metcalfe traces his hand on a “These Hands Don’t Hurt banner.” (Above) Shan Foster is one of many student-athletes who have contributed to projects with Athletes Against Assault.



Over the course of the past decade, National Signing Day has evolved into one of the most anticipated days for college football fans across

America. For as much excitement surrounding signing day, there also is an equal amount of uncertainty that encompasses the inexact science known as recruiting.

Take for example, the four Vanderbilt players, who were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine this Febru-ary: Earl Bennett, Jonathan Goff, Curtis Gatewood and Chris Williams. Of those players, none received more than three stars by Rivals.com. In fact, Bennett received just one star, while Williams and Gatewood were two-star recruits.

Hoping to bring in another group such as the quartet just mentioned, Head Coach Bobby Johnson announced the signing of 21 high school seniors to National Letters of Intent on Feb. 6.

“We’re excited about our recruiting class that we brought in,” Johnson said. “I think our assistant coaches did a fantastic job of meeting our needs and bringing in players that we feel are very useful to our program.”

The class includes 14 defensive players, including sev-en defensive linemen.

“We did lose a lot of defensive linemen this year,” John-son said. “We lost some outstanding linebackers. We felt we needed to be diligent in replacing those guys.” ■

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School

Archie Barnes ATH 6-4 210 Tampa, Fla. Berkeley Prep

Michael Bryant OL 6-4 294 La Vergne, Tenn. La Vergne HS

John Burrow DE 6-4 222 Morris, Ala. Mortimer Jordan HS

Richard Cagle OL 6-4 272 Houston, Texas St. Pius X HS

John Cole WR 5-11 170 Somerset, Ky. Somerset HS

Dexter Daniels LB 6-1 210 Brantley, Ala. Brantley HS

Akeem Dunham WR 6-3 180 Eustis, Fla. Eustis HS

Ryan Fowler PK 5-10 160 Taylors, S.C. Eastside HS

Casey Hayward DB 6-0 175 Elko, Ga. Perry HS

Josh Jelesky DE 6-5 234 Naperville, Ill. Naperville Central HS

DeAndre Jones LB 6-0 220 Memphis, Tenn. Memphis Univ. School

Taylor Loftley DL 6-2 250 Chamblee, Ga. Chamblee HS

Rob Lohr DE 6-4 245 Phoenixville, Pa. Phoenixville HS

Colt Nichter DT 6-2 272 Park City, Utah Park City HS

Al Owens DB 6-2 198 Springtown, Texas Springtown HS

Micah Powell DB 6-0 192 Tarpon Springs, Fla. East Lake HS

Sean Richardson DB 6-2 180 Linden, Ala. Linden HS

Ryan Seymour DT 6-4 250 Kingsland, Ga. Camden Co. HS

Tristan Strong LB 6-1 220 Loganville, Ga. Grayson HS

Johnell Thomas DL 6-2 240 Orlando, Fla. Boone HS

Caleb Welchans OL 6-5 265 Wildwood, Mo. Lafayette HS

Johnson Announces 2008 Football Signing Class


M A R C H 2 0 0 8M A R C H 2 0 0 824

The Last Look

JOH

N R

US

SE

LL

FEELING BLUEKentucky’s bench can’t bear to watch Vanderbilt’s 41-point romp (93-52) of the Wildcats on Feb. 12 — the program’s worst loss since 1989.




Documents

Commodore Nation - March 2008