Vandy's Ralph Webb: Commodores "definitely" beating South Carolina
Vanderbilt’s running back Ralph Webb didn’t mince words when talking about how big their first game against South Carolina is for the Commodores.
“It’s the first game of the season,” he said. I think every game is going to be a big game no matter who we’re playing, but this gets the ball rolling. We’re definitely going to go in there and get the W.”
***Not a GamecockCentral.com member and want to get all the scoop? SUBSCRIBE NOW!***
As a sophomore, Webb rushed for 58 yards on 16 carries against the Gamecocks in Week 7 at Williams-Brice. He ended the season with 1,152 rushing yards, second most in school history. He also averaged 106 yards on the ground the last nine games of the season.
With Webb coming off his impressive second season and the Commodores returning eight starters on offense and their entire defense, there’s no reason for head coach Derek Mason not to be confidence in his team.
And the third-year head coach is backing up what his star running back said.
“[Confidence is] Extremely high,” Mason said. “We have to play for one another. There are no stars on this team. We’re a group of smart guys on the west end who look to play good football. Ralph fully understands what we’ve done and what the days look like.”
Webb said the Commodores are “ready to play wherever, whenever.” The whenever is Sept. 1 against the Gamecocks to open the college football season. Wherever is at home in Nashville.
Vanderbilt has opened its season on Thursday the last five seasons, and South Carolina has the last four. The teams played each other on a Thursday to open the 2012 season. The Commodores are 1-4 in those games compared to the Gamecocks’ 3-1.
This year, the teams enter after combining for seven wins last season, but the players know how important starting the college football season with a win is.
“It’s a Thursday night game; all the lights, all the cameras on you,” Vanderbilt linebacker Oren Burks said. “We have a great opportunity to go out and show off what we’ve been doing this offseason. I’m really excited to get out there against South Carolina.”
Another Vandy linebacker Zach Cunningham echoed Webb and Burks, saying the opening game is important to set the tone for the rest of the year.
He also said the team has been watching film on South Carolina almost every day over the summer so they can show fans “what we’re able to do” in the opener.
But what can this team do, exactly? For Cunningham, the sky’s the limit. He said the team knows what it takes to be a great team and now it’s about putting that on the field.
For Mason, he knows what’s expected of a Vanderbilt team that hasn’t been to a bowl game in three seasons. But with the core of his team coming back, Mason’s excited about the season.
He’s adopting a winning mentality this year, and it starts at the beginning of September against the Gamecocks.
“I told the guys to win days, and the days become cumulative. You win Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it leads to us having an opportunity to win Saturdays. We’ve competed, but we haven’t won enough. Winning’s at the foremost of what we want to do.”
Never miss a moment with the GamecockCentral app: App Store - Google Play
