Zac Stacy Sets Vanderbilt Single-Season Rushing Record with 1,136 Yards

Zac Stacy put his name atop the Vanderbilt record books with yesterday's 184 yard performance. With 1,136 rushing yards, he's now Vandy's all-time single-season leader.

Stacy needed just 48 yards to become the school's fourth-ever 1,000 yard back. Jermaine Johnson last accomplished the feat back in 1995. Since then, no Commodore back had even topped the 800 yard plateau. The junior tailback blew that out of the water with a dominant, three-quarter performance in the team's blowout at Wake Forest.

With 1,945 career yards, he'll have a shot at Frank Mordica's all-time career record if he can roll this momentum into 2012.

Stacy's season is even more impressive when you look at how he started 2011. He had just 40 carries through the team's first five games as the 'Dores struggled to find their offensive identity behind Warren Norman's injuries and Larry Smith's struggles at quarterback. Stacy became the team's undisputed number-one back against Georgia, and averaged more than 20 carries and 121 yards per game in Vandy's final seven contests. He's averaged over six yards per carry on the season.

The junior tailback will have an opportunity to pad his yardage record and shoot for another single-season mark in the Commodores' bowl game next month. He's currently scored 13 touchdowns through 12 games, a total one shy of Allama Matthews's 1982 school record of 14. Stacy has had three games this season in which he's had multiple touchdowns, all of which have come on the ground.

The record is a great honor for a player who entered the season as a complimentary player. Zac Stacy's emergence has been a major storyline in this team's turnaround from also-ran to bowl-eligible. Of course, Stacy himself would downplay the accomplishment, tweeting this last night:

Individual award or not, it's tough not to be impressed with Stacy's performance.