Anchor Drop

Anchor Drop, August 2, 2019: 29 Days to Kickoff

There was a football... practice yesterday.

By Tom Stephenson@tcstephenson818 Aug 2, 2019, 8:16am EDT

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NCAA Football: Mississippi at Vanderbilt

Good morning.

We are now 29 days away from Vanderbilt football’s season opener against Georgia. #29 for Vanderbilt is junior linebacker Brett Starr. A walk-on from nearby Montgomery Bell Academy, Starr saw his first action as a Commodore, appearing in three games at the end of last season (though he didn’t register any stats.)

And speaking of Georgia, our sister blog Dawg Sports has an opponent preview of, well, us up. If Vanderbilt players think I’m a Georgia fan, check out what actual Georgia fans think of this!

You might have heard, but Vanderbilt opened fall camp (uh, why is “fall camp” in August?) on Thursday. VandySports.com has video of Derek Mason’s remarks fo the media following the first day:

And over at the Tennessean, Adam Sparks and Joe Rexrode have a new podcast up. Sparks’ first dispatch from camp concerns the offensive line, which has to replace three starters.

On the radio, though, Chad Bishop had us all reaching for the booze:

.@MrChadBishop says on Darren, Daunic & Chase that Derek Mason would like to name a starting QB in the next couple weeks, but that the competition could realistically continue into the first few weeks of the season. #Vandy
— ESPN 102.5 The Game (@1025TheGame) August 1, 2019

(That sound you heard is the sound of a het being soaked.)

Vanderbilt basketball will host Buffalo on December 9. That’s, uh, a tough game.

Haley Hopkins was named to the preseason watch list for the Hermann Trophy, which is basically the women’s college soccer version of the Heisman Trophy.

Off the West End

SB Nation’s college football coverage is rebranding as “Banner Society.” I don’t get it, either. It’s basically the entire current cast of SB Nation college football writers, but with a different site and ... uhhhh ... more “creative control.” But apparently “PAPN 2.0” is coming out today, minus Bill C. Is it even PAPN without Bill C.?

MLB hands out suspensions for the Pirates-Reds brawl.

The Houston Astros are your new overlords and I am here for it.

Another top basketball recruit is skipping college entirely. This is apparently now a trend.

Meanwhile, Louisville’s new basketball court is officially awesome.

It’s apparently never too early for Jerry Palm to pull a bracket out of his ass. (Vanderbilt’s not in it, but you already knew that.)

From The Athletic ($): Overrated and underrated teams in the preseason coaches’ poll, and State of the Hoops Program: Oregon.