In what could be his final game as Vanderbilt’s head coach, Robbie Caldwell could be without his starting quarterback for the first time this season.
Starter Larry Smith is suffering from both an elbow and knee injury, although the latter injury is what will likely keep the junior off the field for the regular-season finale against Wake Forest.
Jared Funk took most of the reps with the first-team offense Wednesday, and appears to be in line for the start. Funk, though, is dealing with his own injury issue; the senior tweaked his left knee after replacing Smith last weekend, but appears to be ready to go a week later.
“I woke up Sunday and could barely walk. Two days later, I feel fine,” Funk said Tuesday. “This past weekend was nice. I got a chance to get in and get comfortable rather than just three or four plays and I’m out. Hopefully I get another shot at it this weekend.”
Based on Smith’s inactivity throughout the week of practice thus far, it appears very likely Funk will get that shot.
As an aside, and apropos of nothing quarterback-related in this post, I’m calling on the Vandy administration to give Caldwell another year despite the fact that the ‘Dores currently sit at 2-9. The folksy coach drew a bad hand from the beginning, taking over the Commodores after Bobby Johnson abruptly and unexpectedly retired less than a month and a half before the start of the 2010 regular season. Not only that, but the Commodores, already severely lacking talent-wise in the über-competitive environment of the SEC and coming off a 2-10 2009 campaign, were beset by a slew of injuries to key players that completely erased any razor-thin margin of error Caldwell may have possessed.
Caldwell deserves at least another year; do the right thing, Vanderbilt.
Besides, you’ll make a whole helluva lot of turkeys very, very happy that they won’t have to fear the return of “The Inseminator'.
