On his first one three weeks ago, he met the coverage team near midfield after breaking an arm-tackle, bounced outside of a crowd of tacklers and beat the kicker to the edge, breaking free up the right sideline for 76 yards and the only Vanderbilt touchdown of the game.

On his second one last Saturday against South Carolina, he rocked back to his own goal line to field the kick, followed his blocking wedge straight up the middle, froze the kicker with a shoulder-fake at his own 30-yard line, and sprinted down the center of the field untouched for, once again, the only Vanderbilt touchdown of the game.

To those two scores, add an SEC-best 1260 all-purpose yards and a 58-yard touchdown run against Rice, and there is Warren Norman, the true freshman running back from Georgia who has wasted little time proving himself as Vanderbilt’s next big play threat, and becoming the first Commodore ever to take back two kickoffs for touchdowns in a career.

He managed to do it in the span of three games.

“He was a big playmaker in high school, and he shows a knack for making good cuts and cutting off of blocks real well,” said coach Bobby Johnson. “But nobody can anticipate two kickoff returns for touchdowns from a freshman.”

And nobody could anticipate the way Norman and fellow freshman Zac Stacy stepped up during the season opener against Western Carolina to fill the hole left when redshirt senior Jared Hawkins was kept out with a foot injury.

Norman finished with 105 yards and two touchdowns, earning significant playing time for himself as the Commodores entered their SEC schedule.

According to Norman, the experiences and advice offered by Hawkins and the coaching staff made a large contribution to his smooth adjustment to Division I football.

“They’ve been a big help making the transition and everything, and basically giving me a whole bunch of great advice about college football, SEC football, class, coaches, and all that,” said Norman, who is the first Commodore ever with two career kickoff returns for touchdowns.

This week, Norman may very well be called upon to match score-for-score a Georgia Tech offense that ranks second in the nation in rushing yards per game. As the red zone offense continues to struggle, Norman’s  timely big plays have kept the Commodores within striking distance on the scoreboard on multiple occasions.

“I know as a group, or running backs coach, Coach (Des) Kitchings, he’s always putting a lot of pressure on us… but we step up to the challenge and try to do the best we can and score every time we get the football,” Norman said.

With a difficult four-game docket to end the season, few can blame the Vanderbilt fans who look to Norman to deliver in critical moments against Georgia Tech, Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Whether they come from the running game or special teams play, Norman’s biggest plays of the next four games will be those that bring the Commodores closer to the wins that have been so elusive this season.