This is what Vanderbilt football could be: Explosions of knee-breaking, all-purpose offense from Zac Stacy and Stormin' Warren Norman turning kickoffs into known conclusions. You know it, you know it, you know it — boom. No flags, no tackles, nothing, Norman scores touchdowns. That's what he does.
“He was a big playmaker in high school, and he shows a knack for making good cuts and cutting off of blocks real well,” head coach Bobby Johnson last week said. “But nobody can anticipate two kickoff returns for touchdowns from a freshman.”
And nobody, not even Georgia Tech, can anticipate three.
They tried to avoid him all night, but Georgia Tech special teams slipped up late in the second quarter, up by 14, with a high, end-over-end kick down the center. Norman made them pay 80 yards and seven points. As soon as he got it — well, you know it, you know it, you know it — boom. No flags, no tackles, nothing, Warren Norman scores touchdowns. That's what he does.
Two touchdown returns was distinct, three is historical. Norman became the first Vanderbilt player to run three back ever — ever — and he's only the second Southeastern Conference player to do it. Willie Gault returned three in 1980 for Tennessee — almost 30 years ago — and no else before or since did it in the SEC until Saturday night.
Stacy torched the Tech secondary, too.
It started with a sideline-defying 47-yard catch and run, sending Vanderbilt into first-and-goal and Stacy into the end zone three plays later, but the real boom came later. Still down 28-21 after Norman's return, with halftime looming, Stacy broke through for 62 yards and a tie ballgame.
Georgia Tech couldn't catch him; they came close, but they couldn't. Stacy breaks other teams down.
Those plays, basically back-to-back explosions, brought the Commodores to the unequivocal height of a failed season: Heading into the locker room tied 28-28 with No. 11 Georgia Tech, with knowledge we could run and gun straight with one of the nation's most electric offenses.
Now, the wheels fell the hell off in the second half, but: When has Vanderbilt had this? Twin threats, both young and flashing signs of unstoppable invincibility, Stacy and Norman racked up 198 all-purpose yards Saturday night, and accounted for all four Commodore touchdowns.
There are cracks. Some returns, Norman plays Superman a little too hard. His fourth-quarter fumble deep in Vanderbilt territory came after two hits, and looked like he was trying too hard to save the game for the Commodores. Stacy's ankle will likely require surgery in the offseason, Johnson said. But Norman has to try and save games, and Stacy's still blowing teams away on a bad ankle — things look pretty decent for two true freshmen.
"I’m trying hard to help the team win games,” Norman said after the game, and that's the truth.
This is the future: Norman and Stacy, the threat of offense so unbreakable it's a force, and wins.
