Mackenzi Adams will again be the starter at quarterback for Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5 Southeastern Conference), and for the third straight year, his first game under center during the season will be on the road against a ranked foe.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Larry Smith tore his hamstring in the first quarter of action against Georgia Tech Saturday night and will miss the remainder of the season, Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson announced Monday.
Adams went 12-22 for 152 yards in relief of Smith against Georgia Tech with no touchdowns or interceptions in by far his most action of the season.
"He went in and did some very good things," Johnson said. "We expect him to meet the challenge and play well this week."
The back-up is now thrust into the starting job against the No. 1 Florida Gators (8-0, 5-0), who have won 18 games in a row and have not lost to the Commodores since 1988.
He's certainly been in the situation before with Vanderbilt, making his first start in 2007 against then-No. 6 South Carolina and in 2008 against then-No. 10 Georgia, and he's used to the mindset of being one snap away from entering a game.
"It definitely starts before the sideline period," Adams said after Saturday's 56-31 loss to the Yellow Jackets. "It's all week, just trying to get a lot of mental reps as far as practice goes."
For his career, he's thrown for 2,388 yards, 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Although Adams has a 2-7 record in his career as a starter, he's no stranger to tough situations.
In 2007, his first career start against the sixth-ranked Gamecocks was a memorable one as he led Vanderbilt to a 17-6 upset victory. Last season, Adams relieved an injured Chris Nickson in the first half against then-No. 13 Auburn and threw two touchdown passes to rally the Commodores to a 14-13 win to make them 5-0.
Johnson was impressed, but not too surprised, with his ability to step in immediately and produce Saturday night against Georgia Tech.
"Mackenzi's had a lot experience here. He always prepares hard, he works hard in practice," Johnson said. "Mac is really smart. He knows our offense and it won't take him long to get up to speed. To me, he looked up to speed as soon as he went in the game (against Tech). We expect him to go in there and get right to it."
Redshirt junior quarterback Jared Funk will move up to No. 2 on the depth chart with Smith's injury. Funk has only seen time on special teams since he took a few snaps in the season opener against Western Carolina, and he has yet to attempt a collegiate pass.
Vanderbilt has a fairly tall order in front of them: Snap a five-game losing streak against the defending national champions who haven't lost in over a year, and do it on the road.
"Obviously, things don't get any easier playing the No. 1 team in the nation this week," Johnson said.
Spikes suspended, sort of: Florida's star middle linebacker Brandon Spikes was suspended for the first half of play against Vanderbilt this Satuday by head coach Urban Meyer after he tried to gouge the eyes out of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey Saturday.
You can see Spikes and his display of outstanding sportsmanship by clicking here.
Suspended for one half, Urban? Boy, you really read Brandon the riot act on that one. Evidently, this was retaliation for someone poking Spikes in the eye earlier in the contest.
Clearly justified.
