For the chance to make a statement in his redshirt senior season, defensive end Steven Stone can play through the rust.
“He’s still rusty, and not just physically, but just getting back in the game and feeling natural about what he’s doing,” said coach Bobby Johnson of Stone, the latest Commodore to return to action after an early-season injury. “But he’ll get better every week.”
After breaking his foot in the preseason, Stone missed the team’s first seven games before seeing the first action of his final season in black and gold at South Carolina two weeks ago. In breaking down his first start of the year against Georgia Tech last week, even Stone was not afraid to throw around the “r” word.
“It’s been a slow process over the last few weeks, just getting the rust off and getting back to full speed, back in shape,” he said. “But I feel like I’m right there, and I’m ready to finish out the season strong.”
Stone spent little time getting himself into the box score in the Georgia Tech game, recording the first of his five tackles on the night on Georgia Tech’s second drive of the game.
Fellow redshirt senior defensive end Broderick Stewart noticed the impact of the additional senior leadership on the defensive line with Stone healthy once again.
“It’s a big deal,” Stewart said. “We got a lot of guys behind us and who play beside us who are pretty young … It’s a big step to have him back, and I know he’s been excited to get back and get ready to play.”
Stewart and Stone shared the team lead in sacks last season with cornerback Myron Lewis, but Stewart was forced to miss the Wake Forest game and the Music City Bowl after breaking his leg against Tennessee. So perhaps more than anyone else, Stewart can preach patience to a player preparing for the final three games of his college career.
“Steven, he’s a perfectionist, he’s a real good technique-type guy on the field,” Stewart said, “so I knew when he came back he wanted to be 100 percent right away, but I was trying to tell him that it’s going to take a while to get back into it and don’t rush yourself.”
Stone’s absence from the season-opening Western Carolina game snapped a 25-game consecutive start streak that stretched over his junior and sophomore seasons. After some personnel shuffling in the first few games, redshirt sophomore Tim Fugger established himself as Stone’s replacement at defensive end and has continued to see time on the line even after Stone’s return.
With trips to Gainesville and Knoxville bookending a home date with Kentucky in the next three weeks, Stone certainly has opportunities to send a message in Southeastern Conference play and end his Vanderbilt career on his terms, with no mention of rust or injuries in the footnotes. At the same time, he’s far more concerned with the message his team wants to send.
“We just go out and try to win every game,” Stone said. “There’s a lot to play for and if we can get a few wins our last three games, then that’s good enough for me.”
