VANDERBILT STARS OF THE GAME- MIAMI

It takes an entire team effort to win a football game, however, some players go beyond the call of duty. Here are the Vanderbilt Stars of the Game for the Miami (Ohio) game.

Vanderbilt 34

Miami 13

Excuse me! May I have the attention of the class.. Will the real Chris Nickson please stand up?

OFFENSIVE STAR OF THE GAME

QB #3 Chris Nickson

Chris Nickson who struggled last year due to injuries wanted to send a message last night and I believe he did. Nickson wanted to show what “the real” Chris Nickson can do on a football field when healthy. He was indeed a man on a mission and you could tell by his actions and his calm cool mannerisms on the sideline. Nickson’s first big play attempt actually missed when Chris overthrew Sean Walker on a deep pass pattern down the field. The Commodores saw that Walker was indeed open on the play and a few plays later they tried it again. This time Nickson connected with walker for a 49 yard gain down to the Miami one yard line. I’m sure nobody knew it at the time but this was Chris Nickson’s night. The Commodore Quarterback went on from that bomb to rush for 166 yards (most by a Commodore since Lew Thomas in 2001) and he completed 9-16 passes for 91 yards. Yes, Chris Nickson is indeed back and he is leading this team.

DEFENSIVE STAR OF THE GAME

CB/WR/PR #17
D.J. “the band” Moore

I really have no idea how to describe how great an athlete D.J. Moore is. He is just a special player. He is excitement in a bottle just waiting to make that exceptional game breaking play at any moment. Thursday night was no exception. Nickson managed to intercept Miami Quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh following Vanderbilts first touchdown. That interception led directly to three points for the offense. D.J. continued his outstanding multi talent act by sacking Rudaubaugh and causing a fumble as well. These actions alone would be enough to usually guarantee a successful outing but not for D.J. Moore. D.J. capped off his night with a ninety one yard punt return down to the Miami one yard line which would set up a Chris Nickson sneak for a score. In this case the band had a “Dynamite” game.

UNSUNG HEROES OF THE GAME

DT #74 TJ Greenstone

There were several young Dores seeing their first action of their careers tonight. I noticed that TJ (meanstone) Greenstone was consistently pushing whoever was in front of him around. TJ finished with 4 tackles on the night and played a big role in generating tackles for his teammates.

LB # 13 Chris Marve

Replacing Jon Goff is a monumental task. First Goff was a leader and secondly he was a heck of a football player. Redshirt freshman Chris Marve took a huge step in his quest to become the next superstar linebacker from Vanderbilt. Marve showed great instincts and ability in racking up four solo tackles and two assists he also flashed his ability to get after a quarterback registering a sack.