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Vanderbilt wants Nigel Bowden's voice to be more 'authoritative'
Vanderbilt linebacker Nigel Bowden is the man who makes the defensive play calls for the Commodores. And Coach Derek Mason wanted his voice to be more "authoritative" in 2015.
“Since the beginning of time that position has been a leader. You go where you’re middle linebacker goes,” Mason told the Tennesseean. “I just asked Nigel to step outside his comfort zone. … As he is authoritative, guys will start to understand who the leader is, and that’s a strong position.”
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Bowden was a redshirt freshman in 2014 and led the team with 78 tackles. He made the play calls last year as Vanderbilt went 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC. The 6-1, 240 pound player was a four-star recruit in the class of 2013 and the No. 9 inside linebacker in the country.
“(My voice) has to come out hard and aggressive this year,” Bowden said. “We’re not here to be nice to each other.”
Of course, a deeper voice isn't going to simply mean Vanderbilt makes an improvement on both sides of the ball. While finding a productive quarterback and offensive consistency will be considerably helpful, so will a better defense. Vanderbilt was 13th in the SEC in total defense last year. Mason, who was in his first season as the team's head coach in 2014 is now the team's defensive coordinator too.
Though maybe Bowden's voice will help with intimidation if Vanderbilt's defense gets off to a good start under Mason's leadership.
“He really has tried to deepen his voice. He’s become a loud and powerful guy out there,” DE Caleb Azubike said. “You can definitely hear him when he talks. You’ll almost be able to hear him from the stands.
“His voice has become so stern that you almost feel that you have to listen to him when he talks.”
For more Vanderbilt news, visit VandySports.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
