In December 2021, Vanderbilt football entered the offseason with one of the toughest starting points in college athletics. A 2–10 record. An 0–9 campaign the year before. A roster thin on SEC-level depth. The program had spent decades and was labeled a conference doormat. Competitive confidence wasn’t something Vanderbilt had misplaced — it was something the program had never truly possessed. So when Clark Lea took over, he wasn’t reviving an old contender. He was building a