Division Eastern Division Offensive scheme Multiple | 2011 record 6–7 (2–6 SEC) | |
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Conference Southeastern Conference Head coach James Franklin (1st year) Offensive coordinator John Donovan (1st year) | ||
The 2011 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their seven home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee, which has been Vanderbilt football's home stadium since 1922. The team's head coach was James Franklin, who was in his first year at Vanderbilt. Hired at Vanderbilt on December 17, 2010, he was previously the offensive coordinator and "head coach in waiting" at the University of Maryland. Vanderbilt has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) since the league's inception in 1932, and has participated in the conference's Eastern Division since its formation for the 1992 season. Vanderbilt completed the 2011 regular season with an overall record of 6–6 and a mark of 2–6 in conference play, finishing in a tie with Kentucky for fourth place in the SEC East. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they were defeated by Cincinnati 24–31 to finish the season 6–7. 2011. The seniors on the 2011 Vanderbilt football team became the first class in program history to qualify for a bowl game twice. Vanderbilt had been to bowls in 1955 VS Auburn, 1974 VS Texas Tech, 1982 VS Air Force, and 2008 VS Boston College.
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Coaching changes
At the end of the 2010 season, head coach Robbie Caldwell resigned from Vanderbilt. After a long nationwide coaching search, in which Gus Malzahn, Auburn's offensive coordinator, nearly accepted the job, James Franklin was hired as the 27th head football coach at Vanderbilt University. Franklin proceeded to hire John Donovan as the new offensive coordinator and Bob Shoop as the new defensive coordinator. Franklin also retained Herb Hand as offensive line coach from the previous Vanderbilt staff, and hired Chris Beatty from West Virginia, who had been Percy Harvin's high school coach, as the new wide receivers coach.
Recruiting
On February 2, 2011, Franklin announced a football recruiting class of 21 athletes. The class has been hailed as one of the best in Vanderbilt football history, especially because Vanderbilt was able to persuade several prospects from larger and nationally known schools, such as Lafonte Thourogood from Virginia Tech, Dillon Van der Wal from Arizona State, and Barron Dixon from Mississippi State. Lafonte Thourogood and Dillon van der Wal were both rated as four star recruits by Scout.com.