Episode 30 Recap: Simon Gibbs Joins the Pod

Episode 30 of The Dore Report is here and we have a really insightful and engaging perspective from Simon Gibbs, a Vanderbilt student and the sports editor at Vanderbilt Hustler, regarding the current state of Vanderbilt athletics. Before we get into that, our two hosts talk about the new commits joining Vandy nation. Taco Wright, the brother of Mike Wright who is one of Vanderbilt’s quarterbacks (class of 2020), has officially committed to Vanderbilt. Taco runs track during his off season and we have high hopes that his speed will transfer well to the football field. We are excited to see the swagger these two brothers will bring to the team! Ezra McAllister also committed to Vandy. McAllister is a versatile and athletic player. With more development and practice, he will make a great addition to the team.

Next, our host Billy Derrick and his co-host Will Byrum ask their weekly Question of the Pod, as well as a new weekly trivia question for the listeners, stay tuned to hear the answers to these two questions!

Finally on the pod we talk with Simon Gibbs who gives us a very descriptive look into Vanderbilt athletics. He taps into several areas such as Candace Lee, Stackhouse and his team, football, and baseball!

He suggests that Vanderbilt athletics is going to change a lot with the new AD Candace Lee, however it will be a slow process. He mentions that, “Change is not going to happen if you don’t have the right person at the helm. It is not going to change with a flip of the switch.” Fortunately for Vanderbilt, Candace Lee is the right person and has the experience needed to make good change happen. She is a product of the environment that she now works in, and seeing what she does with that component will be interesting. Gibbs admires her thought process as she, immediately upon being hired, acknowledged that there is definitely room for improvement in their athletics program. She is a strong leader who knows the core of what Vanderbilt stands for and knows that she can help better the facilities and the entire program as a whole.