After two straight losses to open the season in which he completed under 54 percent of his passes, Jordan Rogers was benched Saturday in favor of Austyn Carta-Samuels for Vanderbilt’s game against Presbyterian.
Whether that remains the case when the Commodores continue SEC play this weekend remains to be seen.
Carta-Samuels played well in the 58-0 win over the FCS program, completing 65 percent of his 20 pass attempts for 195 yards, one touchdown and, more importantly, no interceptions. It was the first Vandy start for Carta-Samuels, who transferred from Wyoming to the SEC school last year.
James Franklin was asked after the shutout win who would get the start in the conference opener against Georgia Saturday, and the second-year head coach declined to give next week’s opponent a heads up on his plans at the position. He did, though, laud Rogers for how he handled a demotion that could either be a one-game blip or a season-long story arc.
“It’s not a thing you really want to hear as a starting quarterback, especially as hard as he’s worked and as prideful as he’s been.” Franklin said by way of the Nashville Tennessean. “We felt like we needed to look at some things, and we’ll continue to do that at that position, as well as others.”
While Carta-Samuels, who started for two seasons with the Cowboys prior to transferring, acquitted himself well in his Vandy debut, he also was aided greatly by a ground attack that pounded out 410 yards against the overmatched Blue Hose.