Things have certainly been going Vanderbilt’s way since October 13th.
On that day, Florida beat the Commodores 31-17 to drop James Franklin’s team to 2-4. Since then Vanderbilt has been rolling the dice and coming up winners. It won its final six games of the regular season to finish 8-4. It then added a season-ending ninth win with a 38-24 win over NC State in the Music City Bowl. The Commodores had an outstanding win on National Signing Day by finishing with the 19th-ranked signing class in the country, according to Rivals.com.
But Vanderbilt’s run of good luck hit a bump in the road last week when senior Warren Norman, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound tailback, announced he was giving up football because of a series of injuries.
It’s not a loss that should cripple the Commodores’ attack this fall. After all, Vanderbilt returns Wesley Tate, 6-1, 215, and Brian Kimbrow, 5-8, 180. The Commodores also added running back Ralph Webb, a 5-foot-10, 190-pounder out of Gainesville, Fla., on Signing Day.
Though eligible for a fifth year with the Commodores, Norman has been bother by injuries since his freshman year when he put together one of the finest freshman seasons ever by an SEC running back. Normanwas voted by coaches as the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2009, when he rushed for 1,317 yards and 12 total touchdowns. An outstanding kick returner, Norman also had a Vanderbilt-record three kickoff returns for touchdowns.
But then came the injuries. It was a broken hand early in the 2010 season and a sprained knee late in the season. As a junior he did not appear in a game because his injuries suffered the previous season. This past year, Norman was limited to eight games and 75 yards rushing on 21 carries as Zac Stacy assumed the role as the Commodores’ leading tailback and ended the season as Vanderbilt’s career rushing leader.
Amid the excitement of the seven-game winning streak that ended the season and the well-deserved headlines for Stacy, Norman kind of slipped from the front of the sports pages. He was not exactly an afterthought, he was still appreciated by Vanderbilt fans for what he had brought to the program, it’s just he didn’t seem too important in the current scheme of things.
“I’ve been battling knee issues for the last couple years. After talking with my family, Coach (James) Franklin, the staff and doctors, I’ve decided to forgo my last season,” Normansaid. “Considering my current health and whether I’ll be able to help the team win football games next year, I thought it was the best decision for me.”
“I’ve had fun. Seeing the guys who went through what I call the dark ages with the back-to-back 2-10 seasons and where we are now, it’s been remarkable,” said Norman. “I was proud to say I was one of the building blocks of the new Vanderbilt. I’m so proud I came here.”
Franklin and a whole host of Vanderbilt fans are glad he came this way as well.
“You’re talking about a guy that’s handled adversity as well as anybody I’ve ever seen,” Franklin said. “To be the SEC Freshman of the Year and then see the (physical) challenges he’s had to overcome, Warren has handled it with unbelievable class.”
Norman ends his career with 1,317 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns, including three kickoff returns for touchdowns. He had 31 pass receptions for 227 yards and another touchdown. As a return man, Norman returned 64 kicks for 1,640 yards and three touchdowns.
It was a good career but sadly, except for the injuries, it could have been a great career.