Vanderbilt replaces Tata with Utah State assistant

Vanderbilt has snagged Utah State’s defensive line coach Frank Maile, the Salt Lake Tribune has reported. The Tribune noted: “In the last two years alone, five of his linemen earned all conference honors: Al Lapuaho, Connor Williams, Jordan Nielsen, A.J. Patiali’i and B.J. Larsen.” The paper noted that Maile was well-known for his in-state recruiting, and especially his recruiting of Polynesian recruits. That could be some asset for new coach Derek Mason’s team if Maile continues that vein of form. Maile replaces Vavae Tata, who arrested for DUI earlier this month.    

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Vanderbilt suspends assistant coach

Vanderbilt has suspended defensive line coach Vavae Tata indefinitely after he was arrested for DUI, the Tennessean is reporting. According to the report, Tata was charged for being off his tatas on Saturday night, blowing a .18 on his breathalyzer test, more than twice legal blood-alcohol limit of .08%, according to an affidavit released by Davidson County. Which was quite good going, if you think about it. It’s not Tata’s first brush with the law: He was arrested for DUI in 1997 and convicted in 2000. Vandy, which underwent a new coaching regime with former Stanford defensive co-ordinator Derek Mason after James Franklin went to Penn State, had a relatively successful signing day. And Vanderbilt’s also no stranger to brushes with

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After the Franklin carnage, Vanderbilt rebounds on Signing Day

Former Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin left at the wrong time. His departure in January to Penn State led to a number of de-commitments, and worries that Vanderbilt would not be able to fill their numbers. Defensive co-ordinator Derek Mason, from Stanford (which is better than Vandy in terms of academics, but would still be twinned with them in terms of academics-before-athletics institutions), came to town. And although he had a slow start, the speed that Vandy recruited in the last few days before National Signing Day would have made Nick Saban or Les Miles happy….and they picked up a monster DE recruit from under Stanford’s nose in Nifae Lealao. He also added 4-star DB Emmanuel Smith, who had offers from Ole

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