New Vandy QB 'always loose,' even with Robinette back

Vanderbilt redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny McCrary said he is not scared of being benched in his first career start at Missouri on Saturday.

But he now has a new competitor for playing time with the team's announcement on Friday that sophomore Patton Robinette has been medically cleared to play and will be in uniform.

"Am I nervous? Naw. I haven't been nervous about anything since I was 2," McCrary said. "When I step on the field, I can only do my best. If my best isn't good enough, I'll take myself out of the game. You can tell if you're not moving this team, but I want to stay tough and maybe something special will happen."

McCrary will be Vanderbilt's fourth starting quarterback this season, the most of any team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Robinette, the season-opening starter, has been out since suffering a concussion in a Sept. 20 loss to South Carolina.

On Monday, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said the other three quarterbacks were "renting" the starting position until Robinette's return. And at Tuesday's weekly press conference, Mason called Robinette "our leader" but also said he would have to catch up "football-wise" before playing, even after passing medical protocol. Robinette only recently returned to practice on a limited basis.

Mason was not made available for comment, but Vanderbilt announced on Friday morning on its official football Twitter account that Robinette had been medically cleared and would be in uniform on Saturday, and that McCrary would start the game.

Vanderbilt (2-5, 0-4 SEC) encountered a similar situation against UMass. True freshman Wade Freebeck made his first career start but struggled as the Commodores fell behind 14-0. Robinette, who had been out since a season-opening injury, then came off the bench and rallied Vanderbilt to a 34-31 win.

McCrary has played in two games, but this will be his first appearance in a road game and an SEC contest. He described his state of mind as "erratic, but not in a bad way" heading to Missouri (5-2, 2-1) to face the SEC leader in sacks.

"I am very excited to be on the field," McCrary said. "I spent all of last year on the scout team, and now this can kind of mess with your head. It's an opportunity, and I'm going to have a lot of fun with it."

McCrary's self-described "erratic" mindset matches the unpredictability he brings to Vanderbilt's offense. He tossed two interceptions in only three pass attempts against Temple. In Vanderbilt's 21-20 win over Charleston Southern, McCrary was 10-of-16 passing for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception — completing a 65-yard TD toss, the longest pass for the Commodores this season.

"Johnny is different. Johnny is a dude that's always loose," Mason said Wednesday. "There is not a whole lot that rattles him. It's funny because Patton is serious all the time, Johnny is loose all the time, and Wade looks like the new kid who's the last one out of the classroom. They're all different. But Johnny is Johnny all the time. And now we're starting to see his personality because this is Johnny's time.

"… In terms of managing his emotions, we just want to let Johnny play the game the way it's meant to be played and put your stamp on it. I'm not going to try to contain him. I'm just going to let him play."

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter.

NEXT GAME

VANDERBILT (2-5, 0-4 SEC) at MISSOURI (5-2, 2-1)

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

TV/radio: SEC Network/1510-AM, 95.9-FM, 560-AM