Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason on Georgia quarterback mystery: 'Not fooling me'

Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason isn’t putting up with Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s shenanigans this week.

Is Smart really undecided about his starting quarterback for Saturday’s game (11 a.m., ESPN) at Vanderbilt? Mason isn't buying it.

Would Smart really bench freshman Jake Fromm, who has led the No. 6 Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 SEC) to five straight wins, in favor of former starter Jacob Eason, who has returned from a knee injury?

More:Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason on 4 straight Top 25 opponents: No excuses

“He’s not fooling me,” said Mason, smiling during Tuesday's press conference. “… Fromm has won ballgames. He just came off a (41-0) win (over Tennessee). Listen, we can quit with the coaching dramatics.”

Smart has said repeatedly this week that he will decide on a starting quarterback based on practice, but he likely will not announce it.

After Tuesday’s practice, Smart responded to Mason’s comments.

“Derek Mason’s entitled to his opinion,” Smart told The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Derek Mason’s not at our practices. He doesn’t watch our practice tape that I know of. So I’m not really concerned with those comments.”

Mason keeping his own secrets

Vanderbilt’s secondary could be at full strength for the first time this season when it faces Fromm or Eason.

Cornerbacks Tre Herndon and Bryce Lewis missed last week’s 38-24 loss to Florida with injuries. But Taurean Ferguson, a starting nickelback last season, made his season debut, filling in at cornerback after serving a four-game suspension for undisclosed reasons.

After the game, Mason said he expected Herndon and Lewis to return to the lineup against Georgia. This week, Herndon was listed as the starting cornerback on the depth chart, but Lewis was not listed.

Mason was asked if Herndon and Lewis would definitely return, and if Ferguson would slide back to nickelback. He was nearly as noncommittal as Smart was about quarterbacks.

“I’ll figure that out on Saturday,” Mason said. “I know those guys are practicing, but I wasn’t going to tell you right now. Even if you really wanted to know, I’m not going to tell you (if Herndon and Lewis will play)."

More:Vanderbilt vs. Georgia football: TV, radio, live stream, odds, kickoff information

Fromm’s ‘life is pretty good’

Either by good play or a lopsided score, Vanderbilt has allowed only 143.2 passing yards per game, the sixth-fewest in the nation. And its defense has faced a wide array of quarterbacks.

But Mason said Fromm’s strength is in smartly distributing the ball to talented running backs and wide receivers.

Georgia averages 237.4 rushing yards per game, led by Nick Chubb (480 yards) and Sony Michel (256). Fromm has attempted only 16.8 passes per game, tossed eight TD passes and only two interceptions. Fromm had two rushing TDs against Tennessee, but he has only 18 rushing attempts this season.

More:Rise of Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur coincides with fall of ground game

“If you look at the number of times he ran the ball — can he run? Absolutely. Do they want him to run? No,” Mason said. “At the end of the day, they are trying to get him to deal the football. He’s doing that well. When you have a four-headed monster at running back, hey, your life is pretty good. I guess you run when you want to.”

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

NEXT GAME

VANDERBILT (3-2, 0-2 SEC) VS. NO. 6 GEORGIA (5-0, 2-0)

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

TV/Radio: ESPN/1510 AM, 98.3 FM