NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The day was Sept. 6. A Monday. Not one of the more memorable days in the short tenure of Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea.
The Saturday prior, Lea had lost his debut with the Commodores, a 23-3 letdown to visiting East Tennessee State at Vanderbilt Stadium. So when Scott Brower entered Lea’s office about 48 hours later, Brower’s proposal was not high on Lea’s to-do list.
“We recognized that was not the right time to start anything,” Brower said.
But Lea filed the visit away. And when January rolled around, he reached out to Brower to start talking about how there could be a collaboration between the retired U.S. Army brigadier general—who also is director of Vanderbilt University’s Bass Military Scholars Program—and the former Vandy fullback who was embarking on his second season in charge of the Commodores.
Brower knew some of his graduate students who needed community service activities could speak to Lea’s team about their experiences. And Lea could rely on Brower’s wealth of knowledge about developing culture and leadership.
“One of the things coming out of Year 1, as I spent the majority of my time with kind of the bottom 10 percent of the roster in terms of performance and buy-in, was recognizing the need to have someone who was paying attention to what’s strong and to the burgeoning leadership here,” Lea said. “What better person to do that than a guy that is a one-star general, that ran Fort Campbell, that has been in multiple combat positions, in leadership positions, in special forces? He brings such a unique perspective and life experience that has an immediate impact.
“He is also, beyond his experience, just a really impressive person. He’s smart and has a passion for connecting with young people. It’s been an incredible asset and an incredible resource for us, and I just appreciate his willingness to be involved every day.”
It was Vanderbilt alumnus and Clarksville, Tennessee, resident Jack Turner, longtime friend of Vandy football general manager Barton Simmons’ father, who suggested that Brower reach out to Lea. Brower had done leadership training with a few athletics teams in the past and knew that his Bass Scholars, most of whom are a few years older than the current student-athletes, could relate to the Commodores on a different level.
Since the start of the calendar year, about 20 student-athletes chosen by Lea and Vanderbilt Athletics’ Director of…