As Vanderbilt turns the page from the program’s first-ever 10-win season in the program’s 135-year history, the Commodores are making some adjustments to the offensive staff in Clark Lea’s program, FootballScoop has learned.

After seeing Garrett Altman depart to take over the reins of the offense in Butch Jones’ Arkansas State program, Lea is turning within for the Commodores’ next quarterbacks coach.

Trenton Kirklin, a four-year veteran of the Vanderbilt offensive staff and a former high school offensive coordinator for Trent Dilfer at Nashville’s Lipscomb Academy, is being elevated to the role of Vanderbilt quarterbacks coach, sources tell FootballScoop.

A former prep coach in his native Texas, Kirklin also is a former high school quarterback in the Lone Star State who signed with Football Championship Subdivision program Tarleton State before an injury cut short his playing career.

He’s coached at his prep alma mater, Borger, as well as McKinney and New Braunfels. He arrived in Nashville to work alongside Dilfer at Lipscomb Academy, where they teamed for multiple Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Championships. 

Kirklin was hired onto Lea’s second Vanderbilt staff in 2022 as an offensive analyst working closely with Altman and the quarterbacks.

Vanderbilt will be pivoting to a new quarterback in 2026 after experiencing unprecedented offensive success under Diego Pavia, the undersized former junior college and New Mexico State quarterback who became a Heisman Trophy finalist this past season. Vanderbilt’s offense averaged 38.5 points per game and

The Commodores were among the first teams out of the 2025 12-team College Football Playoff after an 10-win regular season that included a dominant win at archrival Tennessee. 

Vanderbilt, which signed Lea to a long-term contract extension and has committed to build Lea a new state-of-the-art football facility, is scheduled to open its 2026 season is scheduled to open its 2026 season at home against Austin Peay, an FCS program led by Jeff Faris that spent much of the 2025 season ranked in the AFCA Top 25.

Continuing a three-game home stand to open the campaign, Vanderbilt hosts Delaware and North Carolina State the ensuing two weeks before entering into Southeastern Conference competition at Auburn, led by first-year head coach and former USF leader Alex Golesh.

It’s the first SEC game for Vanderbilt in the league’s first-ever season with nine conference contests. The Commodores visit reigning SEC Champion Georgia, a CFP participant, before hosting Ole Miss, led by Pete Golding and coming off a run to the CFP Semifinals.Â