Vanderbilt has been bad this year.

The 4-5 Commodores just picked up their first SEC win of the season last week against Mississippi State — it's been a rough season for a team that was in College Football Playoff contention 12 months ago.

We caught up with Vanderbilt Commodores on SI lead writer Joey Dwyer ahead of No. 3 Alabama's trip to Nashville for a look at the 'Dores. Dwyer offered a comprehensive preview of the game and walked us through what to expect when the teams face off on Saturday.

What do we need to know about Jared Curtis?

"He's just different. I think he's more talented than almost anybody in the league. I think you'll see it a few times on Saturday, where either he'll throw it across his body, or he'll roll out to his right and throw it, I don't know how many miles an hour, right to the receiver through a couple of defenders. There's stuff that only he can do, and I think that's the appeal with a guy like that.

I think that's why Vanderbilt chose to go for him rather than (Kentucky QB) Kenny Minchey. It realistically could have landed him if Curtis weren't in the picture. But I think Vanderbilt, for the next three games, the most important thing for them is Jared Curtis' development. Can he cut down the interceptions? Can he not fumble it in the big moment? How resilient is he? Does the game slow down for him? I think I wrote this week that's more important than anything. He says they can go to a bowl game.

I don't believe him, but I think the most important thing for Vanderbilt the rest of the way is: Does Jared Curtis look like a potential, I don't know, maybe Heisman candidate in year two? That's what they want from him. That's the type of quarterback they think he can be. I think he's got to get a lot better for that to happen. But they seem to like his processing and how it's evolved."

What do we need to know about the ups and downs of this Vanderbilt defense?

"The good news, if you're a Vanderbilt fan, is that I think this is the best defense core that he (Clark Lea) has had in terms of overall talent. I think he's got a few NFL players on this defense. Nick Rinaldi, a linebacker, I think is an NFL guy. C.J. Hurd, a safety, I think will be drafted on probably more day three, but also could be drafted on day two this year. I think they've got talent kind of all over the defense. Brian Longwell is one of their linebackers, I think he's a fixture of the program. I think he's really kind of been one of the identity guys for this program.

Now for the bad news, I think a microcosm of their defense this year is that you look at their corners, and none of their starting corners on Saturday against Alabama will be guys who started at corner to start the season. Two of the guys that are going to play for them at corner didn't start the season at corner, and their best corner heading into the year is a full-time wide receiver now (Martell Hight). And that's not to say that corner is the only problem. I think the biggest problem is actually their defensive line and the way they've gotten pushed around in the run game and the lack of pressure they've gotten on quarterbacks.

Miles Capers, who's Vanderbilt's best pass rusher, told Graham Baako, who is my coworker in the summer, that he wanted to set the Vanderbilt all-time sacks record. I think Miles Capers is at three sacks right now. Obviously, that's not going to happen. They've had trouble with Brian Allen, their Iowa transfer defensive lineman, who I think was supposed to have the potential to wreck a game once in a while. He's been on and off the field, and even when he's been on the field, he hasn't been that effective. And then Edwin Klein game has actually been a positive surprise for them, the Boston College transfer. He's out Saturday with kind of a surprise injury, so Vanderbilt's got some problems on the defensive line in terms of getting pressure on the quarterback."

You referenced Martell Hight as the best corner on this Vanderbilt team, and now he's a full-time receiver. What has that change been like? How has he been as a full-time receiver, as they have given up on this Travis Hunter-esque experiment? What can we expect from Hight on Saturday?

"It's been a really odd process for Martell Hight. He was really good as a freshman. I think he was pretty good as a sophomore, too. And then last year, they decided that they want to play him two ways and actually three ways, considering he's their punt returner too. I think he's one of the best punt returners in the league. You've got to give him credit for that aspect of his game. I think a lot of people overlook it.

I think he does have some dynamic elements at receiver. I think he's really fast. I think his route running has gotten progressively a lot better over the years. He told me in the summer that he had this realization where they played Georgia State. They won, I think, 70-21, and he watched the tape back from that game and essentially thought, 'What a disaster! I'm lazy. My technique is poor, and I don't look like Martell Hight playing corner right now.'

I think he was the only upset person coming out of that game. But at that point, he decided that he's got to choose one side of the ball. He's got to play receiver or corner. He stopped playing receiver. He told me the emphasis behind that was that he thought he could be an NFL player at corner and that maybe receiver didn't lend itself to an NFL future. All of a sudden, the messaging has changed. It was kind of a surprise when I heard at the bye that he's practicing at receiver, and I guess I kind of believed it, considering the source was pretty good on it.

And then he comes into the game against Mississippi State, and all of a sudden, he's playing receiver. And the indication from Clark Lea postgame is that he's going to be only playing receiver long term. I think he's had a disappointing season at cornerback, but I certainly didn't expect him to go full-time at receiver. Clark Lea said he thinks that he is considering his future, and that maybe he can be an NFL player at receiver. He's still a second-teamer, though, and I think he's still got to earn his keep. I think they're going to be able to use him in some packages where they can really utilize his speed. I think he's got some potential as a route runner and as a deep threat, and maybe they need that.

They've had some trouble at receiver outside of their top three of Junior Sherrill, Ja'Cory Thomas, and Tristen Brown, but there's room for Height to play. I also wonder what the conversations were like heading into that. Was it a spur-of-the-moment thing from Hight? Was it something they really deliberated on? I don't know, because that shocked me."

Vanderbilt has three players with Alabama ties: Cole Adams, Micah DeBose, and Owen Cabell. Will we see any of them on Saturday?

"Owen Cabell is not ready. I think he's going to be a player for them at some point. He really didn't show us much in fall camp when we were there, though, and it really wasn't even on the field a lot of time with the ones and twos, so it's hard to even remember that he is on the roster.

Cole Adams, I thought, had a great spring. I was really impressed by Cole Adams in the spring, but he had a fall camp injury, and since then has been almost a complete non-factor. I think they love his makeup. They love kind of the way he leads in the receiving room, but man, he has not produced the way they thought he would. I thought he was a shoe-in to be their third receiver, but it certainly hasn't played out that way.

I think Cole Adams and Micah DeBose are emblematic of their transfer strategy and how poor it was this offseason, where they were relying on guys who were depth pieces elsewhere to come in and be guys at Vanderbilt who played. And Micah DeBose, I think, was one of their most highly-paid guys on the offensive line. He doesn't play. Cole Adams, one of their more highly-paid receivers. I imagine he was the third-highest-paid receiver on the roster. He doesn't really play much at all, and maybe will have a reception or two once in a while, but that's about it.

They didn't swing big on their transfer class, and I think those two guys, nothing against them, but I think those two guys are emblematic of that. Cole Adams, though, I think you've got to wonder what could have been if he was healthy all summer. I think the injury kind of got him out of rhythm."

What's your final score prediction?

"Alabama 42, Vanderbilt 17.

I don't have any faith in Vanderbilt's defense. I think its offense is actually more explosive than people give it credit for. I think it can push the ball down the field. I think Junior Sherrill can maybe take advantage of something in Alabama's secondary.

I don't have much optimism that they can control the game and keep Alabama's offense out of the end zone. I think Alabama is really good, and Vanderbilt, I think, at this point, is still searching for an identity. It's going to be a challenge on Saturday."