Josh Vann sets goals as he battles at USC’s deepest position
March 04, 2019
It’s not often a college football player can succinctly sum up a year as tightly as South Carolina sophomore Josh Vann did, reflecting on his freshman season.
“It was pretty good,” Vann said. “I think it could’ve been better.”
By any measure, it was pretty good for a freshman. He joined a team with three entrenched starting receivers. After an early injury to one reserve, he was the No. 4 guy behind three players with NFL potential. He ended up fourth on the team in catches, played in every game and generally got his feet wet.
While he played and caught passes, there wasn’t much in the way of big plays. A smaller, quicker player, he averaged only 6.6 yards per reception. His longest play was 16 yards, and when he got a chance to take a bigger role in the bowl game, he was held without a catch.
This spring, he’s back on the field, with bigger goals in mind.
“I just come in this year and work better in the spring so I can become a better receiver and better overall player,” Vann said.
He had 118 yards and a score last season, and now has an opportunity. Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith are back as reliable receivers, but Deebo Samuel and his 62 catches last season are not. USC’s wide receiver group is deep and will get deeper come summer, but Vann will have a chance to establish himself.
He was working with the starters in an open period of practice during the first week of spring, and at least one teammate saw Vann develop in a key area.
“I think it’s just maturity,” quarterback Jake Bentley said. “It’s maturity in his routes. Understanding where and how to get open is a big thing, and it’s not just running a curl. It’s finding a way to get open on that curl.”
At the moment, Vann’s competition is diverse.
Former starter OrTre Smith is returning from a knee injury and offers a different sort of option (Smith stands at 6-foot-4, Vann 5-foot-10). Veterans Randrecous Davis and Chavis Dawkins are still around, while Chad Terrell is coming off an ACL and Darius Rush is coming off a redshirt year.
USC will also add a trio of talented options in four-star Keveon Mullins, high-ceiling athlete Xavier Legette and Tyquan Johnson, who had to spend last season in prep school.
Vann came to USC as a top-150 recruit nationally.
He said his biggest areas to work on are strength — a shoulder injury limited his lifting after enrolling last summer — speed and routes.
He also admitted the bowl game still sticks with him a little.
“Most definitely because, of course, everybody knows I had those two drops in the bowl game,” Vann said. “That’s not me. But I’ve just got to put that in the past.”
Those drops came in big spots and came on a day when the Gamecocks were shut out. He’d been put on a bigger stage, and success didn’t come.
In some ways, that fit the mold of “pretty good, could have been better.” He did the work to earn a big role, but wasn’t able to deliver … yet.
Now he’ll battle at the team’s deepest position to hold onto that role and become the play-maker he’s expected to be.
“Coming in, they told me I was going to play a lot,” Vann said. “But I’m just thankful for having the playing time I did. I think, coming in as a freshman, I got plenty.”
March 04, 2019
It’s not often a college football player can succinctly sum up a year as tightly as South Carolina sophomore Josh Vann did, reflecting on his freshman season.
“It was pretty good,” Vann said. “I think it could’ve been better.”
By any measure, it was pretty good for a freshman. He joined a team with three entrenched starting receivers. After an early injury to one reserve, he was the No. 4 guy behind three players with NFL potential. He ended up fourth on the team in catches, played in every game and generally got his feet wet.
While he played and caught passes, there wasn’t much in the way of big plays. A smaller, quicker player, he averaged only 6.6 yards per reception. His longest play was 16 yards, and when he got a chance to take a bigger role in the bowl game, he was held without a catch.
This spring, he’s back on the field, with bigger goals in mind.
“I just come in this year and work better in the spring so I can become a better receiver and better overall player,” Vann said.
He had 118 yards and a score last season, and now has an opportunity. Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith are back as reliable receivers, but Deebo Samuel and his 62 catches last season are not. USC’s wide receiver group is deep and will get deeper come summer, but Vann will have a chance to establish himself.
He was working with the starters in an open period of practice during the first week of spring, and at least one teammate saw Vann develop in a key area.
“I think it’s just maturity,” quarterback Jake Bentley said. “It’s maturity in his routes. Understanding where and how to get open is a big thing, and it’s not just running a curl. It’s finding a way to get open on that curl.”
At the moment, Vann’s competition is diverse.
Former starter OrTre Smith is returning from a knee injury and offers a different sort of option (Smith stands at 6-foot-4, Vann 5-foot-10). Veterans Randrecous Davis and Chavis Dawkins are still around, while Chad Terrell is coming off an ACL and Darius Rush is coming off a redshirt year.
USC will also add a trio of talented options in four-star Keveon Mullins, high-ceiling athlete Xavier Legette and Tyquan Johnson, who had to spend last season in prep school.
Vann came to USC as a top-150 recruit nationally.
He said his biggest areas to work on are strength — a shoulder injury limited his lifting after enrolling last summer — speed and routes.
He also admitted the bowl game still sticks with him a little.
“Most definitely because, of course, everybody knows I had those two drops in the bowl game,” Vann said. “That’s not me. But I’ve just got to put that in the past.”
Those drops came in big spots and came on a day when the Gamecocks were shut out. He’d been put on a bigger stage, and success didn’t come.
In some ways, that fit the mold of “pretty good, could have been better.” He did the work to earn a big role, but wasn’t able to deliver … yet.
Now he’ll battle at the team’s deepest position to hold onto that role and become the play-maker he’s expected to be.
“Coming in, they told me I was going to play a lot,” Vann said. “But I’m just thankful for having the playing time I did. I think, coming in as a freshman, I got plenty.”
