What Josh Vann showed the Gamecocks to crack the starting lineup
When he stepped on campus for South Carolina football last season, Josh Vann was considered a potential impact freshman, one of the Gamecocks’ highest-rated recruits at wideout since 2000.
And in his first year at USC, Vann was a solid contributor, finishing fourth on the team with 18 receptions to total 118 yards and a touchdown. But he also averaged just 6.6 yards per catch, the lowest of any USC receiver.
As preparation for the 2019 campaign started and redshirt sophomore OrTre Smith returned from injury after an impressive freshman season, it seemed that Vann might be stuck in the team’s second group of receivers, not starting.
Yet when the Gamecocks released their depth chart ahead of Saturday’s season opener against North Carolina, there was Vann in the starting group of three, alongside senior Bryan Edwards and junior Shi Smith.
So what did Vann show his coaches and teammates during training camp to secure a starting role heading into Week 1?
“I think it’s just confidence and maturity,” senior quarterback Jake Bentley said. “I think for him, his confidence and running the right routes, running them the right way, maturity and just understanding how to get open, and understanding what it takes to get open, what it takes to be a good receiver in his league. And I think he’s done a great job of learning from Bryan and really, you know, understanding what it takes to be an elite receiver.”
With the loss of NFL draft pick Deebo Samuel, the Gamecocks have a large void to fill at the receiver spot this year, and Vann noted earlier in camp that between Samuel’s departure and an injury that kept Edwards out for a couple practices, he got “a lot of reps” this August.
“Just go out there and make plays, and that’s pretty much it,” Vann said of his goal for this season. “Just do my job, let the plays come to me. Just help the team out the best way I can.”
Doing his job has become easier, Vann said, as his endurance has improved from his freshman to sophomore years. And coach Will Muschamp noted another big change related to that improvement.
“He had labrum surgery at Tucker High School in January of his senior year, so he missed really six months of lifting,” Muschamp said. “And so he went into last season not in great shape, still contributed, did a really nice job for us a true freshman, but had not lifted. Then you get into the season and you’re more of a maintenance lift, as much as you’re not gaining strength as far as those things are concerned.”
During the offseason, Muschamp said, the coaching staff “challenged” Vann to spend time in the weight room getting strong, and he did so. His listed weight on the team’s official roster stayed at 185 pounds, but he did some valuable confidence, Muschamp said.
“So when people play press coverage against you, you don’t get banged around as much, and you’re able to run through contact better. And that’s what has made a huge difference for him,” Muschamp said of Vann. “But when you gain a lot of strength and strength numbers, which he has, it also gives you confidence as a player, and a stronger player is a more confident player. And certainly that’s what I’ve seen in Josh, he’s a more confident guy. And I think a lot of that goes to the strength gains that he’s made in the weight room.”
