South Carolina to bring back top pass-catcher for 2022 season under Shane Beamer
South Carolina’s best offensive playmaker from Shane Beamer’s first season in Columbia is coming back.
Receiver Josh Vann announced on Wednesday via Twitter that he’ll return to USC for another year after considering the NFL draft. Vann led the Gamecocks in touchdown receptions and finished with the outright team lead in total receptions and yards.
“Gamecock nation, we running it back! Be ready for one thrill of a ride!,” he wrote in a Tweet.
Vann finished the season with 679 yards and five touchdowns on 43 catches this fall. Those numbers were almost 200 yards and 13 catches better than any player on the roster.
The former four-star recruit had largely been a bust until this fall. Vann failed to record 120 yards receiving total in two of the previous three seasons. He hit that mark in individual games against Georgia and East Carolina this fall.
Vann becomes the latest Gamecock to announce a return to school after South Carolina walloped North Carolina 38-21 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last week. Defensive stalwarts Zacch Pickens, Sherrod Greene, Brad Johnson and R.J. Roderick have all revealed in recent days that they, too, will be back in Columbia next year.
South Carolina is slated to bring in Oklahoma transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler and former Sooners tight end Austin Stogner to aid an offense that finished 11th in rushing and 13th in passing, scoring and total offense in the Southeastern Conference this year.
It’s expected the Gamecocks will still make a run at one or more transfer portal wide receiver options to alleviate some of the pressure Vann saw during the 2021 campaign. South Carolina landed in the final five for elite UTEP receiver transfer Jacob Cowing, before he chose to sign with Arizona on Monday.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 6:31 PM.
