For freshmen coming to college and playing a position already stacked with talent, it could be hard to stand out. Josh Vann’s proving otherwise in a deep group of wide receivers.
The freshman was one of the biggest pieces of South Carolina’s recruiting class, coming in as a four-star prospect that racked up 867 yards and 12 touchdowns his senior season at Tucker (Ga.) High School.
He hasn’t touched the field yet at Williams-Brice but he’s already garnering comparisons to another Gamecock that had a pretty solid freshman season.
“He’s a very Shi Smith kind of guy in terms of explosion and change of direction,” head coach Will Muschamp said. “I think we have a good group of receivers.”
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Smith started seven games last year as a freshman, catching 29 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns.
Vann is a similar receiver that’s able to use his size and speed to his advantage at a few different receiver spots. The four-star is one of three receiver signees, joining Darius Rush and Tyquan Johnson.
Unlike Rush, Vann waited until later to enroll, coming in over the summer instead of in January for spring practice.
The only impressions he’s been able to make on his teammates has been in the Gamecocks' player-run practices, where he’s shown he could be ready to step in as a freshman and produce.
“His route running and his ball skills,” Deebo Samuel said of what impresses him with Vann. “While he’s catching the ball you can tell he does a really good job of that.”
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Muschamp’s never been shy about playing players as true freshmen, starting Jake Bentley, Bryan Edwards, OrTre Smith and Shi Smith all in their first seasons on campus.
He’ll join a receiver group pouring over with talent with Edwards, Samuel and both Smiths all on the roster.
The trio of Edwards and the Smiths combined for 1,528 yards and 11 touchdowns last season with Samuel racking up 474 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns in just three games.
Vann and his skill set will add to group that Muschamp thinks is one of the deepest on the team.
“I feel like we’re in a much better place right now than we were two years ago,” he said. “We’ve got real quality depth at the running back, receiver and tight end position. I do think we have some quality depth at other positions but those three (we have) a lot (of depth) to be honest with you.”
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Samuel is high on what he thinks the receiver corps can do this season, saying when healthy they’re “capable of anything.”
Across the board they seem to have a few different guys that can do different things on the field with Bentley saying the group is “just so versatile.”
“There’s so many guys that can attack you in so many different ways,” he said. “Being more multiple in our formations with Coach (Bryan) McClendon I think is going to help us a lot in getting the match-ups we want in certain areas we want.”
