Josh Vann, a former wide receiver for South Carolina football, has signed a new professional deal. The former Gamecock, an undrafted free agent who played briefly with the Carolina Panthers in 2018, is joining the Memphis Showboats of the newly formed UFL following the USFL and XFL’s merger. This spring, the league will play.
Vann had over 1300 yards and seven receiving touchdowns at the end of his football career at South Carolina. In 2021, he was an All-SEC player despite being a part of a run-first strategy that required four different quarterbacks to start. He caught 43 passes for 679 yards and five scores.
Vann gave some of his best efforts in the historic Gamecock blowouts over the Tennessee Volunteers in 2022 and the Florida Gators in 2021. Vann gained 189 yards and three touchdowns in those contests. His only multi-touchdown performance came in the Tennessee game, while his third-highest receiving yardage total (111 yards) came in the Florida game.
As a senior, Vann excelled as the Gamecocks’ punt returner as well. With the exception of a spectacular 75-yard reception in 2022 that was nullified by a penalty, he was never able to break one for a touchdown, but his average of more than 15 yards per return made him one of the finest in the nation.
Vann was also a fantastic tale of grit and unwavering will in garnet and black. Despite having really good hands, he had difficulty with drops for the first three years of his life. He put a lot of effort into solving the issue, and in 2021 he finally came out of it. Vann recorded over 1000 offensive yards and eight touchdowns in his last two seasons with the South Carolina football team, as opposed to less than 400 yards and just two scores in his first three seasons.
The 10-game regular season schedule for the UFL will begin on March 30. The title game is scheduled for June.
