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Florida A & M product hopes to rattle Draft expectations
February 21st, 2010 By Patrick Green
LeRoy Vann has reshaped his approach to the game of football. In this case, he doesn’t wish to be elusive. It’s not his goal to evade anyone, at least not this time. And for his next major performance, he’s not interested in impressing millions of fans.
Anyone who is familiar with the former Florida A & M standout initially recognizes this reality is unlike anything Vann was known for in his last two seasons with the Rattlers. Nevertheless, this is the reality. Vann understands his situation explicitly.
He wants to be corralled, not by a defender, but by an NFL team. His ambition is to impress, not a captive television audience, but at least one General Manager of 32 franchises.
For April 22-24 to have any significance to Vann, he needs exposure. Routinely, he works out daily now in Atlanta with no eyes on him other than his training partners and staff. He didn’t play in the Senior Bowl or East-West Shrine Bowl, two key showcases for an NFL hopeful, particularly one hailing from a Football Championship Subdivision program. And as the Combine gets underway on Wednesday in Indianapolis, Vann will still be in Atlanta. He didn’t get the invite.
“All I can do now is prepare,” the Tampa, Florida, native said. “I can only worry about what I can control. I wake up every morning and work out for about three hours. I’m just waiting on my opportunity to put up.”
That window is closing. This is a murky time for most professional prospects not deemed to be guaranteed tickets at the next level. The Saturday afternoon lights have long since dimmed and with them went the weekly newspaper features and nightly highlight reels. And with little time between the season and the Draft and even fewer opportunities to audition, Vann’s absence in the aforementioned all-star contests was critical.
What he missed in those venues, however, he made a valiant effort to atone for in another all-star extravaganza: the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Bowl all-star game. The contest, played in Montgomery, Alabama, in December, pitted the most prolific HBCU football players from across the country. It featured Grambling defensive end Christian Anthony, South Carolina State cornerback Philip Adams, and Alcorn State quarterback Tim Buckley, among others.
In the midst of all the notables, Vann left the most lasting impression. Late in the first quarter, he fielded a punt at his own 19-yard-line and 81-yards later was collecting a check for six points. The play electrified the modest crowd of 3,000 fans who braved poor weather conditions to witness Vann’s exploits. He went on to be named the game’s Most Valuable Player, as his East squad slipped by the West stars 26-21. He finished the game with four returns for 113 yards.
“I looked at it as just another game,” the 23-year-old professed. “It was an honor to be there and I respected that. But I approach every game the same way. I set goals and work toward seeing them through.”
The 5’9”, 185-pound return man’s lack of fervor about performing so well on a prominent stage is conceivable. In fact, what the NFL scouts and fans in attendance saw that week from Vann is what millions had already witnessed from the former preferred walk on. MEAC opponents were well educated on his skill set. True, Vann played at FAMU, an institution that competes at Bragg Memorial’s 25,500 seat stadium, but his antics on the field often landed him on a larger platform.
For instance, early in the 2009 campaign, Vann made ESPN’s Top 10 Plays Countdown in consecutive weeks. His first appearance came after he torched Winston Salem State’s special team unit in a 34-10 Florida A & M victory. With the Rattlers nursing a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, Vann took a punt at the five-yard line; most expected the senior to call fair catch, but he instead shook off the initial defenders and galloped 95 yards for the score. Vann essentially put the game out of reach in the third quarter when, like déjà vu, he fielded another Winston Salem State punt and raced 80 yards for the touchdown to give the Rattlers a 21-3 cushion.
Each play ran on Sports Center well after the game had ended. But before those highlights could cool, Vann made a repeat visit on the telecast. Just a week after returning two punts for scores against Winston Salem State (September 10th), he resurrected the magic against Howard (September 17th), punishing the Bison with two as well, for 40 and 66 yards, respectively. Images of him shedding tacklers, changing directions, and sprinting through the open field were reoccurring themes for weeks.
Not only did Vann’s play propel him to the national landscape, it helped his Rattlers off to a 3-0 start to the 2009 season. Florida A & M went on to finish 8-3, one of those losses coming at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes and the other to MEAC Champion South Carolina State. Vann’s footprints were all over the Rattlers’ success.
He finished the season with five punt returns for touchdowns. Those numbers only added to Vann’s legend. For his career, he secured an FCS record with 11 returns for scores, eight for punts, and three for kickoffs. As well, he’s one of only five players in NCAA history to amass 1,000 career yards in both punt and kickoff return yardage. It’s no surprise then that the Florida native found himself on several post season awards lists. He was a second team AP FCS All-America team selection. He was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation FCS All-America squad (second selection) and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network Sports Black College All-America team.
All of that said, things lately have been quiet for the NFL prospect. And usually breaking the silence are questions about Vann, questions he hopes to answer at his Pro Day in late March. For one, listings on Vann’s size vary. Some reports have him listed at 5’9” and others at 5’7”; some reports have him weighing in at 185 pounds and others 179.
Vann is aware of these question marks.
“I feel like, the type of style I play, I’m very physical,” he proclaimed. “Even if I did get hit, I am capable of running people over. I’m fearless; if anybody’s been to one of my games, they’d know I’ve never called a fair catch. You’ve got people who say ‘he’s not big enough to play this or that position,’ but if you can play football, you can play football. Most people can see my ability.”
What was not as clearly visible regarding Vann was his position. He made the All-America teams as an all-purpose back and ironically, now being known as merely an explosive return man could be considered a crutch. The wide spread view here again is obscure. Some outlets have him listed as a cornerback and others at wide receiver. The reality is that Vann didn’t play either of those positions religiously at Florida A & M.
Getting drafted or signed as a free agent as primarily a return man is highly unlikely. Analysts who point to Devin Hester as a comparison should remember that Hester spent extensive time playing in the secondary while at Miami and saw a considerable amount of snaps at wide receiver. And though the Miami Dolphins lauded Ted Ginn, Jr. as a return specialist with the No. 9 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, at Ohio State Ginn hauled in 110 receptions for 1,584 yards and 13 touchdowns.
In Vann’s defense, he was able to showcase his range at the HBCU Bowl, where he played at receiver and corner back during the practice week, efforts that to his satisfaction were noticed by several NFL scouts in attendance.
“That was great because I was able to show a little bit of everything,” he stated. “It was really by chance that I got to work at receiver. They were short some guys and pulled me over. I think the idea going in was that I would just return kicks and play some at defensive back, but it worked out that I was able to do some things I think I could have been doing all along.”
Interestingly, Vann’s coaching staff at the all-star game was a familiar one. The Rattlers’ regime, led by head coach Joe Taylor, guided his East squad and made the decision to show him at receiver. When asked why his coaches had not used him more at receiver during his time at Florida A & M, Vann is as perplexed as most.
“I don’t want to speculate why they didn’t use me more,” he acknowledged. “I think my coaches saw at the HBCU game that they should have used me a lot more in that way. At the end of the season, they did try a little to incorporate me into the offense but it was more in line with just reverses. The type of offense we ran (spread), I could have been a Wes Welker type of guy. Because of my vision in the return game, I could have gotten the ball and did something with it.”
When scouts visit Vann’s Pro Day, he’ll be working strategically at slot receiver. But in addition to showing off his route running and hands, Vann will have to dispel myths about his speed. He’s surprised to hear reports that he’s a 4.6 – 4.7 guy in the 40-yard-dash. Still, it’s the first thing he focuses on in his off season work outs. It’s in this arena that Vann is most defiant in reacting to criticism.
“I’ve heard people saying that I ran 4.6s and 4.5s,” he noted. “Honestly, I ran a 4.49 at the HBCU practices, and that was me out of shape not having ran since the last football game. The rumors are just that. All that’s go change when I run my Pro Day. I’m not too worried about it.”
It’s now that Vann is reminded of his introduction to the game of football. At the age of seven, he was taken to a practice by his father, and after watching for a succession of hard hits by a standout linebacker, he had just one question.
“He’s not going to get in trouble for that,” Vann recalled as his initial inquiry. “I started playing soon after and my love for the game has grown each year. When I was in Pop Warner, I wanted to play middle school ball. When I accomplished that, I couldn’t wait to play in high school. My biggest goal then was to play college football.”
Vann’s next goal is obvious. He’s hoping in this case his vision as a return man is prophetic.
- Patrick Green, DraftNasty.com staff writer, has been writing professionally for more than a decade. He is the author of two novels, Josie’s Missing Syllabus and Son Down; and while both works deal with topics beyond the athletic landscape, each exposes a social scope involving sports as an underlying theme. Green has covered high school, college, amateur, and professional football during his career, having written for newspapers in Augusta, Ga., and Charleston, South Carolina. To learn more about Patrick Green, visit www.greeninkpub.com.
February 21st, 2010 By Patrick Green
LeRoy Vann has reshaped his approach to the game of football. In this case, he doesn’t wish to be elusive. It’s not his goal to evade anyone, at least not this time. And for his next major performance, he’s not interested in impressing millions of fans.
Anyone who is familiar with the former Florida A & M standout initially recognizes this reality is unlike anything Vann was known for in his last two seasons with the Rattlers. Nevertheless, this is the reality. Vann understands his situation explicitly.
He wants to be corralled, not by a defender, but by an NFL team. His ambition is to impress, not a captive television audience, but at least one General Manager of 32 franchises.
For April 22-24 to have any significance to Vann, he needs exposure. Routinely, he works out daily now in Atlanta with no eyes on him other than his training partners and staff. He didn’t play in the Senior Bowl or East-West Shrine Bowl, two key showcases for an NFL hopeful, particularly one hailing from a Football Championship Subdivision program. And as the Combine gets underway on Wednesday in Indianapolis, Vann will still be in Atlanta. He didn’t get the invite.
“All I can do now is prepare,” the Tampa, Florida, native said. “I can only worry about what I can control. I wake up every morning and work out for about three hours. I’m just waiting on my opportunity to put up.”
That window is closing. This is a murky time for most professional prospects not deemed to be guaranteed tickets at the next level. The Saturday afternoon lights have long since dimmed and with them went the weekly newspaper features and nightly highlight reels. And with little time between the season and the Draft and even fewer opportunities to audition, Vann’s absence in the aforementioned all-star contests was critical.
What he missed in those venues, however, he made a valiant effort to atone for in another all-star extravaganza: the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Bowl all-star game. The contest, played in Montgomery, Alabama, in December, pitted the most prolific HBCU football players from across the country. It featured Grambling defensive end Christian Anthony, South Carolina State cornerback Philip Adams, and Alcorn State quarterback Tim Buckley, among others.
In the midst of all the notables, Vann left the most lasting impression. Late in the first quarter, he fielded a punt at his own 19-yard-line and 81-yards later was collecting a check for six points. The play electrified the modest crowd of 3,000 fans who braved poor weather conditions to witness Vann’s exploits. He went on to be named the game’s Most Valuable Player, as his East squad slipped by the West stars 26-21. He finished the game with four returns for 113 yards.
“I looked at it as just another game,” the 23-year-old professed. “It was an honor to be there and I respected that. But I approach every game the same way. I set goals and work toward seeing them through.”
The 5’9”, 185-pound return man’s lack of fervor about performing so well on a prominent stage is conceivable. In fact, what the NFL scouts and fans in attendance saw that week from Vann is what millions had already witnessed from the former preferred walk on. MEAC opponents were well educated on his skill set. True, Vann played at FAMU, an institution that competes at Bragg Memorial’s 25,500 seat stadium, but his antics on the field often landed him on a larger platform.
For instance, early in the 2009 campaign, Vann made ESPN’s Top 10 Plays Countdown in consecutive weeks. His first appearance came after he torched Winston Salem State’s special team unit in a 34-10 Florida A & M victory. With the Rattlers nursing a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, Vann took a punt at the five-yard line; most expected the senior to call fair catch, but he instead shook off the initial defenders and galloped 95 yards for the score. Vann essentially put the game out of reach in the third quarter when, like déjà vu, he fielded another Winston Salem State punt and raced 80 yards for the touchdown to give the Rattlers a 21-3 cushion.
Each play ran on Sports Center well after the game had ended. But before those highlights could cool, Vann made a repeat visit on the telecast. Just a week after returning two punts for scores against Winston Salem State (September 10th), he resurrected the magic against Howard (September 17th), punishing the Bison with two as well, for 40 and 66 yards, respectively. Images of him shedding tacklers, changing directions, and sprinting through the open field were reoccurring themes for weeks.
Not only did Vann’s play propel him to the national landscape, it helped his Rattlers off to a 3-0 start to the 2009 season. Florida A & M went on to finish 8-3, one of those losses coming at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes and the other to MEAC Champion South Carolina State. Vann’s footprints were all over the Rattlers’ success.
He finished the season with five punt returns for touchdowns. Those numbers only added to Vann’s legend. For his career, he secured an FCS record with 11 returns for scores, eight for punts, and three for kickoffs. As well, he’s one of only five players in NCAA history to amass 1,000 career yards in both punt and kickoff return yardage. It’s no surprise then that the Florida native found himself on several post season awards lists. He was a second team AP FCS All-America team selection. He was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation FCS All-America squad (second selection) and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network Sports Black College All-America team.
All of that said, things lately have been quiet for the NFL prospect. And usually breaking the silence are questions about Vann, questions he hopes to answer at his Pro Day in late March. For one, listings on Vann’s size vary. Some reports have him listed at 5’9” and others at 5’7”; some reports have him weighing in at 185 pounds and others 179.
Vann is aware of these question marks.
“I feel like, the type of style I play, I’m very physical,” he proclaimed. “Even if I did get hit, I am capable of running people over. I’m fearless; if anybody’s been to one of my games, they’d know I’ve never called a fair catch. You’ve got people who say ‘he’s not big enough to play this or that position,’ but if you can play football, you can play football. Most people can see my ability.”
What was not as clearly visible regarding Vann was his position. He made the All-America teams as an all-purpose back and ironically, now being known as merely an explosive return man could be considered a crutch. The wide spread view here again is obscure. Some outlets have him listed as a cornerback and others at wide receiver. The reality is that Vann didn’t play either of those positions religiously at Florida A & M.
Getting drafted or signed as a free agent as primarily a return man is highly unlikely. Analysts who point to Devin Hester as a comparison should remember that Hester spent extensive time playing in the secondary while at Miami and saw a considerable amount of snaps at wide receiver. And though the Miami Dolphins lauded Ted Ginn, Jr. as a return specialist with the No. 9 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, at Ohio State Ginn hauled in 110 receptions for 1,584 yards and 13 touchdowns.
In Vann’s defense, he was able to showcase his range at the HBCU Bowl, where he played at receiver and corner back during the practice week, efforts that to his satisfaction were noticed by several NFL scouts in attendance.
“That was great because I was able to show a little bit of everything,” he stated. “It was really by chance that I got to work at receiver. They were short some guys and pulled me over. I think the idea going in was that I would just return kicks and play some at defensive back, but it worked out that I was able to do some things I think I could have been doing all along.”
Interestingly, Vann’s coaching staff at the all-star game was a familiar one. The Rattlers’ regime, led by head coach Joe Taylor, guided his East squad and made the decision to show him at receiver. When asked why his coaches had not used him more at receiver during his time at Florida A & M, Vann is as perplexed as most.
“I don’t want to speculate why they didn’t use me more,” he acknowledged. “I think my coaches saw at the HBCU game that they should have used me a lot more in that way. At the end of the season, they did try a little to incorporate me into the offense but it was more in line with just reverses. The type of offense we ran (spread), I could have been a Wes Welker type of guy. Because of my vision in the return game, I could have gotten the ball and did something with it.”
When scouts visit Vann’s Pro Day, he’ll be working strategically at slot receiver. But in addition to showing off his route running and hands, Vann will have to dispel myths about his speed. He’s surprised to hear reports that he’s a 4.6 – 4.7 guy in the 40-yard-dash. Still, it’s the first thing he focuses on in his off season work outs. It’s in this arena that Vann is most defiant in reacting to criticism.
“I’ve heard people saying that I ran 4.6s and 4.5s,” he noted. “Honestly, I ran a 4.49 at the HBCU practices, and that was me out of shape not having ran since the last football game. The rumors are just that. All that’s go change when I run my Pro Day. I’m not too worried about it.”
It’s now that Vann is reminded of his introduction to the game of football. At the age of seven, he was taken to a practice by his father, and after watching for a succession of hard hits by a standout linebacker, he had just one question.
“He’s not going to get in trouble for that,” Vann recalled as his initial inquiry. “I started playing soon after and my love for the game has grown each year. When I was in Pop Warner, I wanted to play middle school ball. When I accomplished that, I couldn’t wait to play in high school. My biggest goal then was to play college football.”
Vann’s next goal is obvious. He’s hoping in this case his vision as a return man is prophetic.
- Patrick Green, DraftNasty.com staff writer, has been writing professionally for more than a decade. He is the author of two novels, Josie’s Missing Syllabus and Son Down; and while both works deal with topics beyond the athletic landscape, each exposes a social scope involving sports as an underlying theme. Green has covered high school, college, amateur, and professional football during his career, having written for newspapers in Augusta, Ga., and Charleston, South Carolina. To learn more about Patrick Green, visit www.greeninkpub.com.