How Josh Vann Manages To Impact Games

South Carolina special teams coordinator Pete Lembo spoke with the media last week and praised wide receiver Josh Vann and his mentality.

Last season things didn't go right often for South Carolina's offense. Still, one of the constant lone bright spots was the breakout season of wide receiver Josh Vann, a highly touted receiver wideout back in the 2018 recruiting cycle from Tucker High School in Georgia.

 How good was Vann? He led the team in receptions and receiving yards by a sizable margin and was tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions alongside tight end Jaheim Bell.

So it would go without saying that fans are probably surprised at Vann's offensive stat line through six games in the 2022 season; 5 receptions, 29 receiving yards, and zero receiving touchdowns. The reasoning behind this lackluster stat line is likely quite convoluted. Still, Vann has had to find ways to help this team whenever those opportunities have presented themselves.

The most significant effect he's had has been on punt return, an area in which Vann has seen tremendous improvement, raising his average yards per punt return mark from 8 yards in 2021 to 13.8 yards so far in 2022. 

“So we talked after last season quite a bit with [Josh] about some situations where I felt like he was a little too conservative, fair catching some balls where he had time and space [to run], and trusting himself to maybe make the first guy miss… and that doesn’t mean to be reckless either," Pete Lembo explained at his press conference last week. "So, No. 1 it’s good to see him be a little more aggressive this year, but I will tell you this coming out of last season, if you really crunch the numbers and watch the video on us… even though we blocked a lot of punts our return game left a lot to be desired. So as far back as the spring when it came to allocating time for drill work, we have put more time into punt return. So I think you’re starting to see gradually, slowly but surely, you’re starting to see a little more of that technique show up."

The idea of being aggressive on punt returns comes back to the concept of hidden yards, something that Pete Lembo tracks heavily throughout the season. While he hasn't been as productive on offense to this point in the season, Vann has been a massive help in field position on special teams, one of the most critical facets of a football game.

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