If you’re a Vandy fan, you know how rough the WR room looked last year. The Commodores’ wideouts combined for just 1,096 receiving yards, with Junior Sherrill leading with 411, Quincy Skinner Jr. doing 367, and the rest chipping in the leftovers. Meanwhile, tight end Eli Stowers nearly eclipsed them all with 638 yards and five touchdowns. And now, the WR depth chart is even thinner because Skinner’s off to the Falcons, leaving a giant hole in experience and production. What does that mean for Clark Lea this fall?

Now, take a step back and think. How do you plug a gaping hole in your receiving unit, one that struggled in the first place? That’s where things get interesting. Lea has teased big changes, promising a new layer in the offense, and now at SEC Media Days, he’s preparing to show how they’re doing it.

It all comes back to one name: Martel Hight. Yes, the All-SEC cornerback. He is going to add more duties to his plate. Two-way player is impressive, right? What about a three-way player? That’s what Martel Hight will be going for. Pete Thamel captured an intriguing nugget in his tweet, which read, “SEC Media Day nugget: Vanderbilt All‑SEC returner/starting CB Martel Hight will play wide receiver for the Commodores this fall, coach Clark Lea told ESPN.” Imagine that: a DB+ returner+WR, the Commodores have got their own Travis Hunter. 

“Hight will play in all three phases for the Commodores, as he started 13 games at corner last year, scored a pair of touchdowns (one INT and one return) and averaged 14.7 yards on 18 punt returns last year.” Thamel posted. The WRs will still have their work cut out this fall. They’ll have to step into Skinner Jr.’s void and gel quickly. Especially because Hight will take some time to ease into his new offensive role. Junior Sherril will have to do some heavy lifting for that time.

But thank goodness we live for college football surprises, right? Maybe the secret weapon to Vanderbilt’s dominance will be a DB making the jump. It’s not your typical route to the WR, literally and figuratively, but neither was last season’s offense. Now, fans, reporters, and rival DBs will be watching Hight’s transition top to bottom. Can he stick? Will Pavia find him in stride? Fall camp is your stage.

At the end of the day, Vanderbilt is betting on internal talent and positional flexibility. Because they didn’t want to walk into another season repeating last year’s missteps. Muscles and complexity might be the answer; guard the edges, feed Diego, and let the QB breathe. So buckle up; you came for college football chaos. Here’s your dose.

Hight’s arrival frees up Diego Pavia

While Vanderbilt fans are buzzing about Martel Hight going full Travis Hunter this fall, there’s an even sneakier benefit to his expanded role: relief for quarterback Diego Pavia. Head coach Clark Lea isn’t shy about the workload Pavia shouldered last season, admitting they leaned heavily on his legs and physicality. That’s a badge of honor, sure, but not one you want your QB wearing every Saturday in the SEC meat grinder.

“We relied heavily on Diego’s legs and his physicality… There are going to be times where we’re going to need that,” Lea said, before pointing out a critical flaw: “One of the stats we looked at was just yards before contact for our traditional running game. We were among the worst in the country.”

Enter Martel Hight. His addition as a wideout stretches defenses, opens up spacing, and gives the offense new layers. Hight’s speed forces secondaries to respect the deep ball, which means more room underneath for action, fewer eyes on QB, and, most importantly, fewer hits on Pavia. Lea wants to protect his QB by building a more balanced attack and a true run game, and having a guy like Hight out wide makes that vision a lot more possible.