A cautionary tale for Vandy players considering entering the portal

[BrentVU]

Last winter, after four years of playing at Vandy, WR Cam Johnson, who had graduated, decided to play somewhere else for his fifth year. He entered the portal and ended up at Arizona State. The Sun Devils went a disappointing 3-9 and saw their head coach get fired in midseason. Johnson, who had averaged 40 catches per season the last three years as a Commodore, caught only 10 balls the whole season and had no TDs.

Johnson's teammate from Brentwood Academy in the same signing class, TE Gavin Schoenwald, was in the same boat-- he had his degree and could have moved on after four years. Instead, he chose to stay around and play one more year for Coach Lea. The Commodores are 5-6 with one game left. Schoenwald was elected captain and has been integral to the program's success this season, with a slew of key blocks and three touchdown catches. He may even have an outside shot at the NFL.

[Labradore]

I guess every person may have their reasons (having spent some time on Arizona State’s campus I can think of a few )… but it is surprising when someone is a starter and decides to transfer. Cam Johnson would have been a ls close to a guaranteed star as you can be in college football. Would have loved having him (and several other transfers) here for this season. I don’t think the track record of many of our transfers out have been very positive. Tyler Steen is an exception… but most others have struggled to find playing time.

[alathIN]

I hear you - I think players are often disappointed in what looked like greener grass - but I would hesitate to call out any individual player. Cam graduated, which makes it a little different to me. We may not know the whole story. Maybe he was interested in a graduate degree not offered at Vanderbilt, or wasn't able to get admitted to grad school. There could be more to Cam's story than what we know.