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Vanderbilt senior Martel Hight has moved to wide receiver and is not expected to play any defensive snaps against Mississippi State, per the broadcast.
Vandy on SI can confirm Vanderbilt's intention to move Hight to wide receiver. Sources tell Vandy on SI that there's optimism that Hight's primary position can be receiver long term and that he could be a full-time receiver if he plays for Vanderbilt in 2027.
Hight hadn't taken any wide receiver reps in games this season prior to Saturday, but the indication is that he's been practicing at wide receiver. Hight played 55 offensive snaps a year ago while splitting duties time at receiver, cornerback and punt returner in 2025. He caught 11 passes a year ago, but Vanderbilt phased him out of his duties at receiver in favor of using him at cornerback. Hight and Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea thought it would be best for him to move full time to corner again this season, but neither of them dismissed the idea that he could take significant snaps at receiver.
“Whenever he calls my name,” Hight told Vandy on SI during fall camp, “I’ll be right there in his hip pocket.”
Hight’s season grade as a receiver was just a 61.1–which was No. 15 among the pass catchers on Vanderbilt’s roster a year ago. Vanderbilt believed that if Hight had a route to being an NFL player, it would come at cornerback. Hight said he believed that, too. But, something appears to have changed.
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Through eight games, Hight had a career-low 58.3 grade on the season. He finished 2025 with a 68.4, which was the second-highest grade of his career. Hight posted his lowest-graded showing of 2026 against Kentucky with a 45.7. He also played a season-low 17 snaps on defense in that game, while young Vanderbilt cornerback Davin Chandler has surged in reps.
Vanderbilt has two reliable receivers in Junior Sherrill and Ja'Cory Thomas, but is searching for another option alongside them. Maybe Hight could be that.
“Obviously, he's built some foundational knowledge within our offensive system,” Lea told Vandy on SI this summer. “He's also our returner, so that's an area that we need to get him loose a little more. As good as we were on special teams last year, that was a place where we really struggled, and so we're gonna let him impact winning in those two roles and see where our receiver group nets out as we go through the summer.”
Well, it appears as if Vanderbilt's coaching staff saw some things from Hight and its wide receiver room that they believed neccessitated moving him in order to best use him.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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