Why Vanderbilt Football's Junior Sherrill Says To Bring On The Double Teams – si.com

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TAMPA, FL—This is the look of stardom for Vanderbilt receiver Junior Sherrill. 
A tan jacket. A chrome heart on the right side of the jacket, three more on the left. A shiny necklace with the same emblem pokes out between the inside edges of the jacket. Sherrill went the flashy route, which appears to be an indication of the role he’s aiming to take on for Vanderbilt football in 2026. 
Perhaps that’s not exactly what he went for with his Media Days appearance, but it’s the result of his outfit paired with this stage of his Vanderbilt career. 
“My mom actually decided on the outfit,” Sherrill told Vandy on SI. “I just rode with it and put it on.” 
The idea that there was an outfit for Sherrill–or, more accurately, someone around him–to pick out at all was an indicator of the way this has all come to fruition for him. Sherrill came to Vanderbilt four years ago as primarily a deep-ball threat and gadget player on a 2-10 team, but he’s paid his dues and gotten better. Now, he’s one of the faces of its program. 
Sherrill was Vanderbilt’s second leading receiver in 2025 as he went for 784 yards on 54 receptions and scored seven touchdowns–including a 46 yarder, and was really good by all definitions. Now, though, he’s got a chance to be elite. In some ways, he’s got to be in the aftermath of Eli Stowers’ and Tre Richardson’s exits.  
Sherrill is now Vanderbilt’s No. 1 offensive option and is ranked as Vandy on SI’s No. 1 player on the team prior to the 2026 season. He’ll clearly be the subject of more targets, but will also be more prone to seeing double teams than he’s been previously. 
“That's cool if they do that,” Sherrill said in regard to double teams. “We got other receivers, other players on the field who can make it do with the ball in their hands, too.” 
Vanderbilt has a number of capable weapons in its pair of upperclassman running backs, veteran tight end Cole Spence–who figures to have a bigger receiving role–and two transfer receivers in Ja’Cory Thomas and Cole Adams. None of them, though, are as important–or quite as capable–as Sherrill. 
Sherrill says he hasn’t often thought about the extra attention he may receive and hasn’t discussed it extensively with members of Vanderbilt’s coaching staff because it’s something he can’t control. The message is one that aligns with what Stowers said a year ago in regard to the idea of being double teamed after a breakout season.
Anything else coming out of Sherrill’s mouth would be firmly against his brand. 
Sherrill told Vandy on SI earlier in the summer that he’s setting out to be the most dynamic player with the ball in his hands in the country and that he feels he can be an All-SEC player by the end of the season. He says that he plans to go through everything and everyone that’s between him and those goals. 
The best season of Sherrill’s Vanderbilt career came in 2025, when he was one of Vanderbilt’s best receivers but wasn’t in the mix for all-SEC honors by the end of the year as a result of the league’s prolific receiving core. He knows that he’s got to improve in be an all-league guy to make that happen in 2026, but he appears to be of the belief that he’s done so. 
As for what he may face while he aims to get there? 
“We’re just going to play it by ear,” Sherrill said.
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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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