The West Virginia football program has further addressed the wide receiver room with a commitment from Jacksonville State wide receiver Cam Vaughn.
Vaughn, 6-foot-2, 191-pounds, will follow head coach Rich Rodriguez from the Gamecocks after leading the team in receiving with 49 catches for 804 yards and 5 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman. That included closing the year with a 10 catch, 184-yard performance with a touchdown in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl.
The previous season and his first on campus Vaughn saw action in three games but did not record a pass after making the transition from quarterback to wide receiver.
Vaughn entered the transfer portal following the departure of Rodriguez and took an official visit to campus in December in order to see the program. The Georgia native would then announce his decision to commit to the Mountaineers and give the program another explosive pass catching option.
Vaughn has three years of eligibility remaining in his college career.
Vaughn is the fourth wide receiver transfer to select the Mountaineers since Rodriguez inherited the program following Eastern Michigan slot wide receiver Oran Singleton, Youngstown State wide receiver Cyrus Traugh and his former teammate Jarod Bowie.
WVSports.com breaks down the transfer of Vaughn and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
Vaughn spent two seasons at Jacksonville State, but only one of those counted toward his eligibility clock as he appeared in just three games as a true freshman. Vaughn saw 28 snaps in his first year, but that total grew significantly in his second to 618 as he led the Gamecocks in receiving.
In his second full season, Vaughn graded out at 80.8 according to Pro Football Focus.
Vaughn started the final nine games of the season as he emerged into the premier pass catching option on the team and his numbers reflected it. He was targeted 78 times on the season, hauling in 48 of those for 803 yards and had an average reception of almost 17 yards.
Vaughn was especially good in contested catch situations hauling in 9 of 13, while also displaying his explosiveness forcing 17 missed tackles and racking up 221 yards after the catch.
Fitting the program:
Vaughn has already checked off several boxes here as he has played for Rodriguez during his time at Jacksonville State and seen Morgantown after visiting campus. That should make the transition a seamless one for the explosive young wide receiver option.
There will be 12 other wide receivers on the roster outside of Vaughn, but he brings proven experience and has already served as the number one option during his time at Jacksonville State. While he has only played the wide receiver position just over a year and change, Vaughn has made his mark and is going to have every opportunity to be one of the key pass catching options on this roster.
The Mountaineers have done a good job of addressing needs in the portal and Vaughn certainly checks that box with a big bodied outside pass catcher with speed that understands Rodriguez’s offense.
And the best news is that Vaughn has multiple years of eligibility to continue to develop and grow.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia has remade the wide receiver room in the transfer portal with a mix of different body types and skill sets. Vaughn is an outside wide receiver with size that can run, while some of the others can fill inside and down the list. The Mountaineers are still involved with a number of options here including Clemson wide receiver Troy Stellato and Northern Illinois wide receiver Cam Thompson out of the transfer portal. Both are expected to take official visits to campus, but the program has filled a lot of needs across the board.
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