NASHVILLE - Martel Hight’s path to wide receiver at Vanderbilt didn’t happen all at once. It started as a season-long experiment, turned into a short-lived two-way try, and eventually settled into a permanent move after the bye week.
At the start of the 2025 season, Hight was still listed as a cornerback, but he and the staff spent time testing what it would look like for him to work on both sides of the ball. The idea of chasing a Travis Hunter-style role didn’t stick for long. Hight took snaps at cornerback and receiver for the first few weeks, then spent the rest of the season at cornerback until the offensive need opened the door.
That opening came during Vanderbilt’s bye week at the end of October. Hight was in the football facility on Monday morning getting work in when offensive coordinator Tim Beck called him into his office and told him the offense wanted him at receiver. Hight didn’t hesitate.
“I said at the beginning of the season I did want to play both ways, but I told coach Beck whenever my number needs to be called, call it. I’m there for him and here I am, now playing receiver,” Hight told Vandy On SI.
After Vanderbilt beat Mississippi State out of the bye, head coach Clark Lea made it clear the switch was not temporary. Hight’s move to receiver was permanent.
Hight’s first official game at the position came this past weekend against the Bulldogs, when he caught one pass for three yards. The stat line was modest, but the role is familiar territory for him. At Rome High School in Rome, Georgia, he played wide receiver alongside his work as a defensive back, and he had already taken some receiver snaps during the 2025 season before the full-time change.
He believes he can bring something useful to Vanderbilt’s offense right away. Hight sees himself as a player who can stretch the field vertically with his speed and also create in space underneath.
Lea sees the fit a little differently, but the idea is the same: Hight can add another layer to the offense. The staff likes what Junior Sherrill and Ja’Cory Thomas bring on the perimeter and feels good about Tristen Brown working the middle of the field. Hight, Lea said, can help inside and give the offense more options.
“We think Martel can be part of that, just giving us some juice inside there. Just some catching on the jet sweep kind of skillset that he falls into really easily,” Lea said to the media Thursday. “Hopefully as we go and finish out the season, those route depths, tempo and timing are cleaned up.”
There’s still some work to do in terms of timing, especially with five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis. Because Hight spent most of the season on defense, the two haven’t had a ton of time to build chemistry in game situations. Still, Lea said Curtis had already thrown to Hight after practice earlier this season in case the move ever became real.
Hight says the transition hasn’t felt rocky at all. He pointed to Curtis, Beck and wide receivers coach Alex Bailey for helping him settle in quickly, and he said Curtis has made a point of reaching out to him and inviting him to work together.
“Jared made it easy for me. He’s good at communicating.
He’s a true leader. He’s a freshman but he’s actually a leader,” Hight told Vandy On SI about his relationship with Curtis.
“He makes sure I’m okay. He checks on me in the locker room, asks me ‘hey do you want to go work on this?’”
Hight also believes his background as a punt returner and cornerback gives him a useful edge. He already knows how to track the ball as a returner, and he understands how defensive backs think and react, which he believes can help him on offense.
Lea thinks the ceiling is there, too.
“He has access to the full route tree because we think he can be a really good receiver,” Lea said.
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