How Vanderbilt football is prepping Martel Hight to play offense, defense in practice
Martel Hight has the chance to play in more ways than one this year for Vanderbilt football. Last season, he lined up at cornerback and returned punts. This year, he's going to also catch passes.
He'll be a three-way player, but the prep work doesn't change.
"It's not really different," Hight said on July 31. "You've got to capitalize on your reps, so that's kind of what I'm doing. If you and your unit is on the same page, then I won't even really be tired."
Through the spring, Hight mainly practiced with the offense. Through the first two days of fall camp, he was practicing with the defense.
But then he stays longer on the field.
After practice, Hight tries to get extra work in with quarterback Diego Pavia along with the other wide receivers.
The All-SEC second team selection is just doing whatever it takes. That's the theme with this Vanderbilt squad — finding a will to win. The junior has been around it for a bit now and fully understands what it takes.
"Now that I'm an older guy, I have to lead the young and just be a captain for the team," Hight said. "Just making sure that everybody's following the right steps and going along with the mission."
Hight was there when Vanderbilt went 2-10 in 2023. He played a big role in the Commodores' success last season when they went 7-6.
That was last year, though.
"We're building off of last season," Hight said. "We're trying to leave last season in the past, but build off it and figure out what our mistakes were and just capitalize on our mistakes."
The wide receiver aspect may be new, but Hight is already embracing all parts of it.
"Just as much as we want to catch touchdowns and celebrate, we've got to block," he said. "You've got to run to win, we can't just depend on passing. That's kind of the identity of a receiver."
Hight will get to experience the 2025 season from all sides of the ball. He watched Pavia work magic from the sidelines last year, but on Aug. 30 when Vanderbilt hosts Charleston Southern, he'll get to be a part of it.
"That guy is a dog," Hight said. "He's like a magician, like he knows what's going to happen. He'll set you up for good and he makes plays. Just having that at the quarterback position is great."