Transfer Bio Blast: Greedy Vance Jr.

The spring transfer portal window of the offseason officially opened on Tuesday. We’ve already seen some modest player movement. Teams are working rapidly to get targets on campus for visits over the next two weeks to close these fast-paced recruitments over the next four or so weeks. Kentucky will host a key visitor next week.

That player plays a position of need for Kentucky.

Florida State cornerback Greedy Vance Jr. announced his plans to enter the transfer portal last week and worked quickly to schedule visits. On Thursday, On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported that the ACC transfer has locked in visit dates to USC (April 18-21) and Kentucky (April 26-28). The defensive transfer will be on campus next weekend.

Kentucky is yet again getting another free agent transfer quarterback in town for a visit. Will we see the Wildcats close this time? Before that visit occurs, let’s learn some more about the top-200 transfer who has one year of eligibility remaining.

Three-star recruit lands at Louisville

Greedy Vance Jr. was a high three-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting cycle. The New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr product committed to Arkansas only to flip to Louisville during his senior campaign. The development was a big one for Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield in his first full recruiting class at the school.

In his true freshman season, Vance played 46 defensive snaps recording one tackle and spending most of his time at outside cornerback. As a sophomore in 2021, Vance earned nine starts at Louisville recording career-high numbers in snaps (636), tackles (36), and pass breakups (seven). Vance played 50-plus snaps in six of the last seven games and received a high volume of targets (54), according to PFF data.

Vance spent 76.9 percent of his snaps as an outside cornerback at Louisville. That changed after the defensive back entered the transfer portal following the 2021 season and landed at Florida State.

A position switch at Florida State

Playing for defensive coordinator Adam Fuller, Vance played in 27 games over his two seasons with the Seminoles. During his stint in Tallahassee, FSU won a lot of football games and produced a top-10 defense in 2023. Vance played a key role inside.

In Fuller’s 4-2-5 scheme, Vance served as a starting nickel. Over those two seasons playing for Mike Norvell’s program, Vance recorded 34 tackles, five pass breakups, and four interceptions.

During his time at FSU, Vance saw 85.5 percent of his snap distribution come at slot cornerback and that turned into the best football of his career.

Versatility, versatility, versatility

Heading into the 2022 season, Kentucky added Ole Miss transfer Keidron Smith to the roster. The SEC transfer had just one year of eligibility remaining and had bounced around positions in Oxford. Kentucky gave him an opportunity to play outside cornerback and the super senior excelled.

Greedy Vance Jr. could fit that mold, but where exactly would he play?

The transfer has a full season of college football experience at outside cornerback but had a rocky as a sophomore at Louisville, and size concerns (5-11, 170) are likely legitimate. Vance thrived in the slot over his last two seasons at Florida State missing only six total tackles and allowing a 47.6 percent catch rate on 63 targets to go along with good ball production (four interceptions, five pass breakups). Vance shows good awareness in zone coverage and is an aggressive player who can hand fight receivers on releases and stay sticky in man against slot receivers.

Kentucky left the spring feeling good about former Ohio State transfer Jantzen Dunn. If the Wildcats believe the redshirt junior can be a full-time starter on the outside, going on a big push for Vance makes a ton of sense. The ACC transfer is a highly productive nickel player with a ton of experience and production. Or does UK think Vance could hold up at outside cornerback? Or would they want the transfer to play a hybrid role like Andru Phillips in 2023?

That is all to be determined, but Vance would give the secondary a high-floor player who could play a big role in his last season of college football.