Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame
Having an outstanding slot receiver with great hands and one-on-one skills is what every team seeks in today’s spread offenses. Brian Vandegrift was practically unstoppable from the slot position during his junior and senior years for the Lynx. As head coach Mike Clary remarked, “Brian had an uncanny ability to get open, whether is was on a five-yard option route or a forty-yard post-corner. He was really fun to coach.”
Operating in Rhodes’ spread offense in 1992 and 1993, Brian ranked as one of the top receivers in the nation with 78 receptions as a junior and 75 receptions as a senior. His 78 single-season receptions, 2,256 career receiving yards, and 182 career receptions are all school records. In 1993 Brian was named to the Sporting News Preseason All American team. He earned First Team All Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) honors in 1992 and 1993, and he was named the 1993 SCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Brian was honored with the Daughdrill Award his senior year, having been voted by his teammates as the 1993 Most Valuable Football Player. In 2008 Brian was one of five receivers to be named to the SCAC 15th Anniversary Football Team.
Brian was also an outstanding baseball player, starting at shortstop as a freshman and sophomore, then at left field his junior and senior seasons. He was named First Team All SCAC in 1991, 1993 and 1994. Brian served as Team Captain during his senior season. Along with teammate Scott Franklin, Brian was also a pitcher’s and catcher’s nightmare when he reached first base and prepared to steal second. In 1994 the Lynx ranked second in the nation with 5.06 stolen bases per game, and Brian ranked seventh in the nation individually.
Brian was an outstanding student, even in the midst of playing ten football games in the fall and 40 baseball games in the winter and spring. For the commitment Brian displayed to being a great student and two-sport athlete, and the thrills he gave his coaches, teammates and fans at Fargason and Stauffer Fields, Rhodes is honored to induct Brian Dennis Vandegrift, Jr. into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame this 19th day of October, 2012.
