LaDaris Tremaine Vann (born October 7, 1980) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. He was also a member of the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

Early years

Vann attended

Fort Pierce Central High School Fort Pierce Central High School is a public high school located in Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. It is part of the St. Lucie Public Schools district. History Fort Pierce Central High School opened its doors in 1970 as the first comprehen ...

. As a sophomore, he did not play football. As a junior, he was named the starter at

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He also practiced

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. As a senior in 1998, he was suspended for 10 days for having an altercation with a teacher, which also affected his

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

scholarship offers. He decided to transfer to

Spanish River Community High School Spanish River Community High School is a public, coeducational high school in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. It is part of the School District of Palm Beach County and serves the cities of Boca Raton and Delray Beach. History Spanish River Community ...

after the incident. Vann earned the starter position at

, where he was a part of a backfield that included future professional football players Lance Frazier and

Jason Geathers Jason Geathers (born September 8, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver in the Arena Football League for the San Jose SaberCats, Tampa Bay Storm, Arizona Rattlers and Orlando Predators. He was also a member of the New York Giants i ...

. He only played in the first 4 games of the season, after the Florida High School Activities Association (FHSAA) ruled him ineligible due to not meeting transfer requirements. He received interest from the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

to play Minor League Baseball, but chose to enroll in college.

College career

Vann accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he was converted into a wide receiver. He appeared in 11 games as the third receiver, ahead of fellow freshman

Antonio Chatman Antonio Tavaras Chatman (born February 12, 1979) is a former American football wide receiver and punt returner. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Cincinnati. Chatman also ...

. He registered 37 receptions (third on the team) for 547 yards (led the team), 14.8-yard average and 4 receiving touchdowns (led the team). As a sophomore, he appeared in 10 games and his production dropped off, making 26 receptions (fourth on the team) for 332 yards (fourth on the team), a 12.8-yard average and 2 receiving touchdowns (tied for the team lead). He missed one game with an injury. As a junior, he was named a starter at wide receiver, leading the team with 73 receptions for 902 yards. He also had 3 receiving touchdowns and 5 carries for 20 yards. He opened the season collecting 9 receptions for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns against

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. He had a career-high 12 receptions for 134 yards against

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. As a senior, he collected 71 receptions (led the team), 844 yards (second on the team) and 5 receiving touchdowns (led the team). He tied a career-high with 12 receptions against the

University of Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

. Vann finished his college career with 46 game appearances, 33 starts, 207 receptions (school record), 2,625 receiving yards (school record), 14 receiving touchdowns (fourth in school history), eight 100-yard receiving games (second in school history) and a streak of 46 straight games with a reception (school record). He also was an outfielder for the school's baseball team as a junior.

Professional career

On May 16, 2003, Vann was signed by the

of the

. He appeared in 10 games, recording 21 catches for 324 yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 15 punt returns for 147 yards (9.8-yard avg.) and 16 kickoff returns for 307 yards (19.2-yard avg.). On September 30, 2003, he was released. On November 6, 2003, he signed with the

Indiana Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. On February 3, 2005, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He was initially allocated to the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

, before being cut and re-assigned to the

. He appeared in 2 games, tallying one catch for 12 yards and one kickoff return for 19 yards. On July 29, 2005, he was placed on the NFL Europe

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. On April 17, 2006, he was released by the Bills. On May 10, 2007, he signed with the

B.C. Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

. He was limited with an injury and was released before the start of the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vann, LaDaris Living people 1980 births Players of American football from Florida American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Cincinnati Bearcats football players Cincinnati Bearcats baseball players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Frankfurt Galaxy players People from Fort Pierce, Florida 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people