A little more than a week ago we touched on safety-turned-cornerback Ronnie Vinson leaving LSU and heading to a Div. 1-AA (FCS) football program. While the level is still the same, the program to which he’s headed has abruptly changed.
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Vinson has enrolled at Tennessee State and will begin attending classes at the school this summer.
Vinson had originally intended to transfer to Southeastern Louisiana, with his former high school coach stating on or around May 22 that “the paperwork is in the formalized process.” However, within 48 hours of Tennessee State contacting him, Vinson had flipped his commitment.
The fact that Vinson’s brother played for the school last decade apparently played a role in the decision.
“We really didn’t know about his decision to transfer until about a week-and-a-half ago,” Vinson’s new coach, Rod Reed, told the paper. “His brother was roommates with one of our coaches when he was here. Charles made contact with one of our coaches when Ronnie decided to transfer. Once we expressed interested and gathered that he was interested as well, we talked with him and his parents. ... It happened pretty quickly.”
Vinson, who will be eligible to play immediately this season, played in seven games for the Tigers in 2011 after redshirting as a true freshman. He was a four-star recruit in LSU’s 2010 class, and Rivals.com rated him as the No. 4 player at any position in the state of Louisiana.
No specific reason was given for the original decision to transfer, although positioning on the post-spring depth chart may be as good of a place as any to start.