What Trent Hudson Brings to Vanderbilt’s Offense

Trent Hudson, one of the newest Vanderbilt wide receivers, has had a roller coaster of a career. The Texas native started his collegiate career in 2023 at New Mexico State before transferring to Mississippi State for the 2024-2025 season.

However, Hudson’s time in Starkville was quickly derailed when he suffered an injury that kept him out of the entirety of last season, leaving him with no playing experience since the 2023 season. 

After a short trip at Mississippi State, Hudson transferred to Vanderbilt just days before the Commodores were set to take on Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl in December of 2024. Hudson’s decision to transfer to Vanderbilt means he is reuniting with not only his quarterback in Diego Pavia, who he teamed up with during the 2023 season at New Mexico State, but Hudson will also be playing for his former Aggie offensive coordinator Tim Beck. 

In his lone season of college football, Hudson had a solid showing as the No. 2 receiver in receptions and receiving yards with 36 catches for 551 yards. In addition, Hudson was perhaps Pavia’s top red zone target as he caught 10 touchdowns from his quarterback, the most receiving touchdowns on the roster that season. 

Now back with his quarterback and his offensive coordinator, Hudson gives the Commodores an extra weapon to use this upcoming season. At Vanderbilt’s media day Monday, Beck gave his thoughts on what Hudson can bring to the offense.

“Trent was really effective for us at New Mexico State in the red zone. So, he and Diego have a good connection. We didn’t throw the ball vertical that much last year, but we got guys now that are more vertical threats than what we had last year,” Beck said.

Hudson’s size makes him one of the biggest targets for Pavia in terms of size. Hudson enters the season a 6-foot-3 and 187 pounds, a good size for a receiver to get up and go get the 50/50 balls. His height makes him a prime red zone target as well, just like he was at New Mexico State.

Beck also talked about the skills that could help Hudson make an impact on this season’s offense.

“Trent’s a guy that’s a little bit longer, he’s got good speed. He does a great job of getting released. He knows how to stack corners and give the quarterback some room. Having him here in addition to some of the other guys will absolutely give us another weapon we can use,” Beck said.

Hudson’s spot on the wide receiver depth chart will have to be earned if he wants to become a top receiver on the roster. Being a year removed from an injury that kept him out an entire season is never easy and it could be difficult to determine how fast he will be back to his full potential.

Nevertheless, however, Hudson’s familiarity with Pavia and Beck should serve him well and give him a chance to do damage against Vanderbilt’s opponents this season.

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