Norwood Vann

Norwood Vann (born February 18, 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)^[1] is a retired American football player from the mid-1980s who played 5 NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders in the early 1980s.

College

A member of the famed 1983 East Carolina Pirates, in his Senior year, Vann started at tight end^[2] and earned the team's "Clutch Player Award".^[3]

Pro career

Drafted in the 10th round with the 253rd pick of the 1984 NFL Draft (181 picks before Carl Lewis), Vann played five NFL seasons as a backup and special teams linebacker, tying for the league lead in safeties in his 1984 rookie year, with 1. Vann recovered 7 fumbles over his 4 years with the Rams, and then became a Los Angeles Raider in 1988. He played one game for the Raiders, and later was involved in the Buffalo Bills organization but did not play a game for the Bills.

Ram It

During his professional career, Vann is perhaps most notable for his energetic appearance in the LA Rams promotional video "Ram It" by "The Rammers",^[4] in which he is one of the first five featured soloists, along with Jackie Slater, Nolan Cromwell, Gary Jeter, and Dennis Harrah. Following Jeter's segment, Vann's verse went: "This is limousine Woody, my moves are like dreams, they call me the demon on the special teams. I know how to rock from the toes to the head, when I pull the trigger, I'll knock you dead", leading into Dennis Harrah's "Mountain Man"-themed verse.

Vann, possibly due to his athletic dance moves, was also featured prominently as one of the five players in the front line during the "Ram It" chorus segments, alongside NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, 4-time Pro Bowler Nolan Cromwell, and 2-time Pro Bowlers David "Big Daddy" Hill and LeRoy Irvin, all players with considerably longer and more successful NFL careers than Vann.

Post-NFL

Following his release from the Bills organization, Vann played in the CFL for the Toronto Argonauts for several seasons, before retiring and returning to East Carolina to complete his undergraduate degree in Communications in 1995.^[5]

In 1999, following the completion of his playing career, college teammate Reggie Branch compared some of his Washington Redskins Super Bowl-winning teammates to those at East Carolina, mentioning Vann specifically by name.^[6]

In 1999, Vann was also inducted into the East Carolina Pirates hall of fame.

Now currently resides in Virginia and works for the South Boston Dollar General Distribution Plant as shipping supervisor.

References

East Carolina Pirates football

Venues	Guy Smith Stadium (?–1948) College Stadium (1949–1962) Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium (1963–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Marshall NC State Victory Barrel UCF

Culture & lore	PeeDee the Pirate The Marching Pirates

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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