Randon Fontenette is Back For A Second Act At Vanderbilt And He's Not Content With The Results of His First One

Atlanta–After what Randon Fontenette proved in 2024, he easily could’ve taken a big payday to been walking around a practice facility somewhere in the southeast as the new guy rather than representing Vanderbilt at SEC Media Days.

But, there he was in his white vest and black undershirt walking around the College Football Hall of Fame on July 14.

Fontenette is a few months away from being eligible for the NFL Draft and is returning to Vanderbilt for his junior season despite what would’ve been significant interest had he put his name in the transfer portal. Now he’ll look to show off to NFL teams in a situation that he’s familiar with.

“I knew I would stay because of Coach Lea and the plan he had for me,” Fontenette told Vandy on SI. “I didn’t have no reason to leave. I was successful in this defense last year so I had a thought process of ‘why not run it back.’”

Fontenette picked up 72 total tackles, 41 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks and a pick six against No. 1 Alabama in his first season at Vanderbilt. If he does it again, he’ll have a chance to hear his name called at some point in the 2026 NFL Draft. He knows that he’ll have to prove to NFL teams that he’s not a one-year wonder, though.

The rising junior recorded just 16 tackles as a rotational player in his freshman season at TCU before entering the transfer portal and gravitating towards Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea and his track record of developing players at STAR–an outside linebacker/safety hybrid position.

Fontenette had familiarity with the Vanderbilt staff after being recruited by Lea as a high schooler and ultimately trusted Lea’s vision for him the second time around. After a year of playing in Lea’s system, there’s been no loss of trust.

“Where else would I go that would allow me to showcase what I can do at a high level like Vanderbilt?” Fontenette said. “It was definitely something I thought about and it was a blessing. The offseason, it’s been great. The guys, we’ve been getting better.”

A year ago, Fontenette was just trying to stand out each day of fall camp–which he often did–and establish himself as a contributor within Vanderbilt’s program. Now that he’s regarded as one of its focal points, he’s learning that his personality matters in this nearly as much as his skillset does.

Fontenette hopped off the escalator on the second floor of the Atlanta Omni and made a point to introduce himself to each person in the room with a smile, the ones that he had already met knew it based off of his disposition towards him. The Vanderbilt STAR cracks jokes about how his Linkedin profile is “getting there,” perhaps that’s an indication of his growth into a professional.

Done are the days of Fontenette being able to keep to himself in the locker room, lace up his cleats and go out there to play. He’s got to take ownership of this thing. He’s got to be intentional about forming relationships and getting better performance out of his teammates as a result of them. You’ve still gotta lace them up and make plays, too.

If an NFL evaluator walks into Vanderbilt’s facility this fall, those within Vanderbilt’s program believe that they’ll see what they need to from their one of their defensive alphas.

"He's a silent killer," cornerback Martel Hight added. "He's demanding, but in a positive way. He's like Rambo as a leader, you know? That's kind of what he is. He's the Rambo of our team; he's just a dog."

Fontenette cares about winning as much as the next guy and says that “only God knows” if Vanderbilt will perform a second act against Alabama after the Commodores’ upset win at FirstBank Stadium last season. But like a dog does, he still thinks about what he can do to follow up his first individual act as a full-time starter.

The Vanderbilt STAR believes that he did enough to warrant an All-SEC selection last season, but was instead left with a chip on his shoulder as a result of not being selected. Fontenette says he’s improved his ball skills, man coverage and open-field tackling this offseason and is using those attributes to gun for the individual accolades that he’s yet to pick up.

"I want all SEC," Fontenette said. "I want to have an All-American season. With the work I put in, with the people I have around me, with my teammates, with my coaching staff, I feel like the sky's the limit for me and my team."