Randon Fontenette To Leave Vanderbilt Football, Enter Transfer Portal

Vanderbilt STAR Randon Fontenette is leaving the Commodores with one season of eligibility left.

Nov 1, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores defensive back Randon Fontenette (2) attempts to intercept a pass during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt football STAR Randon Fontenette has entered the transfer portal, per a Wednesday morning report. 

Fontenette was a key piece in Vanderbilt football’s turnaround after the Commodores 2-10 season in 2023 and was enough of a fixture within its program to represent it at SEC Media Days prior to the 2025 season. 

The Vanderbilt STAR recorded 52 tackles and forced a fumble during the 2025 season. His numbers were more lofty in 2024 as he participated in 72 tackles, recorded 3.5 sacks and had a pick six in Vanderbilt’s win over No. 1 Alabama.

Fontenette had a simple explanation for his production dipping in his second season at Vanderbilt.

“I haven't been getting a lot of action coming my way," Fonenette said with four games remaining in the regular season. "I talked to my coaches about it 'cause I kind of got frustrated with my stats and stuff like that. As a player, you want stats, you want the sacks, you want the tackles, you want the picks, but I sat and talked to [Jimmy Thompson], he just told me ‘they're scheming away from you, but when the plays come, you have to make it.’ That's what I've been focusing on.”

Fontenette came into 2024 after a season at TCU in which he played sparingly and appeared to struggle to find a way on to the field consistently. His emergence was a surprise of sorts within the grander scope of the SEC based off of his prior body of work, but Fontenette eventually put together a season in which he was a borderline All-SEC player. The Vanderbilt STAR believed he should have been selected to the All-SEC team that season and carried a chip on his shoulder heading into the 2025 season.

The Vanderbilt STAR couldn't use that chip to do so in the 2025 season, though.

“For as disruptive as he was a year ago, there is a book out,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “I think a lot of that book is running to the boundary. For as much pressure as we've shown to the field, and again, for having that extra defender over there as an overhang, we see a lot of formation of boundaries. You can see a lot of under the boundary. 
There's ways we can plan around that, but because he's on the perimeter, there's also opportunity for them to avoid him.”

Now, Vanderbilt will have to replace Fontenette's gravity and ability to change the game with a standout defensive play.