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".
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 one.
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 song's 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.
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.