NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ralph Webb's face brightens when he’s asked about his adventurous summer journey to a foreign land.

Vanderbilt’s soft-spoken, adrenaline-seeking redshirt sophomore running back spent last fall pounding his way toward 1,000 yards for the Commodores, but he took time this summer to pound knowledge and experience into his brain with a short study-abroad trip to Australia.

Fresh off a fantastic spring and early offseason in Nashville, Webb jumped on a few planes to participate in the university-sponsored trip that will count toward a science class credit for the sociology major.

Webb and 12 other Vandy students spent a week in the northeast coastal city of Cairns, Queensland before heading to Fraser Island for a couple of days. In between travel and feasting on the freshest ocean cuisine, Webb mingled with exotic animals, hiked through luscious rainforests, and explored part of the mighty Great Barrier Reef.

“It was mind-blowing,” Webb said, his eyes trailing off toward the floor. “It was one of those things that you can’t really explain the feeling you had. You had to have been there with me to understand. It’s one of those things you have to do from within to understand.”

Being there was life-changing, but getting there was chaotic.

Webb, an inexperienced air traveler before, immediately discovered the frustrations of flying when weather canceled his original flight from Nashville to Dallas. After a quick phone call to a travel agent, Webb was assigned a new flight, only this one was to Charlotte, then over the Dallas, and out to Sydney, Australia.

And Webb had 10 minutes to make it.

Webb barely made it to his gate in time, but his bag didn’t, leaving him with only a T-shirt and a pair of ripped-up blue jeans shorts to wander around in for two days.

“What could go wrong, went wrong,” Webb said with a half-hearted laugh.

After leaving Nashville on a Saturday, he made it to Australia on Monday with around 30 hours of plane travel behind him.

Trudging through the first three days with jet lag, Webb set off with the task of exploring the vast and unique ecosystem Australia has to offer.

First eye-opening journey: The Great Barrier Reef.

Dropped in the middle of one of the world’s most beautiful spectacles, Webb was mesmerized by the vibrant colors of coral, fish, mollusks, plants and other sea life that surrounded him. Equipped with a snorkel, mask and fins, Webb swam through, over and around coral that either hypnotized him with its sheer beauty or startled him with its gigantic, classroom-filling size.

Schools of fish danced around him in the warm water. Webb tested his courage by swimming near moray eels and sliding his body over the top of a stingray. He even caught a glimpse of a blacktip reef shark, which can grow to nearly 10 feet long.

He even found Nemo.

“It was one of those things that was so surreal, like you only see on TV,” Webb said. “It’s one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I was just taking it all in, really enjoying myself and I didn’t take it for granted. I’m completely blessed to see such a thing like that.”

Webb, who was the lone Vandy athlete picked from a pool of more than 20 for the trip, tried his hand at zip-lining and even fished for stingrays with a spear.

He apprehensively dined on a Vegemite (a food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract) sandwich … once.

“Disgusting. It’s like the worst thing I’ve ever had,” said Webb, his face contorted as if ready to spit.

He gazed out over a mountain range from a Skyrail gondola cabin and tried to navigate a rainforest at night with his flashlight off.

The thrill-seeking Webb was both a child and a student on a giant, exotic playground filled with scintillating wonders. He lived a dream, while stepping outside his comfort zone.

“For him, it gave him a different sense of the world,” coach Derek Mason said. “He sees the world as a much bigger place now.”

But even as Webb sauntered through the Bush, he found time for football, training whenever he could to stay in shape. There were 6 a.m. runs, beach football games and the occasional “prison workout,” which consisted of pushups, pullups and dips.

Webb said that when he returned to Nashville, he made weight and hit his required running times -- his strength still there, and his mind refreshed.

“I came back ready to go,” he said.

And he had to, as a leader and Vandy's most important player. Webb was going to have his fun, but he was also going to be loyal to his team back home.

“He’s all about the work," Mason said. "He’s as blue collar as it gets. Really a throwback dude."