THE SITUATION
Five-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright has had a very long recruitment and has taken plenty of visits but the school that has always been his leader landed his signature on National Signing Day. Tennessee comes away with one of the top offensive linemen in the country and a major piece to their recruiting class. North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama were involved in Wright’s recruitment West Virginia was the other big contender down the stretch. The new Mountaineer coaching staff did an excellent job renewing their efforts and making this decision a little bit more difficult for Wright but in the end the Volunteers were able to secure his commitment.
WHY IT'S BIG FOR TENNESSEE
It was very important for Tennessee to land Wright’s commitment because of how much time they invested in recruiting him and because he will help the program can take the next step. Wright completes this great offensive line class and he is the heir apparent at left tackle. A huge frame with a great skill set, Wright has the ability to be a franchise left tackle. He’s very quick for a big man and plays with an aggressiveness that offensive line coaches love. Wright is a very good run blocker but needs to refine his pass blocking techniques. Once he gets on Tennessee’s campus the strength and conditioning staff will get a hold of him and whip him into shape physically and that shouldn’t take long. Don’t be surprised if Wright sees the field very early in his career.
SCHOOLS IT HURTS THE MOST
West Virginia’s new coaching staff was very hopeful they would be able to get Wright to stay in state but it seems like it was too little too late. Wright was seriously considering West Virginia under the new coaching staff but the relationships and how comfortable he felt on campus at Tennessee was just too much for the Mountaineers to try to compensate for in such a short amount of time. Wright loved seeing all the people that he was close with during his official visit to West Virginia but Tennessee was still able to hold on.
