Wright this name down

Many have seen the early recruiting lists and most of the talk has centered around a select few players.

One name that has not been thrown in the mix with the elite players, but maybe should have been is that of Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips linebacker Recardo Wright.

As a junior, Wright lined up at defensive end, but with a new coach on board Wright will be changing positions.

Last year Kevin Pettis coached the Pacelli Vikings in Columbus, Ga. to a perfect regular season and deep into the playoffs. Now, Pettis has taken over at Dr. Phillips and is excited about coaching a player with Wright's ability.

"Hype doesn't mean anything to me," Pettis said. "I have coached some great players, but this kid is really, really special. I tell you what, this kids is simply just a freak. he's only been playing football for two years, so he also has the tremendous upside to just keep getting better and that's really almost scarey with his talent. He is going to be a special one, I know that much."

Pettis had three players from his Class A Pacelli team who signed with a major programs this past signing day, linebacker Kalvin Baker to Florida, offensive lineman Mike Harness to Auburn and athlete Matt Dunham to Florida State. Wright is drawing comparison's to Dunham.

"When you look at them physically, it's pretty much the same kid," Pettis said. "He looks a lot like Matt, but Recardo is much faster than Matt and he is more athletic. That is scary considering how talented Matt is and how heavily recruited he was. I have been fielding calls about Recardo already. I am staying here at Pacelli until the end of the school year and we have two prospects at Pacelli and I am getting calls about them as well, but overall it's not too bad."

Wright checks in at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and Pettis says he has been clocked at sub 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, but is anticipating getting an electronic time on him over the summer.

As a junior Wright spent most of his time at defensive end, but much like he did for Dunham, Pettis plans to use Wright's size and athleticism at a different position.

"Right now I'm not sure what we're going to do with him, but we won't play him at defensive end," Pettis said. "We are definitely looking hard at playing him at linebacker and we may surprise everybody and play him at safety like we did with Matt, I'm just not sure yet. Heck, we may use him on offense at running back or at least tight end, I mean he is the fastest kid on the team. Any time you've got somebody that big, that is that fast, you need to put the ball in their hands every once in a while."

Wright's name has been slow getting out in large part due to the coaching change, but there are plenty of college coaches who already know about this talented big man.

"I was at the coaching convention a couple of weeks ago and a coach from Miami came up to me and told me that I had a great player," Pettis said. "I knew who he was talking about right away and he just went on and on about how good Recardo already was and how much better he would be able to get because he's still learning the game. He told me they would be offering and I am hearing from just about every school in the country."

Pettis went on to say that he will be bringing Wright to the 7-on-7 camp at Auburn over the summer and likely the NIKE camp in May at Florida State.