Tennessee football recruiting: 5-star OL Darnell Wright picks Vols for 2019

Tennessee football got its top 2019 prospect on National Signing Day. Five-star offensive lineman Darnell Wright of West Virginia chose the Volunteers.

With an already historically stacked recruiting class on the offensive line, Tennessee football got its biggest pickup there on National Signing Day for 2019. The Vols got a commitment from offensive tackle Darnell Wright late Wednesday afternoon.

A five-star prospect on Rivals from Huntington High School in Huntington, W. Va., Wright is the highest-rated recruit for the Vols since Kahlil McKenzie in 2015. The 6’6″ 300-pound prospect chose the Vols over the Alabama Crimson Tide and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Vols were always trending with Wright and were never not the favorite to land him. But Jeremy Pruitt and his staff probably could not rest with him until he announced his commitment to Rocky Top Wednesday. Here is a look at that process.

Wright is the fifth offensive lineman to commit to Tennessee football for 2019. He is also the top-rated one. But he also joins three other four-stars in Wanya Morris, Chris Akporoghene and Jackson Lampley. Melvin McBride is the fifth commitment, and McBride and Morris are in-state prospects from Memphis and Nashville respectively.

But there is no question that Wright is the top prize in the class. He was the 23rd commitment and 22nd signee, with Anthony Harris, a three-star safety the only player remaining left to sign. Wright is also the only five-star in the class according to Rivals.

Given the historically bad performance of the offensive line last year, Trey Smith’s questionable health and Drew Richmond’s transfer possibility, there’s a chance that Wright will play for the Vols extremely early on.

Will Friend and Brian Niedermeyer were the guys designated to target Wright. It’s pretty obvious that Pruitt, Jim Chaney and Friend need immediate help at on the line, and Wright could definitely provide that. Here’s a look at his highlight reel.

As you can see, Wright has the ability to pass protect the way you would expect a tackle to be able to, and he can also create running lanes, which is not always common for an offensive tackle. That combination of size and understanding the game makes him an amazing pickup.

On top of that, Wright has lots of agility, showing an ability to hold off linebackers and other rushers as well. That’s a big deal and one that could end up being very beneficial to Tennessee football with all the defensive minded coaches in the SEC.

The only concern for Wright is his questionable level of competition, as he played in West Virginia. However, he still looks amazing with his play, and he provides a huge level of depth for the Vols. Up front, Rocky Top is finally shoring things up. If Smith and Richmond can somehow return, this unit will all of a sudden be surprisingly loaded.