Tennessee football: Wanya Morris or Darnell Wright?
Who will be a better Tennessee football Volunteers offensive lineman in 2020?
A big reason for excitement behind Tennessee football entering the 2020 season is the offensive line. While the guards are getting all the hype, though, the tackles are another reason to believe in the team.
Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright emerged at left tackle and right tackle respectively as freshmen last year. By the end of the season, Morris had earned Freshman All-American honors while Wright had become a reliable player.
Both are expected to take huge leaps as sophomores, and their play as freshmen indicates that Morris will be the better player. However, don’t count out Wright’s ability to take a giant step forward for Tennessee football in 2020.
Remember, Morris had the advantage of being en early enrollee in 2019. As a result, he was better prepared to immediately step into a role, and that’s why he started all 13 games while spending 12 of them at left tackle.
On the other hand, Wright was learning on the fly, and he didn’t pick things up until midway through the year. He did still start seven games, five of which were at right tackle. We should also note that Wright, not Morris, was the Vols’ sole unanimous five-star recruit in 2019. And he did earn Freshman All-SEC.
As a result, while Morris was better in 2019, he had an extra three weeks of picking up the system, and Wright was still very good. With another season, Wright, who had more hype coming out, could be the star up front for Tennessee football.
We should also note that coming from Grayson, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, better-prepared Morris for the college level as a freshman too. It’s clear that Georgia has much better high school competition than West Virginia. Wright came from Huntington, W. Va. to be exact, as did fellow offensive lineman Riley Locklear.
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In terms of size, Wright has a tremendous advantage. He stands at 6’6″ 340 pounds, while Morris stands at 6’5″ 315 pounds. As of now, Morris has the durability advantage, as Wright got hurt a couple of times last year. However, when they were in high school, Morris had the injury issues, and that’s why he was a four-star coming onto campus on some sites in the first place.
Taking all this into account, who will be better this year? Morris has the proven production, and Wright has the potential. Both are going to start, but the competition could be to see who starts at left tackle, the most important position up front outside of maybe center.
What’s clear is that this question alone shows how great of a situation the Vols are in up front. We’re talking about two rising stars at the two tackle spots while the program is loaded with elite depth and experience on the interior of the line.
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Simply put, everything was in place for Morris to be Tennessee football’s breakout star on the line in 2019. However, everything is now in place for Wright to burst onto the scene and reach his five-star potential in just his sophomore season. Barring an injury, that could make for a thrilling year on the exterior of the line for Rocky Top.