6’6″ 335 pounds; Hometown: Huntington, W. Va.
One of two unanimous five-stars to commit to Tennessee football under Jeremy Pruitt, Darnell Wright became the Vols’ first five-star commitment in three years when he joined the Vols in 2019 out of Huntington High School in West Virginia’s Cabell County. He and Wanya Morris were the future for the program at tackle.
Well, Morris has now transferred to the Oklahoma Sooners. Jahmir Johnson, another player who could play tackle, transferred to the Texas A&M Aggies. That leaves the position wide open. Fortunately for UT, Wright is one of the players with plenty of experience there.
Despite some issues with consistency, Wright has started 16 games through two years and appeared in 21 of them. He has experience starting at right guard and right tackle, bringing a good bit of versatility to the table, and he did earn Freshman All-SEC for a reason in 2019.
With a new scheme and a fresh start, Wright has a chance to return to form after struggling at times last year. He clearly has a ton of talent, and that has been on display already. As one of the few sure bets to start somewhere on the line entering this year, he could be an anchor for Josh Heupel’s new system up front.