As if Tennessee football needs a reminder of all of the talent it has lost this past year in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail, former Vols are already generating tons of excitement at the places they are going. One of them has now gained recognition for it.
Offensive lineman Wanya Morris, who transferred to the Oklahoma Sooners, was named a top 10 potential impact transfer for 2021 by Dean Straka of 247Sports. Morris was a two-year starter at left tackle for UT and will be entering his junior year.
One of Tennessee football’s best recruits under Jeremy Pruitt in the 2019 class, Morris transferring is almost as devastating as the losses of Trey Smith and Brandon Kennedy. Here’s what Straka wrote about him.
"Morris, who earned Freshman All-American honors in 2019, did show improvement as a sophomore seeing his PFF Grade jump from 39.2 in 2019 to 65 last season. Morris hasn’t exactly lived up to his recruiting billing quite yet, but he remains a high ceiling offensive tackle with an NFL skillset. Oklahoma o-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, one of the best in the country, can help unlock Morris’ full potential."
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Oklahoma is building a future with some of the Vols’ best young prospects in that 2019 class. Morris wasn’t the only one to join them. UT’s best offensive weapon from last year, Eric Gray, also is heading there.
With Morris blocking for Gray, Lincoln Riley could rely heavily on former Vols to keep his offense going at a high level in 2021. Riley’s success could be Josh Heupel’s misfortune, which is ironic since Riley got his rise by replacing Heupel as OU’s offensive coordinator in 2015.
Obviously, the Vols can’t look back. They still have some exciting young talent, even at running back and on the offensive line, but Morris and Gray were huge losses. Seeing other schools get excited about Morris’ potential only makes it worse.
To be fair, Vol fans can take solace in the fact that their top two recruits during the Pruitt era, quarterback Harrison Bailey in 2020 and offensive lineman Darnell Wright in 2019, are both still with the program. Wright and Morris were billed as the future together, so Wright staying on after Pruitt’s firing is a big help.
Still, Tennessee football could have definitely used Morris and Gray heading into this year given all the issues. At the same time, nobody can blame those guys for leaving given the situation. As usual, everybody should wish them the best.