Former Tennessee standout contemplated giving up football before Josh Heupel's arrival in 2021
A former Tennessee Vols standout revealed this week that he contemplated giving up football after the 2020 season. Former Vols offensive lineman Darnell Wright, who was selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 10 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, told The Chicago Tribune this week that he wasn't sure if football was […]
A former Tennessee Vols standout revealed this week that he contemplated giving up football after the 2020 season.
Former Vols offensive lineman Darnell Wright, who was selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 10 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, told The Chicago Tribune this week that he wasn't sure if football was the right path for him after a tough 2020 season at Tennessee (in which the Vols finished 3-7 and became entangled in an NCAA recruiting investigation).
But Josh Heupel's arrival helped get Wright's mindset and football career back on the right track.
“Just my first experience, thinking I’m going to be in college and I’m going to have this good career and then we start out with all of that, I’m like (a teenager) at the time,” said Wright to The Chicago Tribune. “It was at that point I was thinking maybe football is probably not the thing. Just because things weren’t going that well. I wasn’t playing great and also with what was going on with the team.”
Heupel and offensive line coach Glen Elarbee helped Wright "settle in" according to The Chicago Tribune. And that's when the former Vol started regaining his confidence.
“I feel like I gained a little bit of my confidence back, or at least a little bit of, ‘Yeah, this is my thing,’” said Wright. “Just getting that fresh start, a little reset my junior year. And then somewhere around my senior year was when Coach Heupel sat me down and was telling me, ‘Yeah, you could probably play at a high level. You just have to stay consistent and get better.’”
Wright turned out to be one of the best offensive linemen that's ever played at Tennessee. The talent was always there, but it took Heupel and Elarbee to get Wright to fully believe in himself after a tough first couple of seasons on Rocky Top.
Ultimately, that's what coaching is all about — especially at the collegiate level. Winning games and championships is obviously the goal. But before the results can be positive, coaches have to find a way to develop talent. Without that ingredient, championships are a pipe dream.
If a coach can get the best out of each player, the rest will take care of itself. And it's clear that Heupel and his staff know how to help take a talented player's game to the next level.
