Tennessee Vols have a veteran on their roster that's going to surprise fans in 2023
The Tennessee Vols' high-powered passing game gets most of credit for UT's offensive success under Josh Heupel, but it's the running game that truly allows the offense to operate at an elite level. And one of Tennessee's running backs is poised to be a breakout SEC star in 2023. Vols running back Jaylen Wright led […]
The Tennessee Vols' high-powered passing game gets most of credit for UT's offensive success under Josh Heupel, but it's the running game that truly allows the offense to operate at an elite level.
And one of Tennessee's running backs is poised to be a breakout SEC star in 2023.
Vols running back Jaylen Wright led Tennessee in rushing last season as a sophomore with 875 yards on 146 carries.
Solid numbers, but not exactly star-worthy in the SEC. The biggest reason why Wright didn't have more impressive numbers is because running back Jabari Small, who will be a senior this fall, received most of the short-yardage opportunities.
When Wright first arrived at Tennessee, he was viewed as more of an outside-the-tackles runner. But he's made a concerted effort to get better in that area, which should lead to more opportunities between the tackles in 2023.
Vols running backs coach Jerry Mack spoke on Friday about the growth that Wright has shown since arriving at Tennessee a couple of years ago.
"First of all Jaylen Wright has grown tremendously as an inside the tackle runner," said Mack. "When he first got here, he was a guy who really wanted to bounce runs (outside the tackles). A lot of that is probably what they asked him to do in high school. So what you see now is a guy that’s a lot more intent about going through the hole, pressing double teams, things like that. Just like all those different things running through smoke. That’s what we talked [about] a lot to J Wright the last couple years. And like you have just seen the growth in his game.”
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel also talked about Wright's growth earlier this month.
"He's one of the guys that we recognize as we started training camp for what he had done in the offseason (and) the changes he had continued to make to his body," said Heupel after Tennessee's second fall scrimmage. "He's been very intentional in his work. He's continued to grow and just being able to have a championship mindset, be able to reset from play to play, play with passion, not playing just straight out of emotion. He's been great with the young backs. He's been a great leader (and) great teacher for those guys. He's into it when he's not even the guy that's getting the reps."
"On the football side of it, he's a guy that early in his career, just wanted to run around everything and just use his speed to his advantage," continued Heupel. "That's how he kind of developed as a young back in high school with some of what they did. He can still do all of those things, but he's got really good vision. He understands blockers, he understands how to use them, he delivers double teams to the second level (and) he finds space. His vision on the back door cuts has grown (and) he's doing it at the right time. He's playing at a really high level."
As a result of that growth, Mack views Wright as "interchangeable" with Small.
"They definitely are (interchangeable), first of all, they’re definitely more interchangeable than a year ago," explained Mack. "Jaylen has really grown as a pass protector. He’s grown in his hands. Jabari has grown as a pass protector, so I don’t feel like he has a lot of deficiencies from that aspect. The goal is always to recruit, not to always have three-down backs in your room, guys you feel like are athletic enough to catch the ball off the backfield. But at the same time, they’ll short guard a situation in those pass-pro situations where you know you’re gonna get some of those exotic (blitzes) and things like that. And those guys are still stout enough, big enough, strong enough to really hold up and get blown back to the quarterback."
"He’s gonna be one of the poster boys in our program, I think, for a guy that came in extremely raw, on and off the field," added Mack. "And now what you’ve seen him do is grow into a complete player on and off the field."
Tennessee never wants to be reliant on just one running back — the offensive tempo has a lot to do with that (UT needs their running backs to be fresh late in games) — but they'll also ride the hot hand in certain situations. And Wright is certainly a player that can get hot.
When you combine Wright's growth with Small's previous injury issues (he was banged up most of last season, but he still played in all 13 games), it's easy envision Wright becoming the lead back for the Vols in 2023 (Small had 169 touches to Wright's 148 touches last season). And if that's the case, then Wright has a legitimate shot at becoming the first Tennessee running back to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season since Jalen Hurd in 2015.
Former Oklahoma player tells unbelievable story about Josh Heupel’s toughness and leadership as a player
A former Oklahoma player told an unbelievable story about Josh Heupel’s toughness and leadership as a player
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
