Why Tennessee sits in the cat-bird seat for 5-star tackle Darnell Wright
ORLANDO — Darnell Wright lumbered into the interview room Friday, shaking his head before cracking a smile at horde of reporters waiting for his latest thoughts.
The 5-star offensive tackle from Huntington, W. Va., arrived at the Under Armour All-American Game hoping to avoid discussing his recruitment, but Wright held court for nearly 10 minutes, discussing his January visit plans, his budding relationship with UGA coach Sam Pittman and why he isn’t concerned about the perception that he’s destined to end up at Tennessee.
“People see where you go, then say that’s probably where you’re going to go,” Wright said.
“It’s whatever."
Wright has only visited one school this fall: Tennessee. And the 6-foot-6, 325-pound tackle showed up in Knoxville twice.
Wright never made it to Alabama, Ohio State or Miami and cancelled numerous other planned trips, including an official visit to Georgia the final weekend before the dead period.
“My mom couldn’t go (to UGA), and I didn’t want to sit around at the house,” Wright explained. “So (I was) like, ‘Well, I’ll just go to Tennessee.’”
During the summer, Wright unofficially visited Alabama … only to show up at Tennessee that week again, too.
While the nation’s No. 6 overall prospect coyly discussed his interest in the Vols on Friday, it’s the worst-kept secret on the recruiting circuit that Tennessee is the clubhouse leader for the 5-star talent.
Wright’s close ties with his high school coach Billy Seals, an East Tennessee native, certainly got the Vols’ foot in the door, but Tennessee sits in the cat-bird seat due to Wright's relationship with tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer.
VolQuest.com spent time with Wright earlier this fall and the All-American tackle opened up about the death of both his father and brother. Seals has helped fill that fatherly void, but it’s Niedermeyer who has developed that strong, brotherly bond with Wright. They can joke. They can laugh. They can argue about movies, video games and music.
Wright doesn’t have that type of relationship anywhere else, and Niedermeyer remains the key in Tennessee’s chances to land Wright in February. The additions of signees Wanya Morris and Quavaris Crouch only help, too.
Wright told reporters Friday that he may use all five officials in January — Tennessee, UGA, West Virginia, UNC and possibly USC — or he might not visit anywhere at all.
That’s Darnell Wright.
He’s a bit aloof, but not mean-spirited. He’s clearly over the process, yet not enough so that he wanted to sign in December. We’ll see what January holds for Wright, but Tennessee enters 2019 with all sorts of momentum for one of the top prospects in the country.
Do you know where you’re going?
“Probably not,” Wright said before a lengthy pause.
“Well, maybe.”