'22 TX S Collin Wright (Stanford commit)

[EdEcEko77]

Collin Wright, 2022 Cornerback - Rivals.com

 

[Volfanatic_20]

And in a series of transition within the program, this comes as no surprise as coaches are now recruiting prospects to Knoxville from their prior stops. Collin Wright falls into this realm as Tennessee’s Jerry Mack started on the defensive back while at Rice.

“We had been talking some and then when he came to Tennessee, he hit me back up again,” Wright said of Mack. “He invited me to join the Junior Day zoom session last week and that’s where I was introduced to the rest of the coaching staff.

“Ever since then, Tennessee has been talking to me a lot. They called me a few days after and offered me. It was awesome.”

“Coach [Willie] Martinez actually gave me the offer. He said he likes my versatility, range and ball skills,” the three-star said. “I get in and out of my breaks very well. For me, it’s all about development. They believe they can develop me into a better player and to one day lead me to my goal [NFL].

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to play at Tennessee, so it’s pretty great.”

“He seems really down to Earth and he’s not going to lie to me,” Wright said of Heupel. He’s had a ton of success in the past and he’ll bring that to Tennessee. The entire coaching staff has a background of success and experience. They will make great strides.”

The Tennessee target finished his junior campaign in 2020 with 59 tackles and four interceptions. Wright also broke up eight passes. The prospect runs track during the offseason.

“I’m definitely committing before my senior year. I would honestly say in about a month or two,” Wright concluded. “Tennessee is up there for sure. I really like coach Heupel and enjoy talking to him.”

- VQ

 

[bigl3327]

You can tell this kid has a high football IQ watching his highlights. Great instincts and reaction time as well as being a really good open field tackler. This would be a nice pick up. Could develop into one helluva free safety.

 

[mikemist]

You can tell this kid has a high football IQ watching his highlights. Great instincts and reaction time as well as being a really good open field tackler. This would be a nice pick up. Could develop into one helluva free safety.

Good ball skills too

 

[Maxwell865]

“That definitely is one of the top schools on my list right now,” said Wright, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 47 safety in the 2022 class.

...

“I’m hearing from them pretty much every day,” he said. “Coach Heupel and (defensive backs) coach (Willie) Martinez, (defensive coordinator Tim) Banks are just hitting me up, checking up on me, seeing how I’m doing — all that stuff. It’s been pretty cool.”

Wright said he’s “just trying to learn more about the program.” He said he’s hoping to get a virtual tour of Tennessee’s campus “in the next couple weeks, for sure,” but he’s already high on the Vols for multiple reasons.

“Just the tradition, all the great players that’s come from Tennessee,” he said. “The fan base is crazy in Knoxville. You get to play in front of 100,000 people just screaming. Make a big play and the whole stadium’s going wild, so just that culture and the tradition, really, how prestigious it is in college football.

“It’s one of the best places to play.”

...

“Actually, I went on a junior-day kind of thing (on Zoom) the first time, and the whole staff was new, so they were just introducing themselves and telling us prospects their backgrounds and coaching experience,” Wright said. “I went on that, and a couple days later they reached out to me. They talked to me. They said they liked my film.

“And then, a couple weeks later, I think they called my high school coach and everything, and my high school coach said good things about me, and then they offered me, so it was pretty cool. I didn’t expect it.”

Wright said Tennessee’s coaches have told him they like “the versatility” he could add to the Vols’ secondary, “because I’ve actually played corner and safety.”

-Callahan

 

[Ron Swanson]

“It went great. I was finally able to see the campus and the facilities [virtually] and it was awesome,” Wright told Volquest. “I was able to talk with some of the coaches and to see what they are building up there as a program. “I was able to see some practice and they were getting after it. It really showed me what it would be like if I were to go there.”

As part of the experience, Wright was shown a portion of practice – which included getting an up-close look at Willie Martinez and Tim Banks coaching the secondary. From there, Josh Heupel joined in to showcase the locker room and Neyland Stadium. “The coaches seem very experienced.

They actually set up an interview with a current player and we were able to hear his experiences with coach Martinez so far and he told us abut how they are bought in,” the Manvel, TX. native explained. “They want it to be the player’s team and not the coache’s team. “From everything I’ve seen and heard, they seem like really awesome coaches. They know what they are talking about.”

Following the session, Martinez shot the prospect a text. “He said he was happy I was able to take part in the event and that he can’t wait to continue building this relationship with me,” Wright said.

The Tennessee coaching staff has been all over Wright of late with the boss leading the charge. “Coach Heupel reaches out almost every day. He asks me about what’s going on with me and we talk about spring ball a lot,” the 2022 prospect said. “I talk with coach Martinez about every week and we chop it up well. We talk about everything.

“Really it’s just the family environment,” Wright said when asked what sticks out about Tennessee compared to other programs. “With a new staff, sometimes it’s hard to work with each other. But not for them – I see that in practice and even in the charade games we all played together on Saturday over zoom.

“Football wise – it’s tradition. Tennessee has that and coach Heupel has a background of winning games. They have a ton of experience and it would be a great opportunity to play for them one day.”

- Rivals

 

[allvolrecruiting]

Stanford