Watch: Signing Day Evaluation Jaylen Wright
Prospect: Jaylen Wright
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-11, 187 pounds
Position: Running Back
School: Southern High School
Committed to: Tennessee
Projected Position: Running Back
Frame: Long legs. Short, compact midsection with the chance to get up to 205 to 210 if need be on the college level.
Athleticism: Wright's long speed is elite. He has great start-and-stop speed for such a long strider like this. Has great quickness when he sticks his foot in the ground and gets north and south.
Instincts: He would prefer to run around you than through you at this point in his career, but that’s more to do with his breakaway speed than preference. It’s just what works and it works well. He will lower his shoulder when needed in traffic.
Polish: He's a terrific outside zone/stretch-zone runner with the ability to break it big at any point in time. He also has shown natural hands out of the backfield, with the ability to make a man miss in open space.
Bottom Line: Wright has SEC breakaway speed already and is a sub-11 second 100-meter runner in track as well. This is what play speed looks like in a running back, and the long speed is on display early and often. As he rounds out his game out of the backfield, he will be able to make an impact in spurts sooner rather than later.