Vanderbilt Commodores Defensive Star Prepping for Shrine Bowl Spotlight
The Senior Bowl isn’t the only all-star game going on this week that is drawing NFL scouts from around the country.
The East-West Shrine Bowl is taking place this week in Arlington, Texas, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. College players from around the country are getting the chance to play one more game and work out in front of more NFL scouts.
Among them is Vanderbilt safety De’Rickey Wright.
Wright spent some time speaking with the media and talked about how his five years with the Commodores helped prepare him for the opportunity to get a shot at pro football.
Checking in with @d__wright14 at the @ShrineBowl!pic.twitter.com/ckELxnas5G
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) January 26, 2025
Wright is coming off a solid final season with the Commodores as he finished with 48 total tackles, with 35 solo stops. He also had a tackle for a loss, with two pass-breakups and an interception. The interception was the fifth of his college career.
His best game was against Texas, during which he had eight tackles.
During his 2023 season, he biult on the momentum of his breakthrough 2022 season as he started 10 games and finished sixth on the team with 46 tackles. He also had two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Among SEC safeties he was ranked No. 11 in coverage grade by Pro Football Focus. He matched his career-high in tackles with 10 against Wake Forest.
In 2022, he finished with a career-high 55 tackles, along with 2.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions, the last of which was second in the SEC. He set his career high of 10 tackles against South Carolina.
In 2021 he played in eight games and made 24 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. In his freshman year in 2020, he played in four games and finished with six tackles.
He joined the Commodores as a four-star recruit, as ranked by ESPN, out of Gadsden, Ala. He was ranked a Top 20 prospect in the state of Alabama by two different recruiting sites, even though he missed most of his senior season at Gadsden City High School with an injury.
He also changed positions during his high school career, moving from quarterback to safety. He also an all-state player in 2018.
The Commodores are coming off a 7-6 season in which they won the Birmingham Bowl. During the season Vanderbilt upset Alabama in a victory that ended decades of futility against the Crimson Tide.
