University of Tennessee Athletics
2022 Football Roster
Roster
Wright, Jaylen
WR
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Jersey Number 20
Jaylen Wright
- Position:
- RB
- Ht./Wt.:
- 5-11 / 205
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Durham, N.C.
- High School:
- Southern
Bio
CAREER HONORS
2023 All-SEC Second Team (AP)2023 ESPN College Football Midseason All-America Team
2023 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
SEC Freshman of the Week (vs. Vanderbilt, 11/29/21)
CAREER
Explosive running back who was the Vols' leading rusher in each of his last two seasons, culminating his career with All-SEC honors ... Possesses breakaway speed and strength … Posted the 19th 1,000-yard rushing season in program history in 2023, becoming the first player to do so since Jalen Hurd (1,288) in 2015 ... Reached 1,000 single-season rushing yards in 2023 quicker than any player in UT history ... Produced eight 100-yard rushing games … Played in 34 career games with 12 starts and accumulated 2,297 rushing yards on 368 carries, averaging a stellar 6.2 yards per attempt … Finished 13th in UT career rushing yardage ... Totaled 18 rushing touchdowns and 1,367 of his rush yards came after contact … Added 171 yards on 30 catches to notch 2,468 all-purpose yards ... One of only two players in school history with multiple rushes of 80+ yards in a career (LaMarcus Coker) ... Member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll ... Elected to forego his senior season and declared for the 2024 NFL Draft on Dec. 15.2023 - JUNIOR
Produced one of the most dynamic running back seasons in UT history, earning All-SEC accolades from the Associated Press ... Started all 12 regular season games, setting career bests in rushing yards (1,013), yards per attempt (7.39) and yards per game (84.4) on 137 carries ... Averaged 7.39 yards per carry, which led all FBS running backs (min. 120 attempts) and was second among all players behind Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels ... That figure also ranked second in UT single-season history (min. 100 attempts) behind only Hank Lauricella's 7.94 in 1951 ... 592 of his 1,013 yards came after contact ... Produced six 100-yard rushing games, which ranked second in the SEC and tied for sixth in UT single-season history ... Totaled 35 rushes of 10+ yards, which was second among SEC running backs ... Was one of only six FBS players with multiple runs of 70+ yards ... Added 141 yards receiving on 22 catches to finish with 1,184 all-purpose yards ... Eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark with a 14-yard run in the third quarter of win over Vanderbilt (11/25) to become the Vols' first 1,000-yard rusher in a season since Jalen Hurd in 2015 ... It took him just 136 carries to go over 1,000 yards, becoming the quickest UT player to achieve the feat ... Finished with 11 carries for 75 yards (6.8 avg) in victory over the Commodores ... Raced 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage vs. No. 1 Georgia (11/18) and finished with a game-high 90 yards on the ground on nine carries (10.0 avg) ... Eclipsed 2,000 career rushing yards with an 82-yard TD run on the second play of the game in win vs. UConn (11/4) ... Logged 113 rushing yards on just eight carries, averaging 14.1 yards per carry against the Huskies ... Notched his fifth 100-plus yard rushing performance of the year in road win at Kentucky (10/28), finishing with a game-high 120 yards in 11 carries (10.9 avg), including a 52-yard TD run on UT’s opening drive ... Churned out a season-high 136 yards on 19 carries (7.2 avg) in win vs. Texas A&M (10/14) ... Posted his third 100-yard rushing game of the year in win vs. South Carolina (9/30), finishing with 123 yards on 16 carries (7.7 avg), including a 42-yard touchdown run to open the scoring on UT’s first drive of the game ... Led the team in rushing with 63 yards on 16 carries in SEC opener at Florida (9/16) ... Also set a career high with 21 receiving yards on four receptions against the Gators ... Posted his second straight 100-plus yard rushing game in win over Austin Peay (9/9), totaling 118 yards in 13 carries (9.1 avg) ... Also had three receptions for 18 yards in the home opener, giving him 136 all-purpose yards ... Made his first-career start in season-opening win vs. Virginia (9/2), leading all players with 115 rushing yards on just 11 carries (9.6 avg) and logging his third-career 100-yard game.2022 - SOPHOMORE
Tennessee’s leading rusher with 875 yards on 146 carries with 10 touchdowns … Averaged 6.0 yards per attempt … His 10 rushing scores tied for fourth in the SEC … Ranked fifth in the SEC with five 30+ yard rushes and third in the league with two 50+ yard rushes … 548 of his 875 rush yards came after contact … The 2022 Orange Bowl’s leading rusher after producing 89 yards on 11 carries, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt vs. a tough Clemson defensive front … Tallied a combined 56 yards on three straight carries during a third quarter drive that put the game away, including a 42-yard burst that set up a score … Logged five carries for a career-best 160 yards and two touchdowns at Vanderbilt (11/26), helping the Vols establish a new single-game school record for yards per attempt (11.7) ... Ran for touchdowns of 50 and 83 yards against the Commodores, logging his third multi-score effort of the year ... His 83-yard TD at Vanderbilt was the eighth-longest rush in UT history ... Punched in a pair of rushing scores (3-yard, 1-yard) as part of an 11-carry, 51-yard outing against Missouri (11/12), good for his second multi-touchdown effort of the season ... Tallied a game-high 69 yards on 21 rush attempts at No. 3 Georgia (11/5) and scored UT’s lone touchdown in the fourth quarter ... Carried the ball seven times for 73 yards against No. 19 Kentucky (10/29) and posted his fifth rushing score of the season with a 1-yard TD in the second quarter … Led the Volunteer rushing attack with 71 yards on 12 carries in the win over No. 3 Alabama (10/15) ... Had 12 carries for 59 yards in win at No. 25 LSU (10/8) ... In the win over No. 20 Florida (9/24), collected his fourth rushing TD of the season with a five-yard scamper into the end zone in the fourth quarter ... Led the Vols in rushing with 96 yards on a career-high 23 rush attempts vs. Akron (9/17), including two rushing scores (2-yard, 1-yard) for his first career multi-TD effort ... Posted a team-high 47 rushing yards on nine carries in UT's road win at No. 17 Pitt (9/10) ... Led all players with 88 rushing yards in the season opener vs. Ball State (9/1), including a 33-yard run and a three-yard rushing TD.2021 - FRESHMAN
Made nine appearances and ranked third among UT running backs with 85 carries for 409 yards and four touchdowns over the course of the season ... Toted a season-high 17 rushes for 54 yards vs. Purdue (12/30) in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl ... Led all SEC freshmen in the month of November with 259 rushing yards and 64.75 yards per game ... Rushed for a game-high and career-best 112 yards on 15 carries vs. Vanderbilt (11/27), capping the performance with a 10-yard TD run in the fourth quarter ... Handled 13 carries for 83 yards vs. South Alabama (11/20), including a tough 17-yard touchdown run in the first quarter ... Logged five carries for 14 yards vs. No. 1 Georgia (11/13) ... Turned in an efficient performance at No. 18 Kentucky (11/6) in his first action since Week 5, carrying the ball seven times for 50 yards ... Logged a season-long rush of 21 yards in the fourth quarter against UK ... Carried the ball four times for 24 yards in SEC debut at Missouri (10/2) ... Rushed for a career-high 43 yards on nine carries vs. Tennessee Tech (9/18), including a one-yard score for the second week in a row ... Scored his first-career rushing touchdown from one yard out in the fourth quarter vs. Pitt (9/11) ... Made collegiate debut vs. Bowling Green (9/2), logging four rushes for 14 yards in the season opener.HIGH SCHOOL
An explosive running back with elite speed … Enrolled at Tennessee in January 2021 and participated in spring practice … A consensus three-star prospect by 247Sports.com, Rivals.com and ESPN.com … Rated the No. 21 player in the state of North Carolina by Rivals.com … Rated the No. 30 running back in the nation by 247Sports.com … Named to the Big 8 3A All-Conference team as a junior in 2019 after rushing 89 times for 901 yards (10.1 yards per carry) and five touchdowns … Had four 100-plus yard rushing games as a junior … Helped lead Southern Durham High School to a 10-2 record and Big 8 3A conference championship as a junior in 2019 … Did not play in the fall of 2020 after the North Carolina high school football season was postponed due to COVID-19 … Was also a star on the Southern Durham track & field team, winning an indoor state title in the 55m dash as a sophomore … Clocked a personal best time of 6.29 in the 55m dash in 2019, which was the fastest mark in the country at the time … Committed to the Vols in March 2020 … Coached by Darius Robinson.PERSONAL
Full name is Jaylen Allen Wright … Nickname is “J Wright” … Born on April 1, 2003, in Raleigh, North Carolina … Parents are Porsche Lewis and Curtis Wright … Has one brother, Amir, and two sisters, Tyler, Mya and KK … Majoring in sport management with a minor in business administration … Says his father is his biggest inspiration because he has pushed him to be great since he was four years old … Models his game after VFL Alvin Kamara … Favorite musical artists are NBA YoungBoy and Lil Baby … After football would like to get into broadcasting … Twitter handle is @__jw12 and Instagram handle is @jaylenwriight.FB | Cinematic Recap vs. ETSU (9.6.25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB | Kelsey Pope Press Conference (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB | Arion Carter Media Availability (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB | Sam Pendleton Media Availability (9.9.25)
Tuesday, September 09
