Darnell Wright reacts to being named OL Practice Player of the Week at Senior Bowl

Darnell Wright’s head-turning performance this week at the Senior Bowl led to the former Tennessee right tackle to be voted the American team’s Offensive Offensive Line Practice Player of the Week. Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl, announced the winners on Friday afternoon.

“I definitely think it’s been great competing with all these guys,” Wright told Volquest. “I think I just have continued to compete. Won some, lost some. Just bounced back and kept competing the whole time. I think that showed up.”

BREAKING: Tennessee’s Darnell Wright (@darnell_5232) has been voted American team’s OL Practice Player-of-Week by vote from his peers in American DL and LB groups.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/kgTOD3l02n

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 3, 2023

The Senior Bowl will be played on Saturday, scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will be televised by NFL Network. Wright won the award after winning the vote among the defensive line and linebacker groups he competed against this week in Mobile, Ala.

“It just meant all the more, because it was from my peers,” Wright said of winning the vote. “The guys I was going against, earning the respect of those guys. I don’t know if I would’ve cared much if it was from a coach or some official person, you know what I mean? It was just all the more to be because it was my peers, the guys I actually battled with, competed against day in and day out.”

ESPN currently has Wright as the 11th-best offensive tackle available in the draft and ranked No. 117 overall. ESPN’s Mike Tannebaum, a former NFL executive, raved about Wright’s performance this week, saying he could be playing himself into the first round in the NFL Draft.

“This guy has it all,” Tannebaum said on the air this week. “He’s a 40-plus game starter at Tennessee, All-SEC, and he’s had an unbelievable week. He’s working himself into the first round. You put on the Alabama tape; he was dominant, and you’re seeing more of the same here.”

Wright, 6-foot-6, 335-pound senior, anchored Tennessee’s offensive line and was named a First Team All-SEC pick by the Associated Press, USA Today and SEC Coaches. He was a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and was twice named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

Reese’s Senior Bowl, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network

He declared for the NFL Draft in December but opted to play alongside his Tennessee teammates in the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30, a 31-14 win over Clemson at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. 

Wright and Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young participated in the Senior Bowl this week. Hendon Hooker was in Mobile to meet with NFL personnel, as well, while continuing to rehab the torn ACL that ended his senior season in November.

Wright said he embraced the process off the field, too, going through meetings with multiple NFL teams.

“It’s been a mental challenge, for sure. But I mean, it’s all part of the grind. I just embraced it and went along and did my thing.”

On the field, he said he just trying to add to his game after a week spent working with NFL coaches.

“They coach our team, they coach the other team,” he said. “Just learning from them and implementing that stuff into my game.”

He’s already working on how he can give back at the next level, too. 

“We went to a community service event today,” Wright said, “and I got to meet up with some guys that kind of gave me a little bit of advice for some of the stuff I want to do in the future. That was pretty cool.”