How Jaylen Wright became Tennessee football's most efficient 1,000-yard rusher

Jaylen Wright added his name to the Tennessee football record book on his first carry of the second half Saturday against Vanderbilt. On a gain of 14 yards, he surpassed 1,000 yards for the season, becoming the 19th Tennessee running back in program history to do so. 

He carried one more time, a gain of four yards on the next play, and that was it. His day was over.

Senior Jabari Small was in at running back on Tennessee’s next possession. Sophomore Dylan Sampson was in on the drive after that.

Wright finished the day with 11 carries for 75 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry with a long of 16. In the final game of the regular season, it was the continuation of what Wright had done all year — elite production on the ground, without needing many carries to make it happen. 

In fact, no Tennessee running back went over the 1,000-yard mark in a more efficiently than Wright did. He finished the regular season at 1,013 yards on just 137 carries, 22 fewer than any other Tennessee back that went for 1,000-plus.

Wright’s 7.4 yards per carry is also the highest among the 1,000-yard back, just above Charlie Garner’s 7.3-yard average in 1993 (159 attempts, 1,161 yards) and well north of the next highest, James Stewart’s 6.0 yards per carry in 1994 (170 attempts, 1,028 yards).

Tennessee’s most recent 1,000-yard rusher before Wright joined the club was Jalen Hurd in 2015. He rushed for 1,288 yards but needed 277 carries to get there, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

Season	Player	Carries	Yards	Yards Per Carry
2023	Jaylen Wright	137	1,013	7.4
1993	Charlie Garner	159	1,161	7.3
1994	James Stewart	170	1,028	6.0
1997	Jamal Lewis	232	1,364	5.9
1989	Chuck Webb	209	1,236	5.9
1990	Tony Thompson	219	1,261	5.8
1983	Johnnie Jones	191	1,116	5.8
2004	Gerald Riggs Jr.	193	1,107	5.7
1984	Johnnie Jones	229	1,290	5.6
2004	Cedric Houston	191	1,005	5.6
1995	Jay Graham	272	1,438	5.3
2000	Travis Henry	253	1,314	5.2
2013	Rajion Neal	215	1,124	5.2
1987	Reggie Cobb	237	1,197	5.1
2010	Tauren Poole	204	1,034	5.1
2001	Travis Stephens	291	1,464	5.0
2007	Arian Foster	245	1,193	4.9
2009	Montario Hardesty	282	1,345	4.8
2015	Jalen Hurd	277	1,288	4.6

‘One the most talented guys I’ve been around’

Wright split carries in a three-headed Tennessee backfield with Small and Sampson. Small rushed 95 times for 475 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and Sampson carried 86 times for 471 yards, averaging 5.5 yards.

This season Wright went for over 100 yards six times in 12 games but never had more than 19 carries in a game. He had only had four against UTSA in September, less than 10 against Georgia (9), UConn (8) and Missouri (7) and had 13 or fewer carries in nine games. 

He scored only four rushing touchdowns on the season, none shorter than 42 yards — 82 yards against UConn, 75 yards against Georgia, 52 yards against Kentucky and 42 yards against South Carolina. 

“Jaylen Wright is one of the most talented guys I have been around,” Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren said Saturday night. “Just his work ethic and the way that he has changed his body. Just how he looks, he is a freak. He has done a really good job, the offensive line has done a really good job.” 

Wright ran a season-high 19 times for a season-high 136 yards against Texas A&M. He had 123 yards on 16 attempts against South Carolina, 120 on just 11 runs at Kentucky, 118 on 13 carries against Austin Peay, 115 on 12 attempts against Virginia and 113 yards on just eight carries against UConn.

His 7.39 yards per carry is second in college football among running backs with at least 100 attempts, trailing only Toledo’s Penny Boone, who averaged 7.43 yards. Georgia’s Kendall Milton is the second highest back in the SEC at 6.51 yards. 

Last season Wright carried 146 times for 875 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had 85 carries for 409 yards and four touchdowns in nine games in 2021. He’s also caught 30 passes for 171 yards during his Tennessee career.

Jaylen Wright was a three-star prospect out of North Carolina

He was a three-star running back prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking out of Southern High School in Durham, N.C. in the class of 2021. He was ranked No. 515 overall in the class, No. 35 among running backs and No. 26 in the state of North Carolina.

Wright had one 100-yard game last season, going for 160 and two touchdowns on five carries in the 56-0 win at Vanderbilt.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said during his postgame press conference Saturday night that Wright’s growth as a back during his time with the Vols has happened on and off the field. 

“I think just his maturity and how he continues to come into the building every single day,” Heupel said, “the mindset, and very consistent in his habits. On the field it’s just understanding of the run game, based on the defenses that you’re seeing. 

“He started out as an elite talent that was really fast that could or wanted to run to around everybody. (Now) he’s a real running back that understands how to use the guys in front of him.”