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Jaylen Wright becomes Tennessee's newest 1,000-yard rusher

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•11/25/23•

GrantRamey

Jaylen Wright
Jaylen Wright (Tennessee Athletics)

Jaylen Wright is Tennessee football’s newest 1,000-yard rusher. Wright surpassed the mark on Saturday during the Senior Day finale against Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium. 

He’s the 19th Tennessee running back to go over 1,000 yards in a single season and the first to do so since Jalen Hurd went for 1,288 yards on 277 carries in 2015. 

Wright entered the game with 938 net rushing yards on 126 attempts through 11 games, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. He leads a Tennessee running back room that is second in the SEC in rushing offensive, averaging 205.7 yards per game. 

He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on a 14-yard run to start the second half on Saturday. He had nine carries for 57 yards in the first half against Vanderbilt on Saturday and caught one pass for nine yards. 

According to Tennessee sports information director Bill Martin, Wright’s 7.4 yards per carry is the highest of any running back in college football this season with a minimum of 100 rush attempts. It’s also the highest total since 2020, when four running backs averaged more yards per carry.

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.

Wright topped 100 yards in six of Tennessee’s first 11 games of the season: 136 against Texas A&M; 123 vs. South Carolina; 120 at Kentucky; 118 vs. Austin Peay; 115 vs. Virginia; 113 vs. UConn. 

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.

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

Wright 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.

Tennessee 1,000-yard rushers: Johhnie Jones 1,116 (1983) … Johnnie Jones 1,1290 (1984) … Reggie Cobb 1,197 (1987) … Chuck Webb 1,236 (1989) … Tony Thompson 1,261 (1990) … Charlie Garner 1,161 (1993) … James Stewart 1,028 (1994) … Jay Graham 1,438 (1995) … Jamal Lewis 1,364 (1997) … Travis Henry 1,314 (2000) … Travis Stephens 1,464 (2001) … Gerald Riggs Jr. 1,107 (2004) … Arian Foster 1,193 (2007) … Montario Hardesty 1,345 (2009) … Tauren Poole 1,034 (2010) … Rajion Neal 1,124 (2013) … Jalen Hurd 1,288 (2015)

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