Walk-on William Wright ready when called on

It’s what you dream about as a kid growing up. The game is on the line and your number is called. It’s alpha against alpha in front of 100 thousand screaming fans. The coaching staff trusts you in that situation.

That was the scene for William Wright last week against Alabama. The, wait for it, walk-on played the final four defensive snaps of the football game for the Vols and played a hand in forcing the 50-yard field goal from Will Reichard. The would-be game-winner missed right and the defense celebrated, accomplishing its feat.

“I had confidence going into last week because of the way we prepare,” the defensive back said after Tennessee’s win over UT Martin. “I treat every rep in the games and in practice like it’s a game rep for me. I take advantage of those eopportntities so that when I get put in the game, I’m more confident. Those plays allowed me to have more confidence today.”

That brings us to today in a win over UT Martin. The Vols were down a couple of cornerbacks – Kamal Hadden & Christian Charles while Warren Burrell is out for the year, of course. Dee Williams makes a mistake after Brandon Turnage is shaken up and here comes the walk-on again. This is the first quarter.

The junior picked off Dresser Winn on the next drive and Tennessee marched down the field to score off that turnover.

“I guess I kind of got a lucky call from coach [Tim] Banks because it was more vision coverage,” Wright said of the interception. “So I had my eyes on the quarterback, saw the route, saw the throw and was able to jump it.”

Tennessee obviously won the game with ease, but it goes to show you the importance this staff is placing on the third-year player at times in these past two ballgames. Wright may never go on to be a scholarship player for the Volunteers, but he’s been playing his roll of late and has been ready when called. Why? Because of prior preparation.

“He did some really really good things throughout the course of spring ball. His ability to trust us and to continue to grow from the time that we’ve shown up is a part of why he’s grown as a player,” Josh Heupel said Monday. “Unfortunately, gets nicked up on the back half of training camp. We had planned on him playing a lot of football for us, starting first and foremost on special teams.

“He’s been banged up. It’s easy to check out when you’re nicked up and not be engaged in meetings and continue to grow mentally as you are rehabbing. That wasn’t him man. He was fully engaged in everything, and it’s a great lesson for all of our players that you don’t know when your opportunity is coming and all of the sudden, he’s playing on special teams, but all of the sudden you’re thrust out there in one of the most critical moments defensively too and does a really nice job. It’s a great lesson for everybody, especially our young players in the program.”

Last spring, Tennessee had a lot of defensive backs miss practice because of offseason surgeries or were held out due to precautionary reasons. Wright as able to get the bulk of the reps at cornerback with the first-team. That experience helped prepare him for his opportunities this season.

“I didn’t know if I was going to get that many reps in spring,” Wright said. “That was a good time for me to prepare and go against the ones a lot. I built a lot of confidence in myself and build a lot of confidence in the coaching staff with me to be able to show what I can do.”

Who is to know if Wright could have cracked the two-deep out of training camp. Who is to know if his elevated play results in a scholarship this offseason. Who is to know if we even see him take a defensive snap again this season?

One thing is for certain, Wright is comfortable in his role and knows how to prepare as a veteran player. And with the cornerback injuries piling up, he needs to stay ready.