Wright High on Utes NFL Development
With the restrictions lifted for official visits, Manvel HS (Manvel, Texas) defensive back Collin Wright is taking full advantage of it, by getting his trips immediately out of the way. The 6-foot and 190 pounder returned from Utah on Tuesday night, one week after visiting Pac-12 South foe Colorado. He’ll visit Duke at the end of this week and then Stanford two weeks later. Simply put, Wright likes the visits, but he just wants to get down to business.
While Wright and his family will weigh all the pros and cons and compare the four schools before coming to a decision, it’s looking like Utah is in pretty good standing.
“It was a great trip, we had a lot of fun,'' said Wright. “It’s going to be hard to beat and then we’re going to evaluate other schools and basically compare, see what’s the best fit.”
Prior to his Utah trip, Wright had been on some Zoom meetings with Utah Defensive Coordinator Morgan Scalley and Head Coach Kyle Whittingham. Therefore, when he got with them in Salt Lake City, he took full advantage of diving into film with the coaching staff.
“I’m definitely looking at schools who can develop me as a player, like I know Utah and Coach Scalley has developed a lot of guys who go through the program and later go on to the NFL," said Wright. “That’s definitely a huge part of it--not just on the field, but off the field, too. (Utah’s) really big on character and just being disciplined on and off the field, doing all of the little things right. If you do all of the little things right, you’re probably going to be successful as a team.”
His takeaway from the film session?
“I know they run a single-high which is a lot of fun,” he said. “It looks like they do a lot with their safeties.”
His player host on the trip was defensive end Elijah Shelton and 2021 All-American candidate Devin Lloyd joined them for dinner.
“They spoke highly of how Coach Scalley develops players and good persons,” said Wright.
Of course, it wasn’t all business for Wright and the Utah staff, they made sure that Wright along with his parents and his brother enjoyed the town and some activities. His favorite part? Top Golf.
“I got to learn how to golf a little more,” he said. “I was bad at first, but got better as we went on, so that was pretty fun. I didn’t expect us to do anything fun like that. I thought it would be meeting them, getting to be around the school and seeing the environment. But, they took a lot of time to just try to get to have some fun. I’m going to start golfing a lot more often now.”
Being able to bring his family on the trips is important for Wright, not only because they helped him get to this point in his football career, but also because their opinion matters.
“Them seeing it as parents, they just want to make sure I’m going to a good environment with good people and that I’m taken care of when I leave home,” said Wright.
A commitment should come in the next 4-6 weeks, so shortly after his visit to Stanford. When making that decision, there are some important things he wants to consider.
“A good environment, a good staff, a good school and basically somewhere I can live after I finish playing,” said Wright. “Those are the top things.”
Whoever lands Wright will be getting a versatile and explosive defensive back with a football IQ and good ball skills who can play any position in the secondary. He also has a hunger and determination to continue to improve.
“Something I want to improve on is pre-snap reads and having a better understanding of the receiver’s alignment and what route concepts I might get,” said Wright. “Also, brush up on tackling, you can never not improve your tackling.”
With that attitude, it will be no surprise to see Wright as a future captain or team leader, wherever he goes.