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With the commitment of Chaminade-Madonna 4-star Thad Franklin earlier this month, the Miami Hurricanes got off to a great start in running back recruiting for the 2021 class. However, with the plan to take two backs this cycle, that didn’t stop the UM staff from slowing down on the trail, as RB coach Eric Hickson handed out a new offer to 2021 Southern (NC) 3-star RB Jaylen Wright last week.
“Coach Hickson had texted me on Twitter,” Wright said. “We started talking, he really liked my film and he told me he wanted to give me a scholarship to come to the University of Miami - I was really excited, it felt good. Later, a few of the coaches all called me at once, they had all watched my film and just enjoyed it, and they just wanted me to come to the school.
“[Hickson] told me to text him again later on this week, so I’m looking forward to building a relationship with him.”
What was the staff telling him about how he’d fit into the offense?
“They like speed and they like the kind of running back that I am,” Wright said. “They said I would fit good in the offense. They asked if I would want to play slot as well and I told them that I’m down for whatever.
“Once I see the hole, I’m going to go, and once I’m gone, I don’t think anybody’s going to catch me. If I’m in open space, I don’t think anybody can beat me, unless they break down really good. I can catch the ball out of the backfield, I always make the first man miss – that may just be because it’s high school, but when I get to the college level, it’s going to be the same.”
Wright has experience lining up out wide and expects to do so more often this season with a new offense coming to Southern High.
“Sometimes they’ll move me to the slot, we’ll run ‘Empty’ and I’ll run a route, catch the ball, get some yards, maybe score,” Wright said. “Last year they didn’t really throw the ball to me that much, but we have a new offensive coordinator and his style is to throw more to the running back, so I know they’re going to be sending me out a lot more this year.”
Wright had spent most of his high school career unnoticed by college programs, but that changed once his junior film started circulating; after receiving his first FBS offer in late January from Liberty, he’s now up to 7 offers, including from P5 schools like Tennessee, Arizona State, Syracuse, and Rutgers.
“After Miami, I got an offer from Syracuse, and I’ve been hearing from new schools,” Wright said. “I know there are a lot of schools that are looking at me right now that are close to offering me, like Florida State and NC State.
“I’m very capable of doing a lot of things, but when I didn’t have any offers, I felt down because I was feeling like I wasn’t as good as I thought. But a lot of people told me I was talented and I would get these offers, and now it’s starting to happen.”
With a Canes offer now in hand, the plan is for the 5-10 190 pound prospect to make it to Coral Gables for a visit this spring, mixed in with visits to Tennessee on March 7th, FSU on March 8th, and Arizona State on March 21st.
“Most definitely I’ll be going to Miami, hopefully sometime in March or April,” Wright said. “I feel like they have a good program. It’s just a nice school, a lot of famous athletes and a lot of famous running backs went there. It’s also in Florida, I love Florida.”
After his spring visits, Wright says he expects to formulate a top group in anticipation for a decision following his senior season.
“I’ll be looking at what type of offense are they going to put me in and how they are going to use me,” Wright said of his deciding factors.
As a junior in 2019, Wright helped the Spartans to a 10-2 record with 89 carries for 901 yards (10.1 ypc) with 5 TD’s, along with 6 catches for 62 yards through the air, all while dealing with an ankle injury.
“We did good this season, but we had a lot of issues within the team,” Wright said. “We lost our playoff game in the first round by one point. It was a cold game, we weren’t used to that, our quarterback didn’t play well – everybody played a part in that loss and we lost because of our failures, not because of the other team. It was a bad experience, but senior year, I just want to go to the state championship. We’ve been there before and won, so I’m just trying to bring that back.
“I had 900 yards on the season, but that was because I missed out on 4 games. I sprained my ankle the second game of the season and I kept trying to play through it, and I just re-sprained it. I know I could’ve ended the season with at least 1,500 yards if I had played those games.”
What will Wright be working on this offseason?
“I would try and improve on staying low and catching the ball more.”
“Coach Hickson had texted me on Twitter,” Wright said. “We started talking, he really liked my film and he told me he wanted to give me a scholarship to come to the University of Miami - I was really excited, it felt good. Later, a few of the coaches all called me at once, they had all watched my film and just enjoyed it, and they just wanted me to come to the school.
“[Hickson] told me to text him again later on this week, so I’m looking forward to building a relationship with him.”
What was the staff telling him about how he’d fit into the offense?
“They like speed and they like the kind of running back that I am,” Wright said. “They said I would fit good in the offense. They asked if I would want to play slot as well and I told them that I’m down for whatever.
“Once I see the hole, I’m going to go, and once I’m gone, I don’t think anybody’s going to catch me. If I’m in open space, I don’t think anybody can beat me, unless they break down really good. I can catch the ball out of the backfield, I always make the first man miss – that may just be because it’s high school, but when I get to the college level, it’s going to be the same.”
Wright has experience lining up out wide and expects to do so more often this season with a new offense coming to Southern High.
“Sometimes they’ll move me to the slot, we’ll run ‘Empty’ and I’ll run a route, catch the ball, get some yards, maybe score,” Wright said. “Last year they didn’t really throw the ball to me that much, but we have a new offensive coordinator and his style is to throw more to the running back, so I know they’re going to be sending me out a lot more this year.”
Wright had spent most of his high school career unnoticed by college programs, but that changed once his junior film started circulating; after receiving his first FBS offer in late January from Liberty, he’s now up to 7 offers, including from P5 schools like Tennessee, Arizona State, Syracuse, and Rutgers.
“After Miami, I got an offer from Syracuse, and I’ve been hearing from new schools,” Wright said. “I know there are a lot of schools that are looking at me right now that are close to offering me, like Florida State and NC State.
“I’m very capable of doing a lot of things, but when I didn’t have any offers, I felt down because I was feeling like I wasn’t as good as I thought. But a lot of people told me I was talented and I would get these offers, and now it’s starting to happen.”
With a Canes offer now in hand, the plan is for the 5-10 190 pound prospect to make it to Coral Gables for a visit this spring, mixed in with visits to Tennessee on March 7th, FSU on March 8th, and Arizona State on March 21st.
“Most definitely I’ll be going to Miami, hopefully sometime in March or April,” Wright said. “I feel like they have a good program. It’s just a nice school, a lot of famous athletes and a lot of famous running backs went there. It’s also in Florida, I love Florida.”
After his spring visits, Wright says he expects to formulate a top group in anticipation for a decision following his senior season.
“I’ll be looking at what type of offense are they going to put me in and how they are going to use me,” Wright said of his deciding factors.
As a junior in 2019, Wright helped the Spartans to a 10-2 record with 89 carries for 901 yards (10.1 ypc) with 5 TD’s, along with 6 catches for 62 yards through the air, all while dealing with an ankle injury.
“We did good this season, but we had a lot of issues within the team,” Wright said. “We lost our playoff game in the first round by one point. It was a cold game, we weren’t used to that, our quarterback didn’t play well – everybody played a part in that loss and we lost because of our failures, not because of the other team. It was a bad experience, but senior year, I just want to go to the state championship. We’ve been there before and won, so I’m just trying to bring that back.
“I had 900 yards on the season, but that was because I missed out on 4 games. I sprained my ankle the second game of the season and I kept trying to play through it, and I just re-sprained it. I know I could’ve ended the season with at least 1,500 yards if I had played those games.”
What will Wright be working on this offseason?
“I would try and improve on staying low and catching the ball more.”
