Texas Tech football: Oklahoma defensive tackle commits to Red Raiders

Friday, the Texas Tech football program added defensive tackle Solomon Wright to the 2021 recruiting class as Matt Wells continues his hot streak on the recruiting trail.

Despite the shutdown of all recruiting activities outside of phone calls due to the coronavirus pandemic, Texas Tech football head coach Matt Wells has been on a roll in the last month. That continued Friday when the Red Raiders landed a verbal commitment from Solomon Wright, a defensive tackle from Oklahoma.

The 6-foot, 270-pound native of Vian made his decision known on Twitter saying of Texas Tech that the “atmosphere is welcoming and the coaching staff is awesome”.

https://twitter.com/solomon__wright/status/1256295643724857351?s=20

Rated the No. 44 DT in the nation and the No. 11 player in Oklahoma by the 247Sports composite rankings, he also holds offers from the likes of Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Missouri among others. And the people in Stillwater are likely disappointed in this development given that his father Kenyatta Wright played for the Cowboys before embarking on an NFL career.

According to Robert Allen of Pokes Report, an Oklahoma State site affiliated with the Sports Illustrated network, there may be a bit of animosity between the Wright family and Mike Gundy‘s staff in Stillwater.

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"“The Cowboys did not offer the older of Kenyatta’s two boys, linebacker Elijah Wright,” Allen says. “That may have caused some frustrations and Solomon is holding steady at 6-0 and 280 pounds. Some schools may be wanting to see if he will grow some more and stack on some more muscle.”"

Last season, Wright amassed 124 tackles, including 51 for loss, and 14 sacks. That brings his career totals to 263 tackles and 28 sacks.

This is a commitment that might not make a ton of waves across the Big 12 landscape but Wright has the look of a future starter. But for right now, he appears to be a bit of an under-the-radar prospect as he had only five Power 5 offers, likely because he plays at the 2A level.

Wright also needs to put on some weight before being able to play defensive tackle in the Big 12. But that isn’t stopping some analysts from projecting him as an impact player at the next level.

"“Wright has so much talent it’s honestly mind-blowing to me why recruiters are so low on him,” writes Ryan Mainville of SB Nation. “I see serious potential for Wright to move up to at least a 4-star if he continues to contribute the way he did his junior year…The fact that Solomon Wright didn’t have more than 5 offers listed on 247 is just crazy to me. Even though the 2021 class is just getting started, I think Wright has a good chance to be the gem of this class. His ability to use his hands is incredible. He also has crazy speed, especially for someone 270 pounds.”"

Adding quality defensive tackles has been something Tech has not done in recent recruiting classes. In fact, in neither of the last two classes have the Red Raiders signed a true defensive tackle.

This year, the Red Raiders will have senior Nick McCann and sophomore Jaylon Hutchings manning that spot with Hutchings having the edge to be the starter after a solid 2019 season. But after that, there are no other true defensive tackles on the roster meaning that Tech might need Wright to play right away in 2021 or Wells may have to find extra help in the transfer portal or the JUCO ranks.

But finding extra help hasn’t been challenging for Wells lately. Despite seeing the NCAA halt all in-person recruiting efforts, he and his assistant coaches have picked up six commitments in the class of 2021 in the last month.

Next. The Texas Tech all-decade defensive line. dark

As a result, Tech’s class currently sits at No. 26 in the nation and No. 4 in the Big 12 according to 247Sports. Though that is going to change weekly, if not daily, as other programs continue to add pieces, it’s a great sign that Wells is going to put together a more highly-regarded class than he did in the recently-completed 2020 recruiting cycle when his class ranked just 49th nationally and 7th in the Big 12. That’s the first step towards getting Red Raider football back on track after a decade of disappointment.

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