Austin Price: Hello everybody and welcome back for episode two of Season two of Vol Club Confidential. I'm your host Austin Price of quest.com, an exciting show tonight we have Jaylen Wright on the show as he's ready for a massive junior season here on Rocky Top, but before we get to him, we bring in James Clawson. James, you've got the Virginia game coming up. What's that weekend look like for volunteer club members? And then take me through the tailgate and what people can expect The morning of a noon kickoff Eastern 11:00 AM breakfast over there in the mid-state? Yeah, early James Clawson: Right, so we'll start off Friday night we'll be at Barstool, which is going to be the official watch party spot for Middle Tennessee Ball fans. If they can't get to Knoxville or go to the away games, but we'll start probably by 8:00 AM Saturday morning, we'll be right. I think it's actually near the stadium. Have breakfast, do our full tailgate, but obviously it will be early so and then get ready for that 11:00 AM kick Austin Price: Sponsoring the tailgates this year is Exterior Home Solutions. They'll be the sponsor at that tailgate in Nashville. They'll be the sponsor of all the home tailgates and the location of home tailgates will be different this year. Yep. James Clawson: We're going to be in Humanities Plaza between McClung Tower and the library. So huge footprint will be on that kind of the concrete, right leading up to the grassy area. So huge footprint should give us a lot more space, a lot more room for our members and opportunity to interact with a lot of players and maybe have some fun games too. Austin Price: You'll have players from other sports there, obviously throughout the tailgates. How big was having Exterior Home Solutions come on as the title sponsor for tailgate? James Clawson: Well, I think it just proves that there's power in the members that we've got. We have almost 3000 and we have a huge email, email, weekly newsletter list. So we think that we're in a position to really provide some value for companies and exterior home solutions kind of bought into our vision. They want to help the Vols wind too, Austin Price: And if you need any kind of home remodel or restoration or did you get any damage in the storms that we've seen over the last month? Give the exterior home solutions guys a call today. Enough of the secondary business. Let's get to the primary business and that is running back Jaylen Wright, this week's highlighted guest. We go back to your recruitment. You're recruited by the previous staff, Jay Graham recruits you out of high school. Then all of a sudden that staff's gone, but you're already signed. What are you thinking when you're kind of in that no man's land with a new staff company and I'm sure that had to be kind of like head spinning. Jaylen Wright: Yeah, what I'm saying, it was a lot of bit of confusion. What I'm saying, I didn't know what to expect. I had already built a relationship with the last coaching staff with Coach Graham. You know what I'm, he's a great person. I'm saying he just made me fall in love with saying Tennessee, but new coaching staff came so I trusted in the process and here we are now Austin Price: Going into year three. How quickly did you kind realize Jerry Mac and I are going to jive really, really well? Jaylen Wright: I realized that Quick Coach Mack, he's a very smart coach. He knows football, he's very welcoming. Not far as on the field, but I'm off the field as well. He just knows what it takes to get to that next level. Austin Price: What is it you like most about him from a relationship standpoint? Jaylen Wright: He's somebody that really cares about you. We not always, when we talk, we don't always talk about football. We talk about things off the field, what am I doing, what he's doing, how he's going and stuff like that. So it's just, I'm saying a mix of everything. Austin Price: Going into year three, where do you feel like your game has grown the most from year one to now? It feels like you just keep getting better and better and better. Jaylen Wright: The game has really slowed down for me. Now that just comes from me. I'm saying watching more film, studying, studying more backs, just knowing the ins and outs of football, the details. I try to be very detailed with everything I do and just knowing the whys of saying behind everything we Austin Price: Do. When you're watching those backs, are you watching who, when you flip on a college game to watch a peer or to flip on an N F L game to watch somebody maybe that you want to try to emulate? Is there anybody you're like, I got to get on this game. I love watching him run. Jaylen Wright: Somebody I really love to watch run Tony Pollock. You know what I'm saying? He's somebody that really runs hard, physical runs with passion. Know what I'm saying? That's just something I can relate to. Austin Price: Do you watch old school running backs much? I mean, do you watch guys that no longer play or is it only guys now? Jaylen Wright: Yeah, I watch a lot. I used to watch a lot of Chris Johnson, you know what I'm saying? He's fast, what I'm saying, he's a one cut and go guy. I just really try to watch backside I feel like I couldn't relate to as my running style. Austin Price: How much do you feel like your running style has changed or do you think it's the same as from when you were in high school? It feels a little different. I mean I felt like in high school you were kind of a one cut and just use the speed and just run past people and now I feel like you almost run to try to make contact with people. I mean you like that everybody saw the run on social media that tends to put out from the scrimmage the other day where you just truck tank. I mean, did you say sorry for that by the way? Jaylen Wright: Nah, man. What I'm saying, nah, I didn't, nah, but I'm, my running style has changed a lot since year one. I just try to, I'm just run hard run physical, know what I'm saying? Make people miss open field. What I'm, I just try, my thing is just not to get tackled by the first man. Always make that first man miss. Austin Price: You and Jabari seem like y'all have really been fairly tight since y'all got here, which is always hard. Everybody wants to play and there's really normally just one at a, what makes you guys kind of a nice unit and how much do you kind of relish to be those two older guys in the room now with a bunch of younger backs who've got some talent too? Jaylen Wright: Me and Jabari, ever since I got in here, we just clicked. That's like my brother. I'm, we close, we know we all we got, we always got to work together. I'm saying all of us as running backs, we all we got, so we got to have that relationship. I'm saying brotherhood is Austin Price: Important. Dylan's obviously made some splash, but then you got these two young kids too with Khalifa, Keith and Cam sell and then even Desha Bishop who came in at Christmas. What's impressed you about those younger guys? Jaylen Wright: What's impressed me the most? You know what I'm, it just happened. It just clicked for them. I'm saying when they get on that field, they run hard. They understand it. You know what I'm saying? When my first year here, I feel like they grasped on way faster than me, so it's just amazing to watch. All Austin Price: Your roommate a year ago was Jaylen Hyatt. He obviously had a phenomenal year wins the Biletnikoff Award, you guys were super tight. How much did his kind of growth going into year three make you and drive you to want to do the same thing going into year? Year three? Jaylen Wright: I just watched him. I just watched the whole process of how he took care of his business. Not just much so know what on the field, but off the field as well. He's a great, great person. Know what I'm saying? He just watching him and watching his success know what, I just know what it takes now to get to our next level. Austin Price: When you talk to him and he tells you what clicked for him, do things match up? You're like, okay, I can relate to that. Jaylen Wright: Yes, a lot. You know what I'm saying? He just took care of his business off the field. You know what I'm saying? I really think being detailed off the field, that really leads up to what I'm saying. You doing good, having great games. You know what, I'm just being on time to everything. Just being intentional with every rep he gets. I'm always smiling when he comes in the building. Just always feel welcoming, so I just saw him do that and yeah. Austin Price: Coach Mack talks about you've changed a lot and he said this last week, just like you smile more, you're more engaging. What do you think has brought you out of your shell? Jaylen Wright: Just knowing that I can be the guy. Just knowing that I got a lot of talent. You know what I'm, and a lot of talent that the world hasn't, I'm saying hasn't seen and I'm just ready for that to be seen. I just feel like just coming in there ever since I've been coming in happy, smiling, I've been feeling better and I've been getting saying, coach Mac used to always tell me what you give in is what you're going to give out. People know if you come in frowning and not wanting, I'm saying talk to people, they're not going to run it talk to you know what I'm saying? So I just took pride in that. Austin Price: If you ever wonder if it resonates whether a coach tells a player when Coach Max sit here and says that exact same thing last week on the show and Jaylen comes in here and regurgitates it right back, that means you listened and it resonated with you and when you're growing up and you're listening to several different coaches, your dad being one of 'em, and who kind of had that impact on you? Who is somebody, whether it be at the peewee level, the high school level, obviously Coach Mac now your dad, who had an impact on you in that way? Jaylen Wright: My dad. My dad. I'm saying he's a big reason. Him and God, know what I'm saying? Just a big reason why I'm here at this point right now. Know what I'm saying? My dad's made a lot of sacrifices for me to get to the point I am now my dad, he's just something that fills me to go harder. I think about him, I think about our struggles that we've been through when I was younger and that just makes me go harder. I just want to be able to provide for my family. Austin Price: There's not a bigger Jaylen Wright fan than Curtis Wright. If you said walk to Arizona and get me some toothpicks, I think Curtis would do it for you. He is that guy. I mean he is your biggest fan. He has been since high school. How much do you appreciate how much he not only did for you, but pushed you? I mean sometimes it's like dad, I mean, I'm like that with my parents from time to time. It's like, okay, but how much do you look back and go? I mean he was just one of the best for me. Jaylen Wright: My dad, know what I'm saying? He pushes me to the next level. There's been times where I've, I've wanted to give up, know what I'm, there's been times where I didn't feel like I didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel, but he always tells me, I'm saying, keep going, keep your head up. Just keep playing. You know what I'm saying? Just keep doing. You keep doing your thing and everything's going to work out in your favor. Austin Price: You go back, we did that interview over there in Durham when you were a senior in high school going into your senior year, your sophomore and junior year, you split time. Handful of carries here and there. I mean wasn't the Bell cow senior year is taken away from you because North Carolina didn't play football in the fall and then you get here. I mean, do you feel like you're really kind about two years behind as far as development standpoint your best football still? You're just scratching the surface of how good you can be because of the threat on the tires isn't real great. Jaylen Wright: I came in, I was really young coming in. Of course I didn't have a senior season. It was just a lot. I had Tom, it's just a lot. You just had to click for me in a short amount of time period. I played quite a bit for my freshman year being so young and yes, I feel like I have a lot more development, a lot more development that needs to come. Austin Price: You go back to the first to last year and you lose the ball a couple of times, but you just kept your head down, kept plugging. You didn't get down on yourself. It didn't feel like, it just felt like just give it to me again. I'll prove it's the right call. Where's that come from? It Jaylen Wright: Just comes from, you know what I'm saying? Just like I said, when things don't happen, right. My dad always tell me when things don't happen, right, things don't go in your favor. Just keep doing things happen. It just comes with the game of football. Austin Price: Coach Max says you run passionate. Some people say you even run angry. Take me through what's going through your head when you get the ball from the quarterback. What's going through Jaylen Wright's mind? Jaylen Wright: Make anybody that come my way feel me. Just something just clicks. You know what I'm saying? We'll get pass on when I know I'm about to get the ball, I just run hard. You know what I'm saying? Run hard and I just know everything that's going to happen. Right. Austin Price: We head into this season. I know you've got a lot of big goals ahead of you and a lot of you're pushing trying to get, theres as coach hype would say, as fast as you can. What are some of those goals? Jaylen Wright: My number one goal is to be the best back in the nation. That's something I know I can be. It's something I know that can happen. Another goal is to what I'm that ties with the Best Back Nation is get that Double Walker award. That's something I look, think about every day. I know I'm saying my talent, my skills. I know I can get that Austin Price: From an individual standpoint. Those are lofty goals. As far as the team room, what do you envision for this group, Jaylen Wright: This team? I feel like we're going to be great this year. I feel like every position group works hard. Every position group has depth, every position group has talent. I feel like we can do a lot of big things this year. Coach Hype has him. The way he coaches, he focuses on the little things, the detailss. That's what we need to win all our games. Austin Price: What do you feel like your skillset, how do your skillset set really showcase in this offense? Jaylen Wright: I'm a big play guy, you know what I'm saying? I feel like I can make big plays, big explosive runs. You know what I'm saying? I see a scene, I hit it. Nobody's catching me. I run physical, know I'm run fast, loose, know what I'm, I see the cuts. Austin Price: Your best run last year was what I know which one I have in mind and then we'll see what you think. Jaylen Wright: I feel like I had two good runs versus Kentucky. Austin Price: The balance run. Jaylen Wright: Yeah. Yeah. Those are some good runs. I love that run. You know what I'm saying? The first one I had went over the defender head, you know what I'm saying? He went low. I had landed. I forgot how it was, but I had landed weird, kind of awkward, so I kept my balance, kept my feet going and I just kept going. Then the next one was when I saw the defender made a move. You know what I'm saying? I sprint off of him and just kept going, refused to go down. Austin Price: The other one that sticks out to me last year was a shorter run, but it was the Florida touchdown run where you did the chomp. Yeah, Jaylen Wright: I know that's a lot of people's favorite. Yeah, that was a great run. I don't know what was going through my head at that moment. I just did it. Austin Price: In those moments, do you almost just whether you actually do or not, do you almost just claim blackout? I blacked out. I don't even, Jaylen Wright: What happened? I definitely blacked out. I definitely blacked out. You know what I'm saying? That was a very big game. I got an end zone and I was just, man, I just did it. Austin Price: Favorite do you enjoy the blacks, the grays? You like the traditionals? What do you enjoy uniform wise? Jaylen Wright: Blacks definitely. It's just like when we put those black uniforms on that Kentucky night game, it was just something different. You know what I'm saying? Just everybody was just on timing. What I'm saying, just that black just made just, I don't know. Austin Price: The first game is at noon, which is 11 central, so you actually, we technically in the morning time when you kick off against Virginia last year you did that at L S U, but you all practice in the morning, so I mean I feel like this is just a normal day, right? I mean most teams practice at four 30 in the afternoon. How much do you enjoy the morning practices? I'm sure at first you were like, this is awful, but then you still feel that way or do you feel like that helps you? Nah, Jaylen Wright: I actually love the morning practices. Know what I'm saying? We could get up, get out there early, you know what I'm saying? Just go ahead and get out the way after that, we ain't got to worry about it. Besides meeting morning practices, I feel like they're just good to have what I'm saying because when you have practices in the evening it, you got to wait for practice. I'm saying practice is the hardest part, so just go ahead and get the morning practice out the way. That feels good and that's also how I feel about that early game against Virginia. Austin Price: How hyped are you for that game? Because you had this nice crescendo last year, your personal game kept building teams, having success ends in the Orange Bowl, and then of course you've got nine months until the next game, so now you've put all this work in. You had a great spring, great summer, and great fall to this point. Is this something where you're like, oh, this fall camp stuff, get this past us, let's get to that first game? Yeah. Jaylen Wright: I really try to keep the main thing, the main thing I'm saying as our coaches always say, be where your feet are, but I'm definitely looking forward to that Virginia game. I'm looking forward to the season in general, that Virginia game. We're going to get up, get after 'em early, know what I'm saying, get 'em out the way and just move on to the next opponent. Austin Price: We talked about Jaylen Hyatt earlier. You're living by yourself now, but what other teammates do you rely on now? Now that he's gone, who do you lean on, who you spend time with? Who do you find comfortable? Jaylen Wright: I'm really close with Tmac, tamari, McDonald, Kamal, Tyler Baron, Joe. Those what I'm saying. Those are the people I really hang out with outside of football. I'm those people I was with ever since I came in here, so we just got a tight relationship with all those Austin Price: Away from football. What do you like to do on campus? Is there anything you like to enjoy doing, whether it'd be different parts of the year, any particular hobbies you have on campus besides when you're not doing football and I know you do football most of the time, Jaylen Wright: That's really hard. People ask me this all the time. I really, really don't do a lot of things. I just like I'm saying when I'm not doing football, I just like to have time to myself. You know what, just chill. Just have time to myself. Austin Price: What's one or two things most people don't know about Jaylen Wright? Jaylen Wright: He's a kind person. I'm saying when people see me, just I guess I used to give off angry impression, you know what I'm saying? But it's not really me. I'm really nice. I'm really welcoming. Austin Price: How much do you feel like you've matured since we did that interview in Durham three years ago? Jaylen Wright: I feel like I matured a lot. Not even from there. I feel like I matured a lot from last year maturity. I think that's really a big step that I took in my process of growing as a person, as an athlete, so I feel like I matured a lot. Austin Price: All Let's do some rapid fires here. Do you have any pre-game superstitions or routines? No. Jaylen Wright: I don't Austin Price: Share one fun or unique memory you have from your first two seasons with Tennessee, Jaylen Wright: That game against Purdue? That I'll never forget that. Austin Price: Never. Do you think that that's the biggest drive and the maturing, the biggest drive and the growth in the game? Just because I know you think you scored. Jaylen Wright: Yeah, I mean I did score, but you know what I'm saying, you know what I'm saying? Things happen. I'm saying I feel like if I was a little bit bigger, I'm saying a little bit stronger, I would've got in there where I didn't have to reach the ball where it could have been an automatic decision to call the touchdown. Austin Price: This version of Jaylen Wright scores without having to reach out the ball is what you're saying? Yes. What do you miss most about Durham, North Carolina? Jaylen Wright: Just being around my family probably. I mean, I really don't got a lot of family there, but just being around my sisters, my dad, and also, you know what I'm saying? Just being around people I grew Austin Price: Up with. Favorite place to eat back home that's local. Jaylen Wright: It's it's a wing stop called, I mean a wing spot called Tasty Stop. Austin Price: Tasty stop. Yeah. Jaylen Wright: Nice. Austin Price: Pretty good. You're in the Durham, North Carolina area. Go for it. Favorite date spot here in Knoxville so far? Jaylen Wright: Date Spot? Yeah. Date spot. I don't really go on dates, but I like first watch. First watch. I've been there before with somebody. Austin Price: You taking 'em for breakfast then Amusement parks or beach strips? Which one? Jaylen Wright: Amusement parks. Amusement parks for sure. Austin Price: You a big rollercoaster guy? Yeah, Jaylen Wright: I am. I like the three. Oh, I like Austin Price: That. What's your favorite rollercoaster? What's your favorite amusement park? Well, Jaylen Wright: I've only been to Carwin out in Charlotte, but I like Dollywood. Austin Price: You like Dollywood? Yeah, I Jaylen Wright: Like Austin Price: Dollywood. You went there with the team this summer? Yeah, I did. Have you been on your own besides the team? Jaylen Wright: Nah, but I was, know what I'm saying. This summer, me and Dylan Samson, we did a lot of things. We did a lot of things with each other. I'm saying we went jet skiing, we went to the water park and stuff like that. I'm going to, Dollywood was one of the options. You what I'm saying? We just decided to have a little fun this summer. Austin Price: How much do you enjoy days like that? You got to spend so much time in the weight room and in the film room and then just the jugs machines and all the little things you have to do to get ready for the season, but to have that day to kind of breathe and just go be a kid at the end of the day. Well, you're 21. Yeah, Jaylen Wright: Now I'm Austin Price: 2020. It ain't even 21 yet. I mean you're still a kid, man. Jaylen Wright: I remember the first time dealing we went jet ski. It was just being and him. That was probably one of the most fun moments I ever had and I just felt free. You know what I'm saying? Just having fun, getting away from football. Just know what I'm just doing. Something that I haven't done before. Austin Price: I like it. What does your summer look like when you aren't training? Jaylen Wright: When I'm not training. Probably Austin Price: Sleeping. Jaylen Wright: Yeah, sleeping. Playing the game. Eating, trying to stay up. Stay right. Keep my body Austin Price: Right. Talk to me about your work with Second Harvest Food Bank. How important is that to you? Oh, Jaylen Wright: That is very important. I like giving back what I'm saying, the children who is less fortunate. That's just something I'm big on. Just giving back to my community, especially children. I love working with children. Austin Price: I will keep this theme going. It carries over from season one to season two. Jordan or LeBron? Jaylen Wright: LeBron. Austin Price: See, Jaylen Wright: I'm a big LeBron's fan. I feel like LeBron just like the goat for sure Austin Price: Stop. I always like the random guy that says Kobe Kobe's forgotten in the conversation. As far as just killer instinct, if you weren't playing football, what would you be doing? Jaylen Wright: I wasn't playing football. I really do not know. I really don't Austin Price: Know. But Jerry said you wanted to be a commentator, but then realized he reminded you that you don't speak. Yeah, Jaylen Wright: It was a commentator, but now I like real estate. I would like to, I'm saying get into that business. If I wasn't in football, I feel like it's good money there. I feel like it's just a good career to have. Austin Price: I know you don't really care because you just want to go to the N F L one day, but if Jaylen Wright got to pick where he could go play N F L football, where would it be? Jaylen Wright: I like what I'm saying. I really look at what I'm things I'm saying not just football. In that football aspect, I look at things like a state I'm who doesn't have tax like that you I'm saying where I could get all my money, like Texas, somewhere like that, but Florida Austin Price: Is Jaylen Wright: One of those. Florida as well, but you know what I'm saying. Wherever I go, I'm just going to ball out of that for real. Austin Price: Jaylen, right to the Dolphins 2024 maybe N F L draft. That would be love though. Did you grow up cheering for any particular N F L team? Were you a Panthers guy? North Carolina Jaylen Wright: Guy? I was a big Saints fan. You know what I'm saying? I always liked the Saints. I've been to New Orleans a couple times. My stepdad, he's from New Orleans. He has family in New Orleans, so I was a Big Saints fan growing up. Austin Price: So have you had to talk or spend any time with Alvin with him being a Saints guy? I Jaylen Wright: Talked to Alvin that one time he had came, I think he was my freshman year spring game. That's when he came. I talked to him, introduced myself. I'm saying he's a very cool dude. Austin Price: How much do you enjoy kind being that role model for kids when you walk out of the stadium and there's 75 or a hundred little kids over there wanting your autograph or when you go read on Dr. Seuss day at an elementary school or whatever, how much do you kind of enjoy that or you see that seven or eight year old kid and they look up to you? You were once that seven or eight year old kid. Jaylen Wright: Yeah, I enjoy that. You know what I'm saying? Just like you said, I was once in that position where I looked up to somebody. I was once in that position where I saw this person. I was like, man, he's just what I'm saying. Awesome. So it just feels good to just know that I have younger kids looking up to me. I'm wanting to be in my position. Austin Price: What would you go back and tell a seven or eight year old you Jaylen Wright: When things don't go right, just keep going. Know what I'm saying? Things get hard. It's not always going to work out in your favor. Just keep going. Austin Price: Hardest moment of your career? I mean is it simply the Purdue thing or was it something else? Jaylen Wright: Just getting used to just how fast the game goes. I feel like I'm saying once the game slows down for you, you're good. I feel like that was probably the hardest thing. Austin Price: Knowing that, is that something you kind of search out with younger guys? Because it's easy. I think you were there at one point when you were freshman. When you walk in, everybody thinks I'm going to play right away, and I know that that's a possibility, but it's also a possibility that mentally kids just aren't ready for the pace, the speed of the game, and then maybe sometimes physically they're not ready. That wasn't your case. You were always physically ready, but is that something where you can go to a younger guy now and go, Hey, look, I know you're not getting in right now, but you're going to be me. I was where you were. Jaylen Wright: I always talk to the young guys. Know what I'm saying? Deshaun, Khalifa cam. I always tell them, you got to get ready. You never know when your time's going to come with me. I didn't know when my time's going to come. I didn't know I was going to get through in that fire that early, like the pit game. I didn't know I was going to play that long. You know what I'm saying? That was my first time actually playing football since junior year. Junior year of high school. So I always tell them just to be ready when that time comes, just make the best out of it. Austin Price: Is Cam Selden the younger to Jaylen Wright? From a personality standpoint, it feels that way. He's not a big talker either. Jaylen Wright: Yeah, cam, he's definitely an introvert. He's somebody that stays to himself, but you know what I'm saying? He is starting to come out his shell more. Austin Price: I agree. He'll walk through that north side of the complex where we do the interviews at and he's always like, Hey. He initiates the conversation now where you see to head down. Yeah. Jaylen Wright: Cam, he's a cool person. Very funny. Very funny. Austin Price: We head into this season game. You're most excited to play is what? Is it just the next one or is there one where you're like, man, I'm looking forward to this game. Jaylen Wright: South Carolina. We got to get after 'em. We just got to, I don't know what I'm saying. We just, South Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. I'm definitely ready for that Bamba game again. I'm just ready for all the games. I know all the games is going to be spectacular. I'm make a lot of plays. Austin Price: All right. There's nobody more confident than this guy right here. He is riding high, heading into this 2023 season. Good luck and we'll see you out of Neland Stadium. Actually, Nissan Stadium here coming upon the first weekend in September. Yes, sir.