Wright looking to drop a ‘bomb’
The 15th in a series featuring newcomers to the University of Arkansas football team.
University of Arkansas freshman Solomon Wright doesn’t often act like the line-busting, quarterback-tackling defensive lineman whose play has been likened to dropping a grenade in the backfield.
In fact, away from the football field, it would be difficult to identify Wright as a tenacious defender if not for his 6-0, 270-pound build.
“If you just kind of knew him, you wouldn’t think he is the player he is,” Kenyatta Wright, Solomon’s father who spent five seasons in the NFL, said. “He’s really quiet. He’s a jokester, too. He’s a tender-hearted kid.”
Between the lines, that nature vanishes. That’s when Wright becomes the interior lineman whose intensity got him kicked out of practice sessions, the one who fended off double teams and dismantled opposing offensive lines in high school.
“When it’s time to go and it’s time to put his hand in the ground, he’s the most explosive player I’ve seen in 23 years doing this,” Vian (Okla.) High School Coach Gary Willis said. “He’s the most explosive player that I’ve coached. Not only coached, but seen.”
The son of a former NFL linebacker, Wright grew up in Vian playing under the weight of his last name but was always encouraged to carve his own path. In that he excelled, down to his decision to come to Arkansas over offers from Oklahoma State — his father’s alma mater — Texas Tech, Iowa State and Missouri, among others. That path continues through Fayetteville.
“I hate to tell him how good he really is and what his ceiling can be,” the elder Wright, who serves as a position coach at Vian, said. “But I’ve played in the league with some guys that don’t have the first step that he has.”
Solomon Wright — who was unavailable for comment — was quiet and soft spoken growing up. He maintains a small, tight-knit circle of friends and is happiest away from football when he’s hunting, fishing or on horseback at a nearby ranch in his hometown 91 miles away from Fayetteville.
“He’s a true outdoorsman,” his father said. “Not everyone really gets to see that side of him. He’s really soft and caring. But when he gets on the football field, he’s a totally different animal.”
When Wright was a sophomore at Vian, Willis saw the way his calm demeanor shifted when it was time for football. On the practice field, few players brought more energy. No one hit harder.
Even in between drills, Wright remained the most active player on the field.
“If we had a water break or something, he’s got the ball and he’s sticking it in the grass without a tee kicking 40-yard field goals with either foot,” Willis said.
While being the son of a former NFL players added expectations, it also had perks. Wright grew up learning techniques and skills from not only his father but also from the likes of eightyear pro Stacy McGee and Robert Thomas, the former Razorback who spent time with seven NFL teams from 2014-18. With their help and the frame Wright grew into, he became a menace to offensive lines and backfields across Oklahoma.
Wright compiled 91 tackles, 11.0 sacks and 5 forced fumbles as a sophomore in 2018.
The drive that made Wright so effective also got him into trouble. Several times during his sophomore season, Wright was kicked off the practice field — usually by his own father — after he hit a teammate the same way he would an opposing quarterback.
Controlling his intensity was part of Wright’s maturation.
“That was something he had to learn to get better at,” his father said. “In practice, don’t try to kill your teammate.”
He slowly reined in that fire, saving it for his opponents on Friday nights. As a junior, he made 124 tackles and recorded 14.0 sacks as Vian went 12-2 and reach the state title game.
In the state semifinals, Wright flipped the momentum in Vian’s direction just before halftime when he forced a fumble and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. The Wolverines later fell to Metro Christian in the state championship game, but Wright made a mark with five second-half sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked punt in the losing effort.
During that breakout season, the coaching staff at Vian came up with a way to describe Wright’s impact at the line of scrimmage.
“It’s like you pull the plug on the grenade and throw it out there and you’re going to get a bomb,” his father said.
“He’s like dropping a grenade on the offensive line,” Willis said. “It’s an explosion in there. He was always wreaking havoc.”