Quick and effective
Mocs, Wright pleased with signees despite narrow recruiting window
The initial recruiting class in the Rusty Wright era is complete — for now.
After being hired as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s football coach in December, Wright put together a staff that added 18 players to the roster via the 2019 signing class. Three — quarterback Drayton Arnold, running back Ailym Ford and receiver Avery Williams — signed during the early period last month. The rest came on board Wednesday, the start of the traditional signing period.
Wright and his staff fulfilled their main goal for this week, which was to keep each of the 15 players who had committed to the Mocs.
“I think our staff did a great job in basically 15 days,” Wright said, referencing the amount of remaining recruiting time allowed by NCAA rules once his staff was in place. “We had to get guys on campus and start building relationships quickly, and we were able to do that.
“We started out with a bunch of names and a bunch of guys. After about a week and a half, we really focused in on a select few. We got those guys on campus and had an opportunity to be around them and develop some better relationships.”
The headliners of Wednesday’s signings were quarterback Gio Richardson from Florida and defensive lineman Marlon Taylor from Georgia.
Richardson was rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports.com after passing for more than 4,500 yards, rushing for more than 1,000 and producing 76 touchdowns in three years as a starter at a pair of schools in South Florida. He had previously committed to Florida Atlantic University.
Wright noticed something else about the 6-foot-1, 195pound dual threat.
“The biggest thing with that young man is he’s a leader,” Wright said. “You can watch him on film and you can watch him in a room of people, and they all gravitate to him.
“He’s a kid who can do a lot of different things. He can run the football, he can throw the football. His skill set is a little more comparable to a Russell Wilson type, though maybe not as much running around. We’re excited about Gio, really excited.”
Taylor (6-3, 275) was the Region 2-AAAAAA defensive player of the year at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, where he had 10 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and 17 other quarterback hurries as a senior.
Wright was asked if Taylor could be the next great UTC defensive lineman, on the heels of recent stars such as Keionta Davis, Isaiah Mack, Derek Mahaffey and Davis Tull.
“We stole one right there,” Wright said with a smile. “He’s a good football player and a great kid. Marlon has all the tools to be the next great one. He has a good motor, good pad level, good hands, feet.
“I couldn’t tell you why, but I’m glad he’s with us. There are going to be a bunch of people at other schools upset he’s with us, but that’s OK.”
Two aspects of the class stood out to Wright, who noted the program could sign more players in the coming weeks. One, that the class has 10 players who earned academic honors and two, that it has several athletic players who are projected to play positions new to them at the collegiate level.
“I can tell you what a fivestar guy looks like,” Wright said. “At our level, we have to project guys more, because we aren’t getting five-stars. Our job is to identify them, develop them and get them in positions to help us. This class has a lot of guys who are athletic, who are long and who run. We may not know where exactly they will play, but we know they can play somewhere.
“It’s my first class and I’m excited. I mean, having your first quarterback commit and just getting that first commitment is exciting. We are pleased with today and are thankful these young men have made the commitment to come to Chattanooga.”