Tennessee’s top-rated commitment in their 2019 recruiting class, offensive tackle Wanya Morris, clearly thinks highly of Tennessee’s coaching staff and the direction they plan to take the Vols in. At least he’s talking the talk when being interviewed.
Morris was interviewed by Will Hammock of Gwinnett Prep Sports as one of their Super Six football players heading into the start of the high school football season in Loganville, Georgia. The piece featured Morris as a player, his personality on and off the field, his work ethic, and why he chose to commit to the Vols. And according to Morris, he chose Tennessee because he wants his name attached to a program who rises back to prominence and becomes a dynasty.
“I just wanted to be a part of something different,” Morris said to Hammock. “I changed my mind to go to Tennessee the night before I committed actually because I just wanted to be different and have my name part of a dynasty that’s going to rebuild to win another national championship.”
It’s been a long time since the Vols last won a title, but Vol fans sure haven’t forgotten that 1998 season. This year will be a celebration of that team as the beginning of this season marks the 20th anniversary of the last UT team to win a national title. And according to Morris, he believes the Vols can get back to that level of play during his time at Tennessee.
Morris is currently the No. 8 overall player and No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He’s a five-star on all recruiting services, and he blew everyone away with his performance at Nike’s The Opening over the summer. And that includes his head coach at Grayson High School.
“There’s not many kids that go to The Opening if their workout is scheduled at 8 AM, they show up at 7:02,” Grayson head coach Christian Hunnicutt told Hammock. “I’m telling you, that doesn’t happen. I’ve been around Gatorade players of the year. I’ve been around kids that have played in the NFL. And I’ve never had a kid that would show up that early to make sure they’re the first one in the door.”
The 6-foot-5, 311-pound offensive tackle won’t be easy to hang on to for the Vols. He still plans on taking visits this fall, and he has many other highly-rated teammates at Grayson who are committed to other schools. Five-star linebacker Owen Pappoe is committed to Auburn, four-star defensive end Kevin Harris is committed to Alabama, four-star cornerback Kenyatta Watson is committed to Texas, four-star offensive tackle Trente Jones is committed to Michigan, three-star receiver Kenyon Jackson is committed to Texas A&M, and three-star athlete Ronald Thompkins is committed to Nebraska.
And that just includes the class of 2019 recruits on Grayson’s roster.
Tennessee hopes to have Morris on their roster in 2019 and in the couple years after, and Morris believes his time with the Vols could lead to a dynasty. If the Vols can land a few more highly-rated players like Morris in the 2019 class and beyond, then that dream just might come true.
