Maryland football set to host portal OL Isaiah Wright this weekend

Isaiah Wright courtesy of ubbulls.com

Maryland has been looking to finalize its starting offensive line through the spring portal window as the staff scoured the growing list of names with visits still available. After bringing in former Liberty offensive tackle Chase Mitchell for a visit earlier in the week, Maryland will welcome another portal target to campus as former Buffalo offensive lineman Isaiah Wright heads to College Park today.

IBG subscribers knew about Maryland’s pursuit of Wright over the last week as the staff narrowed in on experienced portal linemen, but the latest visitor offers a bit more versatility to the offensive line.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman spent two seasons at Rutgers before transferring to Buffalo and became an immediate starting piece in the trenches, lining up as Buffalo’s left tackle for his first 18 games before starting the final six games of the 2023 season.

With confidence surrounding Maryland’s chances with Mitchell with a decision on the horizon, Maryland is moving full steam ahead with Wright as the potential final piece in the offensive line offseason transformation.

Wright’s versatility makes him a viable option to step into the starting left tackle spot, but if Maryland lands both Wright and Mitchell with steady confidence around their chances of doing so heading into the weekend, Wright gets a chance to become the reinforcement piece for the offensive line. Aliou Bah has settled in at guard where he’s primarily taken snaps at right guard toward the end of spring ball, while Josh Kaltenberger has settled in to upgrade the center position. Wright’s experience makes him a vet capable of pushing Kaltenberger at center, but Alan Herron’s capability of shifting inside to guard makes Wright a potential candidate to line up at right tackle. How it works out will be something that offensive line coach Brian Braswell will iron out through camp — and an aspect that Wright and Maryland will dive into during the visit — but Maryland is pushing hard to add an experienced, versatile lineman.

Maryland has been tracking Wright since he entered the portal back on April 30 as coordinator of player personnel Marcus Thomas is credited for ID’ing the Big Ten bounceback once available. After remaining consistent with Wright and his family immediately after he became available, this will be Wright’s first visit as Maryland will now look to finalize its biggest position of need as offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and head coach Mike Locksley iron out the offense heading into the 2024 season.

Isaiah Wright has two years of eligibility remaining, along with an extra year of eligibility from the COVID-shortened 2020 season.