I'm a USC alum and fan. You've got to realize Manny Wright wasn't a starter and it's difficult for me to make absolute judgements on him based on so little playing time. He was only on the team in 2003 and 2004 and Cody and Patterson played ahead of him.
Wright always looked like the guy who probably had the most raw ability but took plays off and preferred to loop a blocker or beat him with a quick move than battle nose to nose. I've reviewed a few USC tapes I saved and he definitely doesn't use leverage or his hands as well as the other USC linemen. Still, he is very quick and made some big plays when enthused, specifically in the Rose Bowl vs. Michigan in 2003 and last year when we held off Cal.
I'm not sure Wright is the self-motivated type player who Saban prefers. You would never confuse him with a Matt Roth. Besides taking plays off, Wright has always had academic problems. I remember he was highly touted when we recruited him but he couldn't pass the SAT and took a year off, enrolling somewhere else. It might have been a junior college. The USC football blog I frequent had many threads regarding Wright's academic problems since last fall. The defensive line coach left to become head coach at Mississippi and supposedly Wright sulked at his departure and stopped attending class. He had to take a high credit load and pass almost everything to retain eligibility and it didn't look like he was going to manage.
I wouldn't invest higher than a 3rd.