We're into the 30s now and I'm starting to think this whole football thing actually might happen.
We've got 39 days until kickoff...so today we'll be highlighting #39 on the Boise State roster—Drew Wright
#39, Drew Wright, Senior, RB
Stats
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 208 lbs.
High School: Vallivue High School, Caldwell, ID
How'd he get to The Blue™?
Wright was a three-year letterman at Caldwell's Vallivue High and earned all-conference or all-state honors every year that he played. As a senior, Wright put up what I like to call "typo" numbers because you swear someone messed up the data entry. But his numbers were legit—in his final season as a Falcon, Wright rushed for 2,434 yards and 23 TDs. For that ridiculous display he was named first-team all-state and all-conference. His junior season also garnered him first-team all-conference honors after he ran for 1,256 yards and 15 touchdowns...not bad, but consider that in his senior season, he had more yards than that through only 5 games! Alas, Wright's pinball numbers weren't enough to get him any big offers and he opted to join the Broncos as a walk-on in 2008.
Nickname
"Mr. Wright"
It should also be noted that two wrongs don't make a Mr. Wright.
nl
Look-a-like
Professional idiot Bam Margera
Career highlights
Saw action in 11 games for the Broncos in 2011, rushed 43 times for 218 yards and 3 TDs. Played in 11 games in 2010 and had a career high 12 rushing attempts. Rushed for 50 yards on only 3 carries in mop-up duty against New Mexico State in 2009. Rushing for nearly 4,300 yards in high school.
2012 prospectus
This is the year that Wright has been waiting for. He was placed on scholarship in February, making his senior year a bit less cumbersome, and he should be the #2 running back heading into Fall Camp—everything is falling Wright into place it would seem. Of course, another thing that may drive Wright to reach new heights in 2012 could be the haunting memory of his game-changing fumble against TCU last season. Make no mistake—Wright isn't to blame for that loss (neither is Dan Goodale, to be fair), and any one of the running backs could've fumbled in the same situation. But it is something that will stick with Wright, and I think will spur him on to realize his full potential in this, his senior season. Why, you ask? Because that was one error in an otherwise solid back up career and you can bet that he doesn't want that moment to define his career. Wright. like many others before him, has gone from overlooked walk-on to scholarship athlete—that, in itself, is impressive enough...but I know he'll be hungrier than ever coming into the 2012 season and I know that he'll push the younger guys in the RB stable to give their all as well, because I don't think he'll be giving up the 2 spot on the roster very easily. With camp starting in just two weeks, I'd say the depth chart will likely look like this to start things off: 1) DJ Harper, Sr. 2) Drew Wright, Sr. 3) Jay Ajayi, RsFr. 4) Jack Fields, True Fr. 5) Devan Demas, True Fr. That's a good looking line-up...but remember that Ajayi and Harper both have fragile knees and the other two backs behind Wright are completely inexperienced and unproven at this level. When you look at things that way, Wright's experience becomes even more important. I think that Wright goes out with a bang and rushes for around 400 yards this year and maybe fills the role of a goal line back for the Broncos. I'm rooting hard for his senior year to be one to remember.
Completely made up fact
Wright's great-grandfather was Phineas "Lefty" Wright, who tried to fly a bi-plane from San José to New York and ended up in Singapore.