Major Wright

Major Wright (born July 1, 1988) is a former American football safety. He played college football for the University of Florida, and was a member of a BCS National Championship team. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Major Wright
Wright playing for the Bears in 2013
No. 27, 21, 31
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1988-07-01) July 1, 1988
Lauderdale Lakes, Florida
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Thomas Aquinas
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
College:Florida
NFL Draft:2010 / Round: 3 / Pick: 75
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:326
Forced fumbles:3
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:22
Interceptions:9
Defensive touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Wright was born in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.[1] He attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he played high school football for the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders and ran track.[2] As a junior, he recorded 58 tackles with six interceptions and as a sophomore had 71 tackles and 10 interceptions.[2] As a senior, he was a finalist for the Hall Trophy (U.S. Army Player of the Year Award) after he recorded 72 tackles and three interceptions. He played in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[2] Wright was an All-state selection both years.[2] In track & field, Wright posted personal-bests of 11.1 in the 100-meter dash, 22.8 in the 200-meter dash and 41.32 in the 4×100-meter relay.[3]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Major Wright
Safety		 Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 4.5 Jan 30, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1   Rivals: 4
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2007 Florida Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  • "Florida College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  • "2007 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 4, 2012.

    College career

    Wright accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida,[2] where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2007 to 2009.[4] As a freshman in 2007, Wright started seven of 13 games for the Gators at free safety, recording 67 tackles, four forced fumbles and an interception.[2] He was a first-team freshman All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and second-team freshman All-American by Rivals.com.[4] As a sophomore in 2008, Wright started all 14 games at free safety, recording 66 tackles and four interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown.[2] He had nine tackles and an interception in the Gators win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game.[2]

    After his junior season, Wright decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft.[5]

    Professional career

    Chicago Bears

    The Chicago Bears selected Wright in the third round (75th overall pick) of the 2010 NFL Draft,[6] and was predicted to be a future starter by former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo.[7] During his rookie season, Wright played in eleven of sixteen regular season games. He recorded his first career interception in 2011 off a Michael Vick pass against the Philadelphia Eagles, when a pass by Vick squirted through linebacker Lance Briggs's hands into Wright, who was able to return the ball 39 yards.[8] A week later against the Detroit Lions, Wright intercepted a Matthew Stafford lob and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown, which was the first pick-six of his career.[9]

    In the 2012 season Wright started all 16 games for the Bears at Strong Safety, recording four interceptions along with 52 tackles for the year. During the Week 3 match up against the St. Louis Rams he returned an interception 45 yards for a defensive touchdown.

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    On April 4, 2014, Wright agreed to a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting with his former Bears head coach Lovie Smith.[10] Wright was cut by the Buccaneers on August 30, 2014. Wright rejoined the team on September 3, 2014.

    Wright re-signed with the Buccaneers on March 7, 2015.[11] On December 30, 2015, Wright was placed on injured reserve.[12]

    On August 28, 2016, Wright was waived by the Buccaneers.[13] He was re-signed by the Buccaneers on November 29, 2016.[14] He was released again on December 13, 2016.[15]

    NFL statistics
    YearTeamGPCOMBTOTALASTSACKFFFRFR YDSINTIR YDSAVG IRLNGTDPD
    2010CHI11242040.0000000000
    2011CHI125842160.0000360203617
    2012CHI167152190.0120445114518
    2013CHI1510078220.0200246233813
    2014TB125134170.0000000001
    2015TB9251690.0000000003
    2016TB20000.0000000000
    Career77329242870.032091511745322

    [16]

    Subsequent activities
    Cover of Wright's book

    On May 8, 2020, Wright announced the his first book called Major Pain: Confessions Of A Smash-Mouth Safety.[17]

    See also

    References
    1. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Major Wright. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
    2. GatorZone.com, Football History, 2009 Roster, Major Wright Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
    3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    4. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 99, 154, 186 (2011). Retrieved September 1, 2011.
    5. "Three Gators enter NFL draft," ESPN.com (January 11, 2010). Retrieved May 19, 2011.
    6. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 2010 National Football League Draft. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
    7. Jeff Dickerson, "Bears make Major decision," ESPN.com (April 24, 2010). Retrieved May 19, 2011.
    8. "Bears hit the ground running once again". Chicagobears.com. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
    9. "Defense fuels Bears to victory over Lions". Chicagobears.com. November 13, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
    10. Wesseling, Chris (April 4, 2014). "Major Wright, Tampa Bay Buccaneers agree to contract". NFL.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
    11. Sessler, Marc (March 7, 2015). "Buccaneers agree to terms with safety Major Wright". NFL.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
    12. "Vincent Jackson, Major Wright Head to IR". www.buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
    13. Smith, Scott (August 28, 2016). "Jacob Schum, Major Wright Among 12 Cuts". Buccaneers.com.
    14. Smith, Scott (November 29, 2016). "Major Wright Returns Amid Week 12 Moves". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
    15. Smith, Scott (December 13, 2016). "John Hughes Returns, Major Wright Released". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016.
    16. "Major Wright Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
    17. Harvey, Demetrius (May 10, 2020). "Former Gators DB Major Wright Helps Others Overcome Obstacles In New Book". SI.com. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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