Bear Down Wildcats

When asked recently about the hardest hit he ever has taken, Cal quarterback Jared Goff had a surprising reply.

“In college or ever?”

Goff was sacked 32 times as a true freshman last year, so the concept that none of those measured up to something from high school was tough to accept. Then he explained.

“Because Scooby Wright hit me really hard in a high school game … that might have been it.”

Wright, who was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week after recording three sacks and three forced fumbles in Arizona’s 59-37 win against WSU on Saturday, remembers the game against Goff well. Not only because it was a playoff game that ended his team’s season, but because of what he endured in the process.

While playing offense in the middle of the second quarter, Wright fractured his ankle but stayed in the game.

“I attempted to play, let’s put it that way,” Wright said. “I wasn’t too active. My coach tried to take me out and I said no. I think I played the whole game.”

The whole game … with a fractured ankle. That’s not normal.

But for those who have watched Wright develop into one of the nation’s best linebackers, that Wright wasn’t willing to remove himself from that game probably isn’t all that surprising. Since starting Arizona’s first game last year as a true freshman, has developed a reputation for toughness and passion.

“It’s so fun to watch him play because every snap is going to be the last snap he ever plays,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. “You hope all your players emulate that, but he truly does all the time, even in practice, and I think that’s what makes him so effective.”

Through seven games, Wright ranks first in the country in forced fumbles (five), third in sacks (nine), third in tackles for loss (14) and No. 12 in tackles per game. Not bad for a guy who was mostly shunned by recruiters during his standout career north of San Francisco at Cardinal Newman High in Santa Rosa, California.

“Utah, Nevada, Boise State, San Diego State came by and saw my film, but I never really heard anything,” said Wright, whose light recruitment is honored by his Twitter handle, @TwoStarScoob. “Boise State didn’t think I was fast enough.”

Whether the lack of recruiting interest played a motivating role for Wright once he got to Arizona is insignificant, but, regardless, he arrived with a simple mindset: “Don’t let anyone outwork me.”

He hasn’t and opposing coaches are taking notice. Count UCLA coach Jim Mora, whose No. 22 Bruins host No. 12 Arizona on Saturday, as a big fan.

“I love him. First of all, I love his name and, secondly, I love the energy that he plays with,” Mora said. “He’s a tremendous player. I love those guys that play with their heart. I love the passion he has for the game. I think he plays the run well, I think he’s a good rusher, I think he can cover. But the thing I most respect about him is the energy and passion he plays with.”

While he got by on effort and instincts last season, when he was named honorable mention All-Pac-12, this year has been different. A significant amount of time in both the film and weight rooms has the 6-foot-1, 246-pound sophomore exceedingly more confident.

“It’s so much different this year because I actually know what I’m doing,” he said. “I am more comfortable with our scheme and am able to not play blind. I know what’s going on around me and can pick up on things the offense is doing.”

With just one loss, Arizona (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) is one five teams that could still conceivably emerge from the Pac-12 South. That's the goal, and Wright said going to Oregon and winning -- which was sealed by his strip of Marcus Mariota -- proved that if they execute they can be as good as any team in the conference.

It was the first time I had seen Scooby Wright in person this season, and he impressed. The Wildcats often used four rush men spread wide (a technique often called Wide 9), and it helped sack Halliday four times.

Announcers often gauge a defensive player's impact by how many times that name is mentioned during a game. It isn't a perfect measure, but in this contest, Wright was involved in every significant Arizona defensive play.

catgrad97 wrote:To say nothing of Rob Waldrop. Seems like the last true tackle we've ever had.

ghostwhitehorse wrote:One guess as to who is not on the Butkus Award watch list. . .

http://www.thebutkusaward.com/watchlist/view.aspx?t=c

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. . ..

ghostwhitehorse wrote:One guess as to who is not on the Butkus Award watch list. . .

http://www.thebutkusaward.com/watchlist/view.aspx?t=c

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. . ..

Announced by the Maxwell Football Club on Monday, Arizona’s sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright is one of 20 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to the most outstanding defensive player. Wright is one of five Pac-12 Conference players honored and one of six linebackers named to the list.

azgreg wrote:

David Lombardi/@LombardiESPN:

A quick look at the Pac-12’s defensive statistical leaders should seal the case for Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright III. If numbers mean anything, Wright has clearly been the most productive defensive player in the conference. His 12.1 tackles per game top the conference by a clear margin. (UCLA's Eric Kendricks is in second place with 10.8.) His 1.5 sacks per game trail only Hau’oli Kikaha’s 1.72, and Kikaha happens to be the national leader in that category. Wright manages to gobble up ball carriers at league-best clip, but he’s also racked up 18.5 tackles for loss, an average of 2.31 per game, just 0.08 off the conference lead. Simply put, this Wildcat can be anywhere and everywhere on the football field at one time. He’s been the definition of a “one-man wrecking crew” in Tucson.

Icing on the cake: Wright has forced five fumbles. No other Pac-12 player has more than three. And there’s been a clutch factor here, too: One of those strips victimized Marcus Mariota late to seal Oregon’s only loss of the season.

Oh, and there’s no better name in this mix than Scooby Wright III. Case closed.

Scooby Wright, Rashard Higgins and the best players in college football you've never heard of

....he may be the best defender in college football....

UAtrue wrote:Some writers back east are starting to notice..

Scooby Wright, Rashard Higgins and the best players in college football you've never heard of

....he may be the best defender in college football....

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/ ... d_wes.html

Generally speaking, the guys who make high-volume tackles are inside linebackers who aren't a part of the pass rush. And the pass rushers are ends or outside linebackers who aren't necessarily volume tacklers.

For Arizona, Wright is both and as such, he may be the best defender in college football -- and he probably makes most of his plays after you go to sleep.

The sophomore is third in the nation in total tackles (97), second in tackles for loss (18.5) and second in sacks (12), a rare combination of upfield playmaking and a lot of tackles.

In last week's 17-7 loss to UCLA, he had 19 tackles, 4.5 for loss, and sacked Hundley three times.

Puerco wrote:Pretty bland stuff, but you're right. As the opposing QB I'd be praising Scooby all day, just in the hope he hits me a little less hard.

Hot: Scooby Wright, LB, Arizona

If you're reading this on Saturday evening, there's a good chance Scooby Wright will have recorded a sack, a tackle for loss or forced a fumble before you've moved to the next slide. Possibly all of them.

The only player in FBS ranked in the top 20 in tackles (97), tackles for loss (18.5), sacks (11) and forced fumbles (five), according to Arizona's media relations Twitter account, the sophomore linebacker is coming off back-to-back performances in which he earned the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Week honor. A semifinalist for both the Bednarik and Lombardi awards—despite not being on either's preseason watch list—Wright has been the anchor of the Wildcats defense all season.

''He's been everything and then some,'' Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez told Anthony Gimino of the Associated Press.

He's been particularly on fire of late, with 10.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and three forced fumbles in his last three games. In Arizona's win at Oregon in early October, Wright's strip-sack of Marcus Mariota in the fourth quarter sealed the upset.

azgreg wrote:Great video!

catinfl wrote:Scooby is the best LB in the conference and it's not close.

azcat49 wrote:One part of his game that can improve is pass coverage. Not ask to do much of that it seems given the scheme (5 DB's) but it would be nice to see him take some deep drops and maybe get a pick

THIS WEEK’S SCOOBY WATCH

Arizona's terrific sophomore LB Scooby Wright had "only" 10 tackles, two TFLs and one sack in the Cats' win over Colorado. Wright now has 13 sacks through nine games. The year before he arrived at Zona, the Cats' whole team had just 16 sacks in 13 games.

MY HEISMAN TOP FIVE

1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

2. Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State

3. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

4. Duke Johnson, RB, Miami

5. Scooby Wright, LB, Arizona

At this point Mariota has a decent size lead, I think, but it's not quite his Heisman to lose. I could see Prescott narrowing the gap quite a bit if he can lead MSU to a win over Bama. The other guys with a big opportunity: Duke Johnson and Jameis Winston, since Miami hosts FSU this weekend. Realistically, I think both are longshots to actually win the Heisman this year. They'd need both Prescott and Mariota to lose or at least really struggle. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I'm skeptical no matter how well Winston could play the rest of this season if enough Heisman voters would put him on their ballots.

azcat49 wrote:I just hope he makes consensus first team all america. Could he become the first 3 time AA and show defensive recruits what we can do on that side of the ball