Greatest Longhorn Football recruits of All Time - No. 4, Rodrique Wright
Raised in Houston, Texas and attended Alief Hastings high school, Rodrique Wright showed little promise through his early HS years.
Following a disappointing sophomore campaign, Wright made a quick turnaround to clinch first-team all-district honors after recording 92 tackles, nine sacks, and a blocked extra point in his junior year.
Things just kept getting better from there as Wright impressed scouts enough to become a five-star recruit, eventually earning All-American honors and an invite to the 2002 U.S Army All-American Bowl in which he played alongside future Longhorns Justin Blalock and Kasey Studdard.
Wright finished his senior year ranked as the second defensive tackle in the nation behind NFL veteran Haloti Ngata.
After commiting to the Horns, Wright saw first-team action from the minute he walked onto the Forty Acres. Under Coach Mack Brown, Wright started nine out of 13 games in 2002. Following a successful freshman campaign, Wright went on to become a full-time starter for the next three seasons. His collegiate career was capped off with a senior campaign that saw Wright playing an integral role in the historical Vince Young led team that won a national championship against USC in 2005.
Wright went on to be selected in the seventh round (No. 226 overall) by the Miami Dolphins in the 2006 draft. After the draft, it was publicly revealed that Wright had a torn rotator cuff, which hurt his draft stock dramatically. After a short three year stint in the NFL, Wright took his talents to the CFL; signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Soon after, Wright retired from professional football and entered the coaching profession. After serving as an assistant at Sam Houston State and East Carolina, Wright settled as a defensive line coach under Jeff Traylor at UT-San Antonio where he coaches today.
