Winston Wright Jr. Sets Record vs. Maryland

On Saturday, West Virginia receiver Winston Wright Jr. broke the single-game record for kickoff return yards in the loss to the Maryland Terrapins.

The Mountaineers were in dire need of a big play on the road to turn around momentum after the offense gave up back-to-back sacks, and Maryland drove right back down the field for 14 unanswered points for a 17-7 lead under a minute remaining in the first quarter.

Wintson Wright Jr. silenced the raucous crowd while sprinting down the sidelines for a 98-yard kickoff return to the two-yard line.

“I just did what I was coached to do all week and what we practiced, and the scheme worked, said Wright Jr.”

The junior fielded the kickoff three yards deep into the endzone, the same area the previous kickoff went for a touchback. Nonetheless, Wright Jr. turned on the jets, set up his blocks, hit the seam, broke two tackles, stiff-armed a would-be tackler, bounced it to the sideline, and off to the races he went. Unfortunately, the defender got the angle on him and wrestled him out of bounds at the two.

“I was supposed to finish that,” he said.

Wright Jr. nearly went for another big one in the fourth after the Terrapins took a nine-point lead with nine minutes remaining in the game. The play was nearly identical, but momentum was out of bounds by a toe at the WVU 48-yard line.

He finished the day with 217 kickoff return yards, breaking Tavon Austin’s 199 yards against Oklahoma in 2012.

Additionally, the 98-yard kickoff return in the first quarter is the longest of his career, the longest non-scoring kickoff return in program history, and the longest by a Mountaineer since Shelton Gibson’s 100-yard return at Baylor on Oct. 17, 2015.

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