Justin Wright Admits He Can Be Better and Will as He Continues Comeback from Injury
STILLWATER – Amid all the yelling and hard coaching going on in the West End Zone meeting rooms and the practices at the Sherman Smith Training Center over the recent failures of the Oklahoma State defense, you’ll have to forgive linebacker Justin Wright for the smile on his face. Hey, Wright isn’t giving himself a passing grade for being part of a defense that currently ranks 132 (of 134 teams) in total and rushing defense. Head coach Mike Gundy has taken over and run defensive meetings and been the overall course corrector on defense at practice. The tone is loud and constant.
“Every day, every rep, and every second matters, and I’m going to try to put that to work everyday to the fullest,” Wright said of the brief time he has left to play college football.
Good attitude and that and the smile on the face come naturally because Wright returned to action, at least game action two weeks ago at BYU. The second-year transfer linebacker from Tulsa struggled with a knee injury early last season and came back to post two tackles at Iowa State. Then the next week, a bye week, he went down with a torn ACL.
All the hardwork and rehab in the offseason had Wright ready to play a lot when on the Wednesday before the opener with South Dakota State, Wright suffered a partially torn PCL. He worked at rehab and was finally bakc at BYU. He played some with no tackles. Then last Saturday he played more and had two unassited tackles.
Again, forgive the smile over being back on the football field. Like the entire defense and defensive coaching staff, he’s taking the criticism from the head coach. Remember that 41-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter by Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson? Wright was there to make a play on the 41-yard run until he followed a running back into the flat.
“That was my fault, completely,” You shouldn’t have gone with the tight end., I asked. “I should not have. That was supposed to be relating to the running back and he kind of stepped up and looked like he was blocking and then went out and I followed too far,” Wright admitted. “If you look on the film I was supposed to be dropping deeper in my hook drop. They call that a bait route. The linebacker takes the bait on the running back and the quarterback can throw the hook or do what he did to me and run it. I’m better than that and I’m going to fix it.”
Okay, I get it, everybody needs to accept blame. The aspect of this where Gundy is frustrated with what he saw against Baylor as lack of effort, lack of want to. Wright is the poster for want to. He wants to make his last games of his college career memorable and successful. His motivation is high and he needs to share with those that at least from a playing standpoint have had it much more favorable.
“To put the work in throughout the week and come up short is very frustrating,” Wright said. “You have to go over the film (like today) and see your mistakes and fix it. I need to do a better job of being a leader, of running to the ball, and doing everything I can to do my job first and then help my teammates out.”
Defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo told us last week that Wright coming off the knee injuries is much more of a downhill player right now. Better against the run and against the pass better as a blitzer. Wright won’t complain.
“I love the run. I think it is one of my strong suits. I’m going to approach this game like any other and approach him like any other good Big 12 back.”
That back, Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, and you get the feeling that the 6-3, 240 pound Wright would like some quality time Saturday with Skattebo. Right now, all time on the football field for Wright is quality time.