Junior outside linebacker Jordan Wright admits once he started “taking” coaching better it turned him into a better player and now he has his chance to make a big mark on the UK defense this season.
“At first I was thinking maybe I could do it with athletic ability,” Wright said.
Wright said defensive coordinator Brad White told him point blank what was working for him and what wasn’t.
Remember the final play of last season was when Wright recovered a Virginia Tech fumble and returned it for a touchdown to finish off a 37-30 UK victory.
“That was the best feeling ever. My first college touchdowns in the last game (of the season. I could not do anything but thank God and smile,” Wright said.
Wright was a football-basketball high school star in Fort Lauderdale. He was ranked as the 80th best prospect in Florida but the nation’s 46th best defensive end in the nation by ESPN. He was also a part-time tight end who had six touchdown catches. On the basketball court he was a shooting guard who led his team to the Class 6A state title as a junior and thought he could play both sports in college.
Wright said football started “clicking” for him when he realized that was his best sport.
White said everyone develops at a different pace before reaching a point where they started understanding how to play.
“He has transitioned from being a basketball guy to a football guy and it has been fun to see,” White said. “He did not fight me at all. He had some maturity growth things to go through that a lot of players do. A lot of it was learning how to be a football player.”
