The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Rod Wright: The veteran's first
10.11.2005 | Football
"There is a first for everything," goes the common phrase.
During Texas' 2002 season opener, Rod Wright saw action in his first collegiate football game against North Texas. In that game, the Houston native recorded his first of 13 career sacks en route to earning first-team Freshman All-America accolades that season. Later on in his career, he was a defensive leader on a team that went to Texas' first Rose Bowl, which was also the Longhorns' first BCS bowl game and BCS victory.
Now a senior, there are very few firsts Rod Wright has not experienced.
But Saturday, in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns' 45-12 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, the big 315-pound defensive tackle notched his first career fumble recovery after a fourth-quarter sack by Brian Robison. To top it off, Wright made his first trip across the goal line, returning the fumble 67 yards for a touchdown.
"After I saw Brian hit [Rhett] Bomar and the ball came loose, I just picked it up and started running with it," explained Wright. "I didn't hear a whistle, so I just kept on going and listened to the crowd. There was nobody in front of me and I didn't want to know what was behind me, so I just ran for my life."
Before he could even process the enormity of what was happening, Wright found himself in the crimson end zone.
"From that point on, at least for a couple of minutes, I was amazed," Wright said. "I was in denial that it actually happened."
Not long after returning to the sideline, though, Rod Wright realized that six of the points on that Cotton Bowl scoreboard were his.
"It finally sunk in when I was on the bench getting water," Wright recalled. "Once it hit me, it was just the greatest feeling ever. It just put the exclamation point on our win in the Red River Rivalry."
Accustomed to seeing game action from the defensive side of the field, Wright has received some interesting feedback on his return.
"A lot of people told me I was trucking it, and other people said it felt like forever before I got to the end zone," Wright said in reference to his speed. "But it sure didn't feel slow."
Wright says his greatest piece of feedback was an article head coach Mack Brown displayed during Sunday's team meeting.
"Coach Brown showed us the New York Times newspaper," noted Wright. "On the inside, they had a picture of me in the end zone, holding the ball up with the stadium behind me. That was really special to me, because that is one of the top newspapers in the world. To get that recognition, both personally and as a team, is so special."
And though he jokes about asking Coach Brown to give him playing time at tight end, Wright's first career touchdown gives him a new outlook going into the season's remaining games on defense.
"Since I know I have the ability to score on a fumble, I'm not going to be so quick just to fall on the ball," said Wright. "I will be looking for opportunities to do it again."
With so many accomplishments under his belt, there is only one major column in the defensive statistics in which Wright has yet to put his mark.
"I think I'll try for my first interception next."
