The Wright Choice
May 02, 2006 02:16 PM | General
May 2, 2006
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| Barry Wright |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The difference between Florida State and West Virginia, says former Seminole linebacker Barry Wright, is more about the methods than the means.
Because Florida State has for years had its pick of the litter when it comes to top football prospects, Wright says Seminole players spend most of their time in the off-season refining their abundant physical skills. At West Virginia, it’s more about overall player development.
“The biggest thing between Florida State and West Virginia is the guys here work a little harder,” Wright said. “They’re looking for you to workout but it isn’t as intense as what they put you through here. You’ve got to workout there and the coaches are on you, too, but not like this.”
Wright admits he’s made significant development since arriving in Morgantown last fall as a non-scholarship walk-on.
“I went up like 80 pounds on my bench,” he said.
Wright’s college football career has been in a holding pattern for the better part of three years after starring at Woodham High School in Pensacola, Fla. The 6-foot (he’s listed at a very generous 6-2), 220-pound linebacker recorded 156 tackles and produced 14 sacks to earn first-team all-state honors, but low grades forced him to attend Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. After redshirting in 2002, Wright produced 89 tackles and four sacks in helping his team to a 9-2 record. He earned first team juco All-America honors and wound up picking Florida State over West Virginia and South Carolina.
“I could have gone to other places but I just measured it down to getting away or being closer to home and I kind of wanted to be closer to home at first,” Wright said.
The senior says he grew up being a big fan of the Florida Gators.
“During my recruitment with them something got screwed up and I just lost interest in them,” he said. “But growing up in Florida, playing for Bobby Bowden is a big thing. It’s Bobby.”
So Wright went to Florida State and got on the field in 2004, playing six games as a reserve linebacker and also seeing time on special teams. He made an appearance in the 2005 Gator Bowl against West Virginia, making one tackle at linebacker.
Wright came out of the spring drills last year in contention to play right defensive end, but he once again stumbled academically and did not return to school for his senior season. He says he has nothing bad to say about his experience at Florida State.
“I loved Florida State,” he said. “If I could do it all over I would have stayed but that’s not what the Lord had planned for me,” Wright said.
On Bowden’s insistence, Wright says he wound up coming to West Virginia last fall as a walk-on.
“He thought that would be a good choice for me,” Wright said, adding that Bowden didn’t make any calls to West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez on his behalf. “I stayed up on all that.”
Wright’s initial inclination was to drop down a level and play immediately.
“I just felt like things weren’t going right for me,” he said. “I was just trying to get somewhere and do my thing and try and get to the next level.”
Having already spent two years in Kansas, Wright had a pretty good idea what was in store for him last year in Morgantown.
“This is different,” he says. “The weather … it’s been a big adjustment.”
But the biggest adjustment, says Wright, was once again watching from afar without the opportunity to play.
“I don’t like to watch anyone play and knowing that I didn’t have the opportunity to play last fall that was a hard thing for me,” he said. “When they would play games I would sit on the inside because I couldn’t be out there on the sidelines.
“When I got out there on the practice field that was my game time: I took that seriously. That was the only thing I had to look forward to.”
Now, after a productive spring, Wright can look forward to competing with senior Bobby Hathaway and sophomore Reed Williams for playing time at sam linebacker this August. Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel admits Wright’s presence has already given the WVU linebacker corps an upgrade in speed and athleticism.
“Barry Wright is a guy that if you come down to watch practice you’re going to notice him,” Casteel said. “He’s got great, great speed and in fact I’m not quite sure how to coach him sometimes because he is so fast.”
Rodriguez has also been impressed with Wright watching him from the other side of the ball.
“He’s worked very hard and he’s proving himself,” Rodriguez said, mentioning too that Wright must continue to keep at it in the classroom to get on the field this fall. “I’ve been encouraged by what he’s learned because all he did last fall was play on the scout team.
“He’s a strong guy, a fast guy, and he’s a guy that really likes playing. I’m excited for him and I think he can help us next year.”
Wright still has a ways to go to completely learn West Virginia’s unorthodox 3-3-5 defense. Having played in a more traditional 4-3, Wright admits he sometimes confuses his responsibilities.
“You’ve got to make sure that you’re in the right spot,” Wright said. “If you over scrape or go over too much then the play can bounce back on you.
“I’m not always in the right spot yet but I’m catching on.”
Wright understands, too, that this is his last shot at playing college football.
“I think this spring no one has really seen Barry Wright,” he said. “I’m just trying to find me and once I do that, everybody is going to know about me.”
