| Rodrique Wright |
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Defensive Tackle
6-5 · 315
Houston, Texas (Alief Hastings)
#90
Explosive, quick and athletic four-year starter who rapidly developed into one of the nation's top tackles ... teamed with Frank Okam and Larry Dibbles to form one of the nation's top defensive tackle units ... a 2005 Lombardi Award finalist ... also named to the Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy and Nagurski Trophy watch lists ... earned first-team All-America honors from The Associated Press, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation in 2005 ... started 45 games over four seasons ... played in 50 career games compiling 227 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 42 TFL, 67 pressures, eight PBD and six forced fumbles ... was at his best against the best, posting 97 tackles, 19 TFL, 7.5 sacks and 20 pressures in 19 games against Top 25 foes ... posted 46 tackles, 14 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 15 pressures, three PBD, one forced fumble and returned a fumble 67 yards for a TD in 2005 ... tabbed second-team All- American by The Sporting News and honorable mention All-America by Pro Football Weekly in 2004 ... also a consensus All-Big 12 selection ... despite battling an ankle injury for much of 2004, he posted 36 tackles, a sack, three TFL and seven QB pressures in 11 games ... recorded 80 tackles, a team-leading 7.5 sacks (seventh in the Big 12), 12 TFL, a team-high 30 pressures, three passes batted down and three forced fumbles in 2003 ... a consensus second-team All-Big 12 pick as a sophomore ... played in all 13 games and started nine of the final 11 contests as a true freshman in 2002 ... posted 65 tackles, 13 TFL (T-No. 3 on UT's freshman list), 4.5 sacks (T-No. 4 on UT's frosh chart) and 15 QB pressures en route to Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors ... also was tabbed a first-team Freshman All-American by the Football Writer's Association of America and The Sporting News ... a first-team USA Today prep All-American and Parade All-American in 2001 ... drafted with the 18th pick in the seventh round (226th overall) by the Miami Dolphins in the 2006 NFL Draft.
SENIOR (2005)
A finalist for the Lombardi Award ... tabbed first-team All-America by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Associated Press ... started all 13 games ... posted 46 tackles, 14 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 15 pressures, three PBD, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery ... opened 2005 with two tackles, a sack and three pressures against La.-Lafayette ... had three tackles, including two TFL, a half sack and a PBD at No. 4 Ohio State ... recorded six tackles, a PBD and two pressures at Missouri ... totaled four tackles, one TFL, two pressures and a 67-yard fumble recovery for a TD versus Oklahoma ... had three tackles, one TFL and two pressures against No. 24 Colorado ... added two tackles, a TFL and a pressure versus No. 10 Texas Tech ... at Oklahoma State, he notched six tackles ... followed with seven tackles, one sack, two TFL and two pressures at Baylor ... made three tackles, two TFL, one sack and one pressure against Kansas ... recorded six tackles, one TFL, one sack, one PBD, one pressure and one forced fumble at Texas A&M ... the forced fumble ended an Aggie scoring threat with Texas leading 37-29 ... added two tackles, a TFL and a pressure in the Big 12 Championship.
JUNIOR (2004)
Played in 11 games, making 10 starts, at defensive tackle ... tabbed second-team All- American by The Sporting News and honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Weekly ... named first-team All-Big 12 by theDallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram ... earned second-team All-Big 12 honors from The Associated Press, the conference coaches, theAustin American-Statesman and the San Antonio Express-News ... shared UT's Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award ... despite battling an ankle injury for much of 2004, he posted 36 tackles, a sack, three TFLs and seven QB pressures ... recorded 16 tackles, one TFL and two pressures in five games versus Top 25 foes ... key member of a defense which ranked 18th in scoring defense (17.2), 16th in rushing defense (107.4) and 23rd in total defense (320.1) ... recorded two tackles, one pass break up and one QB pressure in helping to shutout North Texas ... made three stops and pressured the QB once while helping to hold Arkansas to just three points in the second half ... tallied four tackles in holding Rice to just 228 yards of total offense ... recorded three solo tackles and assisted on one while holding No. 2 Oklahoma 23 points under its scoring average ... had five tackles, including a sack and two pressures, and helped hold Missouri to just 146 yards in the second half ... wreaked havoc on Texas Tech's top-rated passing offense, holding them to 264 yards passing, 124 yards below their average, and zero TDs before giving way to the second unit ... made three solo tackles, assisted on another, made one TFL and forced a fumble in the victory at Colorado ... recorded six tackles and helped hold No. 19 Oklahoma State scoreless in the second half in what became the biggest come-from-behind victory in UT history ... tallied five stops, a TFL and three QB pressures in the victory at Kansas ... made one tackle and had one pass batted down in helping Texas defeat No. 22 Texas A&M for the fifth straight year.
SOPHOMORE (2003)
Started all 13 games at defensive tackle ... earned consensus second-team All-Big 12 honors ... shared UT's Oustanding Defensive Lineman award ... recorded 80 tackles, a team-leading 7.5 sacks, 12 TFLs (tied for second on the team), a team-leading 30 pressures, three passes batted down and three forced fumbles ... registered a total of 31 tackles, three sacks, four TFLs and eight pressures in UT's four matchups with Top 25 teams ... key member of a defense which ranked ninth in the NCAA in pass defense (177.3 ypg), 25th in total defense (329.8 ypg) and 32nd in scoring defense (21.5 ppg) ... tallied five stops, three QB pressures, one sack and a TFL in the opener against New Mexico State ... posted seven tackles twice (vs. Arkansas and No. 1 Oklahoma) ... recorded six stops, five QB pressures, three TFLs, one sack and one forced fumble versus Tulane ... notched another six tackles and three pressures versus No. 16 Kansas State ... matched his career high with 11 tackles, including a career-high seven solo stops, while also forcing one fumble at Baylor ... recorded eight tackles, including one sack versus No. 12 Nebraska ... had 10 tackles, including a sack at No. 21 Oklahoma State ... forced his third fumble of the season, had a career-high six pressures and added three tackles versus Texas Tech ... finished the regular season with two tackles and one sack at Texas A&M ... registered six tackles versus No. 15 Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
FRESHMAN (2002)
Saw action in all 13 games and started nine ... a first-team Freshman All-America selection by the Football Writers Association of America and The Sporting News ... earned Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors from the league's coaches, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle and The Sporting News ... shared UT's Outstanding Defensive Newcomer Award ... ranked seventh on the team (first among true freshmen) in tackles (65), second in TFLs (13) and third in sacks (4.5) and QB pressures (15) ... ranked in a third-place tie in TFLs and tied for fourth in sacks on UT's freshman lists ... key member of a Longhorns defense that led the Big 12 and ranked eighth in the NCAA in pass defense (165.2 ypg), second in the conference and seventh in the nation in pass efficiency defense (96.1 rtg), eighth in the country in scoring defense (16.3 ppg) and 16th nationally in total defense (307.7 ypg) ... performed particularly well in Big 12 action, posting 52 tackles (22 solo), 13 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 10 pressures, one forced fumble and a blocked kick in eight league contests ... tallied 22 tackles, two sacks, seven TFLs, three pressures and a forced fumble in three games against Top 25 foes ... posted a career-high 11 tackles, including one sack and three TFLs, and two pressures at Nebraska ... registered nine tackles, including a sack and four TFLs, one pressure and a forced fumble at No. 17 Kansas State ... tallied seven tackles, a sack, three TFLs and one pressure against No. 17 Iowa State ... posted seven tackles, a sack and a pair of pressures against Texas A&M ... had six tackles and three pressures in the Cotton Bowl victory against LSU ... recorded six stops and two pressures against No. 2 Oklahoma ... racked up five tackles, one pressure and a blocked PAT in a 17-15 win over Oklahoma State ... registered three tackles, including half a sack, and one pressure as UT limited Baylor to 127 total yards of offense ... tallied four tackles at Texas Tech and against Houston.
HIGH SCHOOL
Coached by Bobby Stuart at Alief Hastings High ... a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at defensive tackle ... recorded 196 tackles, 15 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three blocked PATs the final two years of his career ... earned firstteam All-America honors from USA Today as a senior ... also a Parade All-American ... rated among the nation's top 10 defensive line prospects by Student Sports ... a first-team 5A all-state, All-Greater Houston and all-district selection as a senior ... a finalist for the Greater Houston Touchdown Club Player of the Year award that season ... played in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Game ... posted 104 tackles, six sacks, three fumble recoveries and two blocked PATs in 2001 ... helped lead a defense that posted three shutouts in 2001 ... a first-team all-district selection as a junior after registering 92 tackles, nine sacks and a blocked PAT ... saw limited action as a sophomore ... also threw the shot put for four years.
PERSONAL
Born 7/31/84 in Houston ... full name is Rodrique Charles Wright ... earned a spot on UT's Athletics Director's Honor Roll in spring 2004 ... uncle, Elmo, played wide receiver at the University of Houston (1968-70) and is the school record holder for career receiving yards (3,347) and TD receptions (34) ... Elmo was a first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 16 overall) in the 1971 NFL Draft and played until '74 ... also a cousin of former Longhorns standout Cedric Woodard (1996-99), who is now a defensive end for Seattle Seahawks ... majoring in liberal arts ... serves as a mentor at local elementary and middle schools ... considers himself a movie buff ... lists bowling and hanging out with friends among his hobbies.
CAREER STATISTICS
Year G/GS TT (Solo) Sacks TFL QBP INT PBD FC FR High
2005 13/13 46 (20) 4.5 (-37) 14 (-53) 15 0 3 1 1/67t 7/BU
2004 11/10 36 (18) 1 (-7) 3 (-13) 7 0 2 1 0 6/OSU
2003 13/13 80 (39) 7.5 (-46) 12 (-49) 30 0 3 3 0 11/BU
2002 13/9 65 (29) 4.5 (-25) 13 (-42) 15 0 0 1 0 11/NU
Career 50/45 227 (106) 17.5 (-115) 42 (-157) 67 0 8 6 1/67t 11/2x
High Games
Tackles: 11 at Baylor (So.); at Nebraska (Fr.)
Sacks: 1.5 at Baylor (So.)
TFL: 4 at Kansas State (Fr.)
QB pressures: 6 vs. Texas Tech (So.)
