TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona football sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright III is a finalist for two of college football’s most prestigious defensive awards. The Charlotte Touchdown Club and Football Writers Association of America have named Wright one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Houston Sports Authority has named him one of four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award.
Wright joins former Wildcat and National Football Foundation Hall of Famer Rob Waldrop as UA's only Nagurski Trophy finalists. Waldrop won the award in 1993. Wright joins Waldrop (1993) and Tedy Bruschi (1994, 1995) as the Wildcats’ only other Lombardi Award finalists.
Wright is the only Pac-12 player and the only linebacker finalist for the Nagurski Trophy. He’s one of two Pac-12 players and one of two linebackers named a Lombardi Award finalist. Wright is also a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, an All-America candidate and a Butkus Award candidate.
Wright is the only FBS player to rank in the top-25 individually for each of these four categories (based on per game): tackles (117), tackles for loss (21.0), sacks (12.0) and forced fumbles (5). Wright has at least 1.0 tackle for loss in all 10 games this season. He has a sack in eight of the 10 contests.
In Arizona’s 27-26 win over Washington on Saturday, Wright recorded 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss of five yards. Through 10 games, he totals 117 tackles, 21.0 tackles for 78 yards lost, 12.0 sacks for 61 yards lost, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
In seven games against Pac-12 foes, Wright has totaled 84 tackles, 18.0 for loss, 10.0 sacks, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He set his career single-game high with 3.0 sacks UCLA. Wright, from Windsor, Calif., has 49 tackles, 11.5 for loss and 6.0 sacks in three games against teams from his home state (California, USC and UCLA).
Wright’s 19 tackles at UCLA on Nov. 1 were the most for a UA player since LB Marcus Bell had 20 at ASU on Nov. 27, 1999. Earlier this year, Wright totaled 18 tackles against California on Sept. 20. His 4.5 tackles for loss at UCLA match the most for a UA player since Spencer Larsen had 4.5 at USC on Oct. 13, 2007.
Wright’s 12.0 sacks currently are tied for fourth-most on the school’s all-time single-season list. Wright’s 21.0 tackles for loss are fourth-most in Arizona single-season history.
The winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be announced at the annual Charlotte Touchdown Club awards banquet on Mon., Dec. 8. The winner of the Rotary Lombardi Award will be recognized in Houston on Dec. 10.
Arizona will play its final road game on Sat., Nov. 22, at Utah. Kickoff has been set for 1:30 p.m. MST and the game will air on ESPN. For continued coverage of Arizona football, follow the team on Facebook at facebook.com/ArizonaFootball and on Twitter @ArizonaFBall.
