Temple football standout Isaiah Wright paused during a video interview and looked down at the tattoo of a tiger’s eyes on his left forearm.
“I’m calm, but I’m also ready to attack, and I think that describes me perfectly,” Wright said about the tattoo.
If Wright is anything like his 2018 self, teams in the American Athletic Conference and beyond are in for a world of trouble. The senior’s name has appeared on a multitude of preseason All-America team lists for 2019, and with good reason. The reigning AAC Special Teams Player of the Year is someone who can score any time he touches the ball.
” I think what makes me a different player is my attitude,” Wright said in the video interview, which was posted on the Temple athletics Twitter account. “I feel like I’m going to score every play, honestly. I’m not being cocky or anything, but that’s just how my attitude is on the field.”
Wright, as he said in the video interview, grew up in Waterbury’s Diamond Court, 150 Main St.
“I was more so the kid that was adventurous, I wanted to do everything,” Wright said. “I played a lot of sports. I played basketball, football, flag football.”
Football became Wright’s passion, and he excelled in it, first at Holy Cross High School, then at Kingswood-Oxford in West Hartford under former Crosby head coach Jason Martinez. Wright’s performances at Kingswood got the attention of college coaches, and he wound up going to Temple.
Last season, Wright was one of two players in Division I to score three touchdowns on kickoff/punt returns. In 2017, Wright scored points for his team rushing, receiving, kick returning, punt returning, and even throwing for a two-point conversion, according to a story on Temple’s website.
Only Wright and Jeremy Maclin, a former University of Missouri standout and pro football player, have scored at least one touchdown rushing, receiving, returning a kickoff and returning a punt in consecutive seasons.
Wright was named to the 2019 Watch List for the Paul Hornung Award, given to the most versatile player in college football.
“The Owls have said they want to get Wright the ball at least 10-12 times per game and for good reason,” read a Tweet from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Marc Narducci. “He is among the most dangerous all-around offensive players in the country.”
Wright was also given a single-digit number, No. 2, by Temple. It’s a tradition with the football program that signifies who the toughest players on the team are. It’s voted on by the players, and Wright was one of the players chosen.
“To be identified by my team as one of the hardest working guys out here, it’s really a blessing considering how hard everyone out here works,” Wright told Temple athletics. “It’s a testament to all the work we put in over the years.”
Temple’s season opener is on Aug. 31 against Bucknell at Lincoln Financial Field. Game time is 3 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN3.
Photo courtesy of Temple athletics website
