Northwestern University Athletics
Jason Wright: NU's First Class Nerd
9/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - When asked to describe himself in a few words, Jason Wright responded by saying "I'm really just a big nerd."
Without question, just about any college football team in the nation would die to have such a "nerd" in their program. In college football's modern climate, Wright stands out like a Big Ten football player in an MCAT preparatory classroom-or is it rather, like a pre-med student on a football field? Well, it is both. Truth is, the NU senior actually stands out in just about everything in his nerdy life.
On the field, Wright has become, perhaps, the most dangerous running back/kick return specialist in the nation. As a junior, he finished second in the conference behind only Larry Johnson, an eventual first-round draft pick from Penn State, in all-purpose yards per game. He finished sixth in the Big Ten in rushing with 1,234 yards.
NU head coach Randy Walker has stated that Wright "may be the most complete back I've ever coached." And if you aren't impressed with this kid yet, fear not. Football is merely one star in his shiny sky.
It is not much of a reach to claim that Wright, a native of Diamond Bar, California, might be one of the most complete human beings Walker, or anyone else has ever coached.
He is the president of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and a huddle leader for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He sang the national anthem at the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center last March and received a standing ovation after delivering one of the most poignant player addresses in recent years at this year's Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon. He leads chapel services for the Wildcats during preseason at Camp Kenosha.
Despite a sparkling resume-- and a personality charming enough to cause ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit to tell Wright after an interview that he hopes his own kids turn out like the NU star-- Wright still insists that he is a nerd.
Perhaps he draws such an assessment from the fact that he would rather spend whatever free time a schedule like his yields reading the Bible, talking on the phone with family, or playing video games instead of hitting the bar scene like the rest of the rabble rousers.
Maybe Wright just means that he is a "nerd" in the bookworm sense. If that is the case, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder may be on to something. He was named to the Verizon Academic All-America first team last year and recently took the MCAT. A psychology major with a 3.20 grade point average, Wright hopes to become a pediatrician or a family doctor.
While it may seem like Wright's time at Northwestern has been one big fairy tale, the pages have not always turned so easily, especially on the gridiron.
Only a year after choosing Northwestern over Stanford and California, mainly because the Wildcats offered him the opportunity to play running back, Wright was moved to wide receiver-a move that caused him to reevaluate where football stood in his life.
"It was one of the biggest disappointments I had ever gone through," Wright says. "I really focused on a lot of the other aspects of my life like getting my degree. I wasn't as in to football as I needed to be but the more I thought about it and prayed on it, I realized that I really loved the game. I kind of rededicated myself and at just about that same time, I got the opportunity to go back to tailback."
The return to the backfield has certainly paid off for the Wildcats. At the outset of the 2002 season, Walker and his staff had four players at the tailback spot, none of whom had established himself as the go-to guy. However, simply being another member of a group has never been in the cards for Wright-he is going to run the group.
"Anything I am willing to be apart of, put my name on, is something I feel deeply about, and I am going to change it, make it better," said Wright.
Perhaps that explains why Wright aspires to play in the National Football League.
"Everybody wants to get to this highest level of our sport and there is no question I would love to play in the NFL," Wright said. "But in the end, I know I want to be a doctor."
The next 10 months are quite weighty for Wright. By June, he will have earned his degree from one of the premier universities in the world and hopefully will have earned the distinction of being one of the premier football players in the nation as well.
He will have filled out med-school applications to UCLA, Southern California and other schools in his home state, as well as one at Northwestern.
Odds are, he will have worked out for a number of NFL teams and attended multiple scouting combines. He probably will have sung a few more national anthems; led a few more chapel services and played a few more games of 'Lord of the Rings' on the X-Box.
He will have done his part to help mend the sometimes-troubled image of NCAA athletics. Without question, Jason Wright will cause more and more fathers to urge their son to be like him.
What a nerd.
