HOUSTON — Scooby Wright is 2 for 2.
The UA’s sophomore linebacker won the Rotary Lombardi Award — given to the nation’s top lineman or linebacker — tonight at the Bayou Music Center.
It’s Wright’s second major award in three days. He beat out Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley, Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa and Washington linebacker Hau’Oli Kikaha to earn the award.
The sophomore from Windsor, California, won the Bronko Nagurski Award on Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina, given to the nation’s top defensive player.
After winning that hardware, Wright then traveled to Houston with his mom, Annette, dad, Phil, grandpa, Phil, and his girlfriend.
The linebacker spent Tuesday night and all day today with the three other finalists, visiting a local hospital, attending meals and visiting the Houston Aquarium.
He then headed to tonight’s ceremony, where the red carpet was laid out for him.
Wright arrived several hours before the ceremony in a limo. He went through a gauntlet of interviews, ate dinner with the other finalists, posed for pictures for close to an hour and signed some autographs.
The soft-spoken linebacker, who doesn’t enjoy the spotlight, was introduced on the stage in front of roughly 1,000 people at the start of the ceremony.
Once it began, Wright sat at a table with his family and a UA representative in the front.
After a 90-minute ceremony, Wright was announced as the winner.
He’s the first UA player to ever win the award. He’s the first Pac-10/12 player to win it since Arizona State’s Terrell Suggs won it in 2002.
“It’s just been a joy to watch him this week,” his dad said before the ceremony. “He really doesn’t like all this attention, but I’ve been proud of how well he’s handling it. It’s been a crazy week, but a lot of fun.”
The Wright family will now head to Orlando, Florida tomorrow morning for the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN. There, he’s a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the top defensive player in the nation, like the Nagurski Award.
“It’s been more fun than I thought it would be,” Wright said. “But I’m ready to get back to practice, too.”
