Major Wright

Major Wright (born July 1, 1988) is an American football strong safety for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was a member of a BCS National Championship team. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Early years
Wright was born in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and played high school football for the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders. As a junior, he recorded 58 tackles with six interceptions and as a sophomore had 71 tackles and 10 interceptions. As a senior, he was a finalist for the National U.S. Army Player of the Year Award after he recorded 72 tackles and three interceptions. Wright was an all-state selection both years.

College career
Wright received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2007 to 2009. As a freshman in 2007, Wright started seven of 13 games for the Gators at free safety, recording 67 tackles, four forced fumbles and an interception. He was a first-team freshman All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and second-team freshman All-American by Rivals.com. As a sophomore in 2008, Wright started all 14 games at free safety, recording 66 tackles and four interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown. He had nine tackles and an interception in the Gators win over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game.

After his junior season, Wright decided to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft.

Professional career
The Chicago Bears selected Wright in the third round (75th overall pick) of the 2010 NFL Draft, and was predicted to be a future starter by former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo. During his rookie season, Wright played in eleven of sixteen regular season games. He recorded his first career interception in 2011 off a Michael Vick pass against the Philadelphia Eagles, when a pass by Vick squirted through linebacker Lance Briggs's hands into Wright, who was able to return the ball 39 yards. A week later against the Detroit Lions, Wright intercepted a Matthew Stafford lob and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown, which was the first pick-six of his career. In week three of the 2012 season against the St. Louis Rams, Wright returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown.