Date of birth: | July 19, 1967 |
Place of birth: | Albany, Georgia |
Career information | |
---|---|
Position(s): | Wide receiver |
College: | Auburn |
NFL Draft: | 1990 / Round: 2 / Pick: 26 |
Organizations | |
As player: | |
1990-1992 1992-1994 1995-1996 |
Dallas Cowboys Los Angeles Raiders St. Louis Rams |
Playing stats at NFL.com |
Alexander Wright (born July 19, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, two-time winner of the NFL's "Fastest Man" competition and current President and CEO for Alexander Wright Ministries in Amarillo, Texas.[1] His speed caused many to consider him to have great potential, but difficulties playing wide receiver led him to retire early.
College career[]
Wright attended and played college football at Auburn University from 1986 to 1989, earning a Bachelor of Arts in adult education. While at Auburn, he caught 56 passes for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns. He set and still holds an Auburn record of 23.6 yards per reception.[2][3]
Professional career[]
Wright was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1990 NFL Draft, the first wide receiver to be chosen and the first pick of the round. He was intended to complement Emmitt Smith, chosen in the first round. He did not perform as well as expected, however, and when later asked about his performance, he admitted "I was never a polished package."[4] His chief talent was on special teams as a kick returner, in which capacity he scored both of his touchdowns with the Cowboys. On December 22, 1991, he set a Cowboys record, still standing, for longest play with a 102-yard kick return[5] Wright was one of the fastest sprinters in the NFL, winning the NFL's "Fastest Man" competition in 1992 and 1993.[4] In May 1991 he was recorded to have run the 40 yard dash in 4.09 seconds.[6] However, he was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders (now the Oakland Raiders) in 1992 for a fourth-round draft pick when he still had no receptions following the first four games of the season.
His most productive season was in 1993 when he caught 27 passes for 462 yards. During the final game of the 1993 season and with the Raiders trailing the Denver Broncos 23-30, Wright caught the game tying touchdown pass from Jeff Hostetler. The Raiders went on to win the game 33-30 and a the victory earned the Raiders a spot in the 1993 playoffs.[7] Wright played his final two seasons with the St. Louis Rams, then retired in 1996.
Statistics[]
Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | Tot | OwR | Yds |
1990 | DAL | 15 | 11 | 104 | 9.5 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 26 | 8.7 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
1991 | DAL | 16 | 10 | 170 | 17.0 | 0 | 53 | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
1992 | DAL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
1992 | LAR | 10 | 12 | 175 | 14.6 | 2 | 41t | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
1993 | LAR | 15 | 27 | 462 | 17.1 | 4 | 68t | 0 | 0 | ||||||
1994 | LAR | 16 | 16 | 294 | 18.4 | 2 | 76t | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
1995 | STL | 8 | 23 | 368 | 16.0 | 2 | 50 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
1996 | STL | 3 | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
7 seasons | 87 | 101 | 1597 | 15.8 | 10 | 76t | 6 | 42 | 7.0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
After football[]
In 1999, Wright earned the Master of Arts in sports management from Lindenwood University. In 2002 he served as the interim head coach of the River City Renegades, a National Indoor Football League team. In 2003 he served as the wide receiver coach for Francis Howell Central High School in St. Charles, MO. In 2004, he was the wide receiver coach for West Texas A&M University. In 2005, he was hired to be the offensive coordinator at Greensboro College. He was the offensive coordinator for Southwestern Assemblies of God University. He then took a role as Athletic Director and head football coach at San Jacinto Christian Academy in Amarillo, TX. He was there from 2008-2010. He also assisted the track team and help mentor many young kids at the school. He later moved to San Antonio for his ministry and is currently the Athletic Director and head football coach for Cornerstone Christian Schools, San Antonio Texas
References[]
- Whitt, Richie. "Fast Track: Former Cowboy's big dreams diverted to small schools." Dallas Observer, 6 April 2006.
- A feature article outlining Wright's NFL career and life since retiring.
- Lowe, Bob. "Greensboro College Names Former NFL Player Alexander Wright Offensive Coordinator." Greensboro College, 19 July 2005.
- Press release, including biographical information.
- Thomas, Landon. The SEC team of the '80s: Auburn football 1980-1989. Woodstock, GA: Tigers Publishing, 2005. ISBN ?. (Dewey 796.33263 T4587s.) [1][2]
Notes[]
- ↑ Alexander Wright Ministries: overview
- ↑ Auburn records page
- ↑ Opening day best in SEC history
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Whitt
- ↑ Cowboys Records (Archived 2009-10-25), Whitt. Note, however, that databaseFootball statistics do not show that Wright ever returned a kickoff in the NFL; for example, the 1992 Cowboys statistics listed on databaseFootball omit Wright, while JT-SW.com and Blue Star Boys statistics include him; the cause of this discrepancy is unknown.
- ↑ Whitt. This time may be inaccurate for several reasons; see criticism of the 40 yard dash.
- ↑ http://www.raiders.com/common/article.aspx?id=1270
External links[]
- Staff page at Southwestern Assemblies of God University
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