Linebacker Scooby Wright has a big personality – no one will argue that point.
He also has plenty of talent to go along with it.
Whether running down the field with his hand atop his helmet, mimicking a fin (“I had to go Sharkdog on them … half shark, half dog”) or running a pick-six into the end zone and finishing with a somersault to cement the Birmingham Stallions’ 33-30 USFL Championship Game win over the Philadelphia Stars, the man is a force of nature.
But as he settles into his third year with Birmingham – and is an integral part of one of the United Football League’s most formidable defensive units – he has become a veteran leader for the 3-0 Stallions.
“It’s been a great year,” said Wright, who has been nursing a right knee injury this week. “My teammates get better every week and we just look forward to bringing a great product to the field.”
During his prep days, Wright was an all-purpose player. He didn’t care where he played – he just wanted to be on the field.
“In high school, I kind of did everything,” he said. “It’s kind of funny … I was talking to someone a few days ago, and I said I used to return kicks and return punts and stuff, so it was kind of fun looking back because there’s no way in hell I could do that now.
“But really, I just love playing football. To be honest, it didn’t really matter what position I was playing or anything, I just always see myself as a football player.”
When healthy, Wright was one of the greatest defensive players in Arizona State University history.
He was Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 as a freshman and a consensus All-American as a sophomore, earning the Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Award, among others, as well as Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
By his junior year he was limited to just three games due to injury, but closed out his college career with 145 solo tackles in 27 games, 14 sacks, an interception and six forced fumbles.
College success didn’t translate to more of the same in the NFL – at least not yet.
Following stints with the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals, Wright opted for an alternative pro football path.
The Arizona Hotshots of the ill-fated Alliance of American Football signed him in 2019, and he managed nine tackles before the league folded after eight games.
A practice squad job with the New England Patriots later that year lasted less than two weeks, and by 2020 he was with the DC Defenders of XFL 2.0.
That iteration of the league hit the halfway mark before crumbling under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, he managed 17 tackles in four games.
Since then, he’s been a staple of the Stallions, first in the reimagined United States Football League and now with the UFL. Despite being injured for most of the 2023 season, Wright managed 34 solo tackles and 31 assists, with three sacks and 23 tackles for loss.
This year he has five solo tackles and three assists.
“I played lot of football on my day,” Wright said. “I think the thing that we’re trying to adopt here and as a team is just trying to win every day. We want to control what we can control. Try not to not look too far forward, but just stay in the moment. “Stay focused, stay prepared. Just do what you do … just try to win.”
The Birmingham defense has put on quite a show over the past three weeks. The unit leads the UFL in interceptions (three), sacks (17), passes defended (18 with 15 breakups), and paces the circuit in total defense (226 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (13.7 points per game).
“We know how good we can be and how good we are, and know where we want to go,” he said. “So, I think it’s just a matter of attacking the day and just staying motivated.
“I mean, instead of just being one guy deep or two guys deep, we’re able to roll guys through. If you’ve watched games, you notice at the linebacker position we kind of rotate a little bit to keep guys fresh.”
The Stallions face the DC Defenders (2-1) Saturday at Protective Stadium with a 6 p.m. kickoff. It’s the second consecutive home game for the USFL Conference leaders and “SharkDawg” is happy to be back in the friendly confines. Since the team is housed in the Arlington, Texas, hub throughout the week, trips “home” are even more special.
“I definitely miss Birmingham,” Wright said. “I miss living in the city and miss all the fans. It’s great seeing them and just being out in the community.”