No. 5: CB Shareece Wright
Vitals: 6-0, 180, junior, Colton High
The skinny: How does a potentially great defense become a dominant unit? What’s the one thing, on the surface, that the 2008 USC defense lacks?
Add a shutdown cornerback to what’s already there — seven returning starters, several of whom are projected as high NFL draft picks — and you’ve really got something.
Wright has the potential to be that guy. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt has been quoted as saying Wright can be “special.”
Pete Carroll said of Wright at Thursday’s Pac-10 Media Day: “Shareece Wright was maybe the most spectacular corner we had last year in the rotation. … I know Terrell (Thomas) had a great year and all that, but Shareece had some big-time plays – hitting and tackling and making plays on the ball.” Thomas, by the way, was a second-round draft pick of the New York Giants.
Wright was primarily the nickel corner last year. In 11 games, he had 29 tackles, 3.5 stops for loss and four pass deflections. He’s still largely an unknown, but as Holt and Carroll suggested, Wright’s ceiling is high. Sistine Chapel high? We’ll find out.
See also: Part 1 (Mark Sanchez), Part 2 (Joe McKnight), Part 3 (Charles Brown), Part 4 (Everson Griffen/Clay Matthews).
