Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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60 MARCH 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY DAVID MCKINNEY There's no such thing as a friendly competition in Brock Wright's house. There are no family game nights, no light roughhousing between brothers, no clashes of any sort that end with a winner and a loser. It's not that the Wright family doesn't enjoy competition — quite the opposite, actually. It's just that los- ing isn't something they take lightly. "We can't play board games to- gether," said Len Wright, Brock's fa- ther. "There are a lot of things we can't do because they'll end in a fight." Those fights — usually between Brock and his older brother Brady, a defensive end at Rice — are harmless, so long as Len and his wife, Robin, can keep an eye on the situation. "I've always had to monitor how aggressive the boys are with each other," Len said. "They're like two bulls going at it. I had to separate them over Christmas. They're just tough, competitive kids." That competitive streak in all the Wright children started at the top with Wright's sister Emily, the oldest of the three Wright children and a two-year letter winner in volleyball at Texas Tech. "Brady and Brock followed their sister around from club volleyball to soccer to basketball to track," Len said. "All Brock's ever known is how to compete." When they were younger, the elder Wright spent time coaching his sons. Brock, who would eventually become a four-star tight end, said the way he was raised drove him to become the athlete he is. "I love to compete, and I guess I get that from my family members," he said. "I have a family full of competi- tive people. Growing up, I watched my brother play football, and my dad always coached us." The Texas talent added that regard- less of the sport, he always tried to give 100 percent effort. "We love to do it, no matter what sport it was," Brock said. "I just loved football as I grew up, and competing is just what drives me." Len said he could always tell that his youngest son was athletic, but didn't immediately know if anything would come of it. "I knew he would have size, and he could really run," he noted. "He's al- ways been fast, but you never know if they have that switch in them where they want contact and want to be physical." That worry was quickly extin- guished after a position change during Wright's last year of middle school. "In eighth grade, they put him at middle linebacker, and he had never played that position," Len said. "I watched him go sideline to sideline and make tackles, and I watched his aggression come out. "I remember him hitting a guy and throwing him out of bounds into the stands." An injury kept Wright sidelined during the entire regular season of his freshman year in high school, but when he was healthy again he was called up to the big leagues. That's when Len realized what he had in his son. "He got hurt his first play and had to sit out his entire freshman year," the family patriarch said. "When he came back, they put him on varsity for the playoffs. I remember seeing him compete with his big brother in four big playoff games here in Texas against some really big-time talent. "He got knocked around a little bit, but he competed hard. I remember at that point I thought, 'He's got a chance to be pretty special.'" Once that happened, Len set out to find a college for his son. Notre Dame was one of the first places he called, but the Irish weren't immediately responsive. That is until they saw Brock's highlight tape. "We had a window of time when we wanted to go see a bunch of schools after Brock's sophomore foot- ball season," Len said. "I finally got in touch with [Note Dame director of player personnel] Dave Peloquin, and like a typical parent I said, 'I think I've got a kid that can play there.' "He kind of blew me off, but then he looked at his video — and within an hour he was back in touch. Two or three days later, we were up for a junior day." The rest is history. Wright and his parents visited a few other schools during the recruit- ing process, including Michigan, but once they stepped foot in South Bend it was all over. Brock Wright Pulls Motivation From His Competitive Upbringing Wright notched 47 receptions for 887 yards and six touchdowns in his final two seasons at Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM