Arizona Wildcats linebacker Scooby Wright adds to awards list by capturing Lombardi Award

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SCOOBY SNACKS
— Bronko Nagurski Trophy, top defensive player, winner
— Lombardi Award, top linebacker/lineman, winner
— Chuck Bednarik Award, top defensive player, finalist (Thursday)
— Walter Camp Player of the Year, finalist (Thursday)

Arizona sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright

Arizona Wildcats sophomore linebacker Scooby Wright earned his second national honor of the week, taking home the Rotary Lombardi Award tonight in Houston after earning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Monday night.

The Lombardi Award goes to the top linebacker or lineman in the nation. The Nagurski honor goes to the top defensive player.

“I’d like to thank my teammates and the University of Arizona football program,” Wright said in his speech at the Lombardi ceremony in Houston. “One guy doesn’t do nearly anything a team can do, 10 (other) guys on the field. I just want to be reresentative of the University of Arizona football program. Thank you. Bear Down.”

Earlier Wednesday, Wright was selected the CBS Sports Defensive Player of the Year.

Wright leads the Pac-12 in tackles and is second in the nation with 153 tackles. His 28 tackles for lost yardage (second-most in school history) and six forced fumbles lead the country. He has 14 sacks, third-most in the Pac-12 and the nation.

RELATED LINK: Wright second Arizona player to earn Nagurski Trophy

He is also a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award (top defensive player) and Walter Camp Player of the Year tomorrow during the national telecast on ESPN.

Wright becomes the second Arizona player to earn multiple national awards in the same year. Former nose tackle Rob Waldrop earned the Nagurski and Outland trophies in 1993.

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ARIZONA’S NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

1990 Jim Thorpe Award (top defensive back)
Darryll Lewis

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1993 Outland Trophy (top interior lineman)
Rob Waldrop

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1993 Bronko Nagurski Award (top defensive player)
Rob Waldrop

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1994 Lou Groza Award (top place-kicker)
Steve McLaughlin

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1998 Mosi Tatupu Award (top special teams player)
Chris McAlister

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2007 Jim Thorpe Award
Antoine Cason

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2014 Bronko Nagurski Award
Scooby Wright III

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Wright was not one of the three finalists announced for the Heisman Trophy to be awarded this Saturday in New York City, but expect his name to be among the Top 10 vote-recipients for the trophy. It would mark the second consecutive year an Arizona player achieved that status. Ka’Deem Carey finished No. 10 in the voting last year.

All these accolades for a player who prides himself on proving doubters wrong as a two-star recruit out of Windsor, Calif.

“It’s funny, he thanks me after every game for giving him a chance,” Arizona recruiting coordinator Matt Dudek told Dennis Dodd of CBS. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He plays like, ‘I’m not good enough. You didn’t recruit me.’ He’s a meathead. He loves ball.”

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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also has published articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.