Collin Wright has been a consistent player for Stanford over the past two seasons. One of the players left over from the David Shaw era, he developed into a generational star who is highly regarded within the program as one of the team’s most important players. But now, as he enters his junior season, Wright’s mission is to show that he belongs in the exact league every football player wants to play in one day: the National Football League.
Wright, who started every game last year and finished the season with 61 tackles, five passes defensed and one interception, established himself as a key building block on defense and entered training camp as the projected starting cornerback. Not only does he look and feel better physically, but he’s confident the defense will take a big step forward in 2024.
“I feel better than I have in two years,” Wright said. “Last year I had a few issues that I picked up during training camp, a few injuries, but now I’m back to full health, staying on top of things and just trying to play at a high level every day. As far as the corner spots go, we’ve done great. The guys are getting better, a lot of experienced guys have come back after last year, so I’m definitely looking forward to making big strides this year.”
Wright played sparingly during his freshman season, appearing in just four games. However, last year was the first season he made any significant appearances as a starter. Now that he has a year under his belt, he has reworked some areas of his game and used the offseason to work on it and improve. Now he feels even more prepared as he and his guys look toward Week 1.
“With my experience from last year, I would say I definitely need to improve my technique, clean everything up, make sure my feet are better and my eyes are better,” Wright said. “That’s what it takes to be great at corner, and that’s something coach (Paul) Williams has been preaching all offseason: to get our eyes better and our feet better, and some of those things have definitely helped me so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing how many plays (I) make in the fall with all of those things.”
Wright began his college career as a player for Shaw, and with the introduction of Taylor and a new coaching staff, last season proved to be a learning year. Now that he returns with a full understanding of the culture and lessons the team utilizes, Wright is fully engaged and ready to dominate.
“Compete,” Wright said. “That’s the most important thing. We play a sport that requires a thick skin, especially at our position as cornerback. We’re the most hated on the field, nobody really comes to the games to watch us except our families. So we keep that mindset and all the things that people try to do every day, to go out and embarrass us. So just those things, just stay focused and really want to win, be a competitor.”
2024 is a big year for Wright, who will be eligible for the draft after his junior season and has therefore set himself big goals: He not only wants to break out and become one of the more dominant defensive backs in the country, but also show the world that he deserves a chance in the league.
“Obviously, I’m trying to get five picks and get my name in there with the best cornerbacks in the country,” Wright said. “After what I did last year, I think I have a really good foundation of what I’ve done so far, and I just want to continue to build on that body of work. Like I said, I want to be a professional, and to be a professional, you have to do all those things on Saturday. So I’m excited to go out there and make plays.”
Football is a very complex game, especially at the NFL level, and because his position is very demanding, Wright has made it a priority to make regular film study a key part of his preparation. He has realized that sometimes the best way to improve is to watch videos and study them thoroughly.
“Especially at our position, these offenses are getting better and better as the years go by,” Wright said. “And I think the footage for DBs and certain cues and certain aspects that you can see versus the receivers and offenses in general just helped tremendously. So that’s something I did a lot in the offseason. I, as well as the other cornerbacks and the whole defense, watched ourselves last year and made improvements. I think that’s what improved our game.”
The former three-star prospect from Manvel, Texas, was a highly touted recruit out of high school and had offers from many other notable schools in addition to his offer from the Cardinal. He showed interest from schools like Duke, Arizona, Utah, Houston and Colorado, but he felt Stanford offered him the best chance to succeed on and off the field. Even after Shaw left and was replaced by Taylor, he has truly felt the love that is spread within the program.
“(It’s) the best of both worlds,” Wright said. “One of the best academic institutions in the world and we get to play at a high level in a Power Four conference. Not many schools can offer me that. And I got to play under a different team, had a different coach, coach David Shaw, he was great. He recruited us, but since coach Taylor took over, the level has gone up a notch. And he loves all of us and wants us to be great. It’s just about being able to play at a high level and get a world-class education.”
Day in and day out, Wright and the team have to work hard to achieve the desired results. And while it can be hard, Taylor and his team emphasize having fun at work in their company culture. Because when you enjoy your work, everything runs much more smoothly. And that’s probably the most important thing Wright learned during his time at Stanford.
“Love what you do,” Wright said. “Love what you do every day. Coach Taylor preaches all the time that in order to get where we want to go and do the things we want to do in life, we have to love what we do and not think of it as a job. I think last year and right before his time, a lot of guys looked past that and I don’t think we really took advantage of the opportunity and were grateful for what we have here. I think that’s definitely one thing, loving what we do and just competing.”
It’s no secret that he’s a special player, and while Stanford has a long list of legendary players who have played for the program, Wright wants to make sure that when he leaves Palo Alto, he leaves not just as a legend, but as an icon that will be talked about forever.
“I’m one of the best to ever play here,” Wright said. “I think so many great cornerbacks have played here, and I want to have the honor of having a good future and being in the same category as those guys.”
