7/14/2020 football Edit

BeaversEdge Top 25 for 2020: No. 18 Nahshon Wright

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

In the months leading up to the start of fall camp, BeaversEdge.com will be counting down the Top 25 Oregon State football players on the 2020 roster.

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No. 21 Nahshon Wright

6-foot-4, 184-pounds

Defensive Back

Junior

East Palo Alto, Calif.

James Logan HS

2019 stats: Played in all 12 games, making 10 starts. Tallied 34 tackles with half a tackle for loss. Picked off three passes, the first Beaver to do so since 2014.

2019 Recap

When the current defensive staff settled in several seasons ago, one of the biggest and most glaring needs outside of the defensive line were defensive backs who were athletic and tall enough to hang with some of the bigger receivers in the Pac-12.

It was after the Stanford contest in 2018 where TE Colby Parkinson absolutely torched the Beavers' small secondary when the team knew for absolute certainty that they needed to get bigger.

Insert Nahshon Wright.

After helping lead Laney Junior College to a 2018 state championship, the 6-foot-4, 184-pound Wright joined head coach Jonathan Smith and defensive backs coach Blue Adams in advance of the 2019 season.

In Wright, the Beavers quickly realized that one of their corners of the future had officially arrived as he became the first OSU player since 2014 to record three interceptions in a season. Additionally, the Beavers made no qualms about getting his feet wet as he appeared in all 12 contests and recorded 10 starts.

Wright was far more consistent and productive in his first season than many would have expected in year one and that's going to give him a huge leg up heading into the 2020 campaign.

2020 Outlook

After surpassing all external expectations in his first year in the program, the sky could be the limit for Wright in 2020.

He'll likely be a starter opposite of Isaiah Dunn and together the duo could make life quite tough on opposing receivers entering their secondary. Combine them with the rest of the ever-evolving and talented defensive backs around them, and the Beavers just might have a secondary that can strike fear into its opponents.

In terms of Wright specifically, it'll be interesting to see how he teams up with his younger brother Rezjohn Wright who joined the program this offseason. Getting to play football with a sibling is one of the most special experiences in intercollegiate athletics and the Wright brothers will certainly be names you remember over the next couple of seasons.

Wright delivered great results in year one, but I'm even more excited about what he'll bring to the table in year two.