Press squad. He was a three-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is symbolic of FCS Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors. He ranked among the nation's top 10 with 19.0 tackles for loss as a senior and finished his career with a school- and FCS-record 84.0 TFLs before being selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. East Carolina In Wright's lone season at East Carolina, the defense broke the American Athletic Conference (AAC) single-game record for tackles for loss with 15 against Old Dominion and eclipsed the school and league single-season marks with 105 TFL that season. Under his tutelage at ECU, defensive end Nate Harvey was named AAC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference after posting 63 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Harvey broke the school and AAC single-season TFL record and also matched set the conference single-season sacks standard in 2018. UTSA Wright, a former All-America defensive lineman at Texas, came to San Antonio from East Carolina, where he was the Pirates’ defensive line coach for the 2018 season. Wright, who will continue to oversee the defensive line in 2021, played a key role on the defensive staff in 2020, including helping to coordinate the defense during the last two months of the campaign. The Roadrunners finished with a 7-5 record, a second-place finish in Conference USA’s West Division with a 5-2 mark and an appearance in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. UTSA led C-USA in sacks (25), tackles for loss (85), interceptions (11), takeaways (19) and turnover margin (+7). In fact, the Roadrunners ranked in the top 30 nationally in five categories — 19th in turnovers gained, 23rd in passes intercepted, 25th in fumbles recovered (8), 26th in turnover margin and 29th in tackles for loss per game (7.1). Three of his defensive linemen — Lorenzo Dantzler, Jaylon Haynes and Brandon Matterson — earned honorable mention all-conference recognition, while Christian Clayton was named to the 2020 C-USA All-Freshman Team. Rod Wright is in his third season as a member of UTSA's defensive coaching staff. He was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in January 2021 after serving as run game coordinator and defensive line coach in 2020. Prior to that, he coached the Roadrunners' d-line during the 2019 campaign. Personal Wright's uncle, Elmo Wright, holds the University of Houston