Mike Wright (quarterback)

Mike Wright
Northwestern Wildcats – No. 5
Position	Quarterback
Class	Graduate Student
Major	Psychology
Personal information
Born:	September 28, 2001 (age 22); Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S.
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career history
College	Vanderbilt (2020–2022); Mississippi State (2023); Northwestern (2024–present);
High school	Woodward Academy; (College Park, Georgia)
	Stats at ESPN.com;

Michael Wright Jr. (born September 28, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Northwestern Wildcats. Wright previously played for the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

High school career

Wright attended Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia. As a senior, Wright recorded 2,653 passing yards, 716 rushing yards, and fifty total touchdowns.^[1] As a result, he was named region 4-AAAA player of the year.^[2] A three-star recruit, Wright originally committed to UCF before flipping his commitment to play college football at Vanderbilt University.^[3]

College career

Vanderbilt

Wright played sparingly as a freshman in 2020, before being named Vanderbilt's backup, behind Ken Seals, entering the 2021 season.^[4]^[5] After an injury to Seals, Wright made his first career start against South Carolina, throwing for 206 yards and a touchdown in a 21–20 defeat.^[6]^[7] He finished the season passing for 1,042 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions, while also rushing for 373 yards and a touchdown.^[8] Entering the 2022 season, Wright was named the week one starter.^[9] In the first game of the season against Hawaii, he contributed four total touchdowns, while passing for 146 yards and adding another 163 yards rushing, in a 63–10 victory.^[10] The following week against Elon, Wright set a school record for total touchdowns in a game with six total, four passing and two rushing.^[11] However, after a poor showing by Wright against Wake Forest, he would be benched in favor of freshman AJ Swann.^[12] Against Kentucky, he threw for 184 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 126 yards and a touchdown, leading Vanderbilt to a 24–21 win and being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week.^[13] Wright continued to split time with Swann throughout the season, before announcing at the seasons end that he would enter the transfer portal.^[14]^[15]

Mississippi State

On January 22, 2023, Wright announced that he would be transferring to Mississippi State University to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.^[16]^[17]^[18] Entering the season, Wright was named the backup to Will Rogers. Wright would receive his first amount of significant playing time with Mississippi State after an injury to Rogers against Western Michigan. He threw for 57 yards and ran for 24 yards and a touchdown in the 41–28 win.^[19] Following a bye week, Wright made his first start with Mississippi State, combining for 145 yards and a touchdown in a 7–3 triumph over Arkansas.^[20]^[21] He finished the season throwing for 453 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 324 yards and three touchdowns, before entering the transfer portal for a second time.^[22]

Northwestern

On May 9, 2024, Wright announced that he would be transferring to Northwestern University to play for the Northwestern Wildcats.^[23]

Statistics

Season	Games			Passing								Rushing
Season	GP	GS	Record	Comp	Att	Pct	Yards	Avg	TD	Int	Rate	Att	Yards	Avg	TD
Vanderbilt Commodores
2020	6	0	0−0	6	10	60.0	51	5.1	1	1	115.8	14	15	1.1	1
2021	10	5	0−5	93	175	53.1	1,042	6.0	8	6	111.4	91	373	4.1	1
2022	10	6	4−2	85	148	57.4	974	6.6	12	4	134.1	71	571	7.3	5
Mississippi State Bulldogs
2023	12	3	1−2	48	85	56.5	453	5.3	3	3	105.8	71	324	4.6	3
Northwestern Wildcats
2024	2	2	1−1	38	66	57.6	336	5.1	0	1	97.3	17	82	4.8	1
Career	40	16	6−10	270	484	55.8	2,856	5.9	24	15	115.5	264	1,311	5.0	11