HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL | MIAMI SPRINGS
Miami Springs' Willis Wright enjoys being ball hawk
Colleges offers are pouring in for 6-2, 205-pound receiver Willis Wright, who is also being recruited as a linebacker and safety.
By J.T. WILCOX
Miami Herald Writer
If you've attended any Miami Springs games over the past three seasons, there's a good chance you left the stadium still talking about one of the plays Willis Wright made.
Grabbing attention is nothing new to the senior receiver, though. He has been doing it since he was a little kid.
``When I was growing up I was pretty much a house kid -- I didn't go out and play much,'' Wright said. ``But one day I was playing at [Gwen Cherry Park] with some friends and I jumped up to catch a ball, then one of the coaches from the park who was driving by stopped his car, backed up, and came over to talk to me about playing football.''
Now, it's the college scouts and coaches who are approaching the 6-2, 205-pound playmaker, lobbying him to play for their school.
``A lot of schools have made offers to me already,'' Wright said. ``Auburn, Florida State, Rutgers, FIU and Miami all have offered me; but I'm still weighing my options and I just want to focus on my senior season.''
Rated at 120 in the ESPNU Top 150 list, Wright also has garnered attention from colleges as a safety and linebacker.
The 2009 season will present a new slate of challenges for Wright and the Golden Hawks as now they will be playing in District 13-6A alongside perennial powers Northwestern and Central.
Last season Miami Springs went 6-4 and finished third in District 14-6A.
However, over the summer the Golden Hawks gained confidence when they defeated Central in the Nike 7-on-7 camp semifinal, a game in which Wright hauled in seven receptions, including a touchdown pass over two Rockets defenders.
``We're ready for Northwestern and Central,'' Wright said. ``We've been working hard this summer and everybody's coming together. We're ready.
``The three musketeers want to make a run for Orlando,'' Wright joked, referring to himself and teammates Rakeem Cato and Tommy Shuler.
In order to reach his goals, Wright will be looking to improve on the 529 yards and 22 catches he totaled in 2008.
``I really want to get my yards up this year,'' Wright said. ``I want to make bigger plays for my team and really show the colleges what I can do when I have the ball in my hands.''
Though Wright confirmed that he hadn't been timed in the 40-yard dash, when asked about his speed he replied: ``When its game time and I have the ball in my hands, you'll see the speed I have.''
Academically, Wright has a 2.4 grade-point average and is preparing to take the SAT in September.
``No matter what it is you're going to be doing in life, you have to do it with heart,'' Wright said. ``That's the way I'm approaching school and football, just work hard and give it my all.''
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