Throughout his playing and coaching career at Texas State, it seems that Brad Wright has helped change the course of the school’s football history.
As a player, he capped off his collegiate career in 1980 helping Texas State win its first outright conference championship in 17 years.
As an associate head coach, he helped lead the Bobcats to a Southland Conference co-championship and Texas State’s first NCAA Division I FCS playoff berth in 2005.
Then, in his first three seasons as head coach, he guided Texas State to its first outright conference championship since 1982, first back-to-back winning seasons since 1991-92 and now looks to lead his team to a third straight winning season for the first time since 1984 in 2010.
That record is even more remarkable when you consider that before the Pearsall native joined Texas State’s coaching staff, the school had enjoyed just four winning seasons during the previous 19 years.
Wright was named head coach at Texas State in 2007, and set the goals of turning his alma mater into a consistent winning program while contending for Southland Conference championships and NCAA Division I FCS playoff berths. In just three years, he is in the midst of accomplishing each of his goals.
In his first season, the Bobcats featured a high-powered offensive attack that ranked 18th nationally in total offense and produced a 2,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season for the first time in school history. Senior punter Chris MacDonald earned All-America First-Team honors, while Cameron Luke earned All-Southland Conference First-Team honors after catching 60 passes for 1,035 yards. Karrington Bush was named the SLC Freshman of the Year and an All-SLC Second-Team selection as a running back. In addition, Crawford May was an All-SLC Second-Team choice.
Nick Clark was named Texas State’s first-ever Draddy Award Finalist, National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete and a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Second-Team selection.
After the 2007 season ended, Wright put his troops through a rigorous conditioning program and spring practice to help develop more consistent and physical play.
Those efforts paid off in 2008 when the Bobcats posted an 8-5 overall record and won the Southland Conference championship. The season also featured the school’s first non-conference road win since 2001 and the Bobcats clinched the league title with their first overtime win since 2005 with a 48-45 victory at Sam Houston State in the final regular season game. The victory at Sam Houston State also set a school record for most road wins as a NCAA Division I FCS school with five.
Texas State’s offense was even more powerful in its second year under Wright’s direction as the Bobcats boasted the nation’s seventh-best scoring offense and eighth best overall total offense with averages of 36.4 points and 453.23 yards per game. Texas State also tied for 10th in red-zone offensive efficiency and featured a 2,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard runner and a 1,000-yard receiver for the second straight year.
Junior quarterback Bradley George became the first Texas State quarterback in school history to throw for 2,000 yards in two consecutive seasons as he threw for 2,660 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2008. His favorite target was Luke, who broke his own school records with 73 receptions for 1,268 yards. Luke also tied a school record for the most touchdowns scored in a season with 17 and became the only receiver in the history of the Southland Conference to catch 10 TD passes in back-to-back seasons. Not to be outdone, Bush also ran for 1,065 yards in a three-man rotation and ranked second nationally averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
A key to Texas State’s championship run was the improved play on defense and special teams. The Bobcats ranked 17th in red-zone defense and ranked second among Southland Conference teams in forcing 24 turnovers. Texas State also led the league with 15 interceptions.
Individually, Luke was named a Third-Team All-American and one of the Top 50 FCS players in the nation by CollegeSportingNews.com. In addition, senior center Jeff Bowen, senior kicker Andrew Ireland and Bush received Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Luke, Bowen, Bush and fullback Blake Burton were chosen All-Southland Conference First-Team, while offensive lineman D.J. Hall, Ireland, defensive end Donavan King and defensive back Morris Crosby attained All-SLC Second-Team honors. Bush was named an All-SLC Second-Team return specialist as well. Defensive end Travis Houston was named to the FCS Athletic Directors Association’s Academic All-Star Team and joined Burton, quarterback Bradley George and defensive back Will Thompson on the SLC All-Academic Team.
In his third season as head coach, Wright led his troops to a second straight winning season with a 7-4 record and had the Bobcats in contention for another SLC championship until the final game of the regular season. Texas State posted a 5-2 conference record for the second straight year, giving the Bobcats their best back to back conference finish and most conference wins in a two-year period since joining the SLC in 1987.
Texas State ended the 2009 season ranked 24th by the FCS Coaches and 25th by the Sports Network, marking the first time in school history that the Bobcats finished two consecutive seasons ranked by FCS national polls.
Individually, George capped off his record-setting career being named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year. George ended the season completing 258 of his 409 passes for 3,121 yards and 23 touchdowns. He ended his career as Texas State’s all-time career leader as he completed 753 of his 1277 passes for 9556 yards and 76 touchdowns.
Junior guard D.J. Hall and receiver Mishak Rivas earned All-Southland Conference First-Team honors as an offensive lineman and return specialist respectively. Da’Marcus Griggs and Travis Houston earned All-SLC Second-Team honors as a wide receiver and defensive lineman. Griggs set a new school record for the most receptions in a season with 80.
George along with running back Alvin Canady, offensive tackles Calvin Gore and Alex Luna, defensive lineman Adley Eshraghipour, linebacker Marcus Clark and defensive back Will Thompson were named Honorable Mention selections.
Houston also was named to the FCS Athletic Directors Association’s Academic All-Star Team for a second straight year, and joined George, fullback Jeff McVaney and Thompson on the SLC All-Academic team.
In addition to their successes on the field and in the classroom, the Bobcats have been active in the community by taking part in campus projects such as Bobcat Build and serving mentorships at area elementary schools.
After signing a new three-year contract, Wright enters the 2010 season looking to lead the Bobcats to their third straight winning campaign and contending for their third Southland Conference championship since 2005.
Wright’s association with winning at Texas State dates back to the late 1970s when he originally walked on to the Bobcat football program as a wide receiver before starting one season at running back and then moving to the defensive side of the ball under Bobcat coaches Bill Miller and Jim Wacker. He was a two-year starter at free safety for Texas State and was a defensive leader on the 1980 Lone Star Conference championship team.
His coaching career began as a student assistant coach for Wacker’s 1981 NCAA Division II national championship team. After working two seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette, Wright enjoyed a highly successful tenure as a high school coach in Texas.
Prior to joining the Texas State staff, Wright spent the previous four seasons as the director of athletics and head football coach at’ Canyon High School in New Braunfels. There, he helped turn around a struggling Cougar football program. After a pair of one-win seasons, Canyon went 7-2 in 2002 and advanced to the state quarterfinals with an 11-2 record in 2003.
Wright also was the head coach at East Bernard, where his squad was an area finalist in 1999, and at Karnes City where the team posted back-to-back third-place district finishes. He was named head coach at Karnes City after serving as an assistant coach at El Campo for five years, helping lead the program to three district titles. His high school coaching career also includes stops as an assistant coach at Klein Oak and Pearland.
Wright returned to Texas State as an assistant head coach, running back coach and special teams coordinator in 2004. In the next three seasons, Wright helped lead the Bobcats to a 21-15 record in the next three years, including the 2005 campaign when Texas State won 11 games, a SLC co-championship and was a semifinalist in the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs.
In 2005, Wright’s corps of running backs ranked 15th nationally in rushing offense with 228.43 yards per game among NCAA FCS teams. In 2006, Stan Zwinggi ranked third among Southland Conference runners with 735 yards. His special teams unit included three All-Southland Conference First-Team punters in Corey Elolf in 2004 and 2005, as well as Chris McDonald in 2006, and 2005 All-SLC First-Team kicker Stan Jones.
Wright earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Texas State in 1981. He is married to the former Kim Pesek, a 1996 Texas State alum, and they have a daughter, Paige.
