Boulder — Fall camp is less than a week old for the Colorado Buffaloes and the newcomers won’t go against the veterans until Friday. But freshman cornerback Anthony Wright hasn’t wasted any time in making an impression.
Wright, a 6-foot, 185-pounder from Compton, Calif., batted away several well-thrown passes during Thursday’s morning session. He displayed enough speed to hang with the fleet freshman receivers that have been the talk of camp.
“It felt good,” Wright said after the two-hour practice. “I’ve been studying my playbook to get better. Before I had a little trouble with some of the calls. You’ve got to make the plays.”
Wright comes from excellent bloodlines. His cousin, Michael Richardson, played seven NFL seasons as a defensive back, with the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears. But what jumped out at CU secondary coach Greg Brown was Wright’s production on offense. In his last two seasons at Compton High School, Wright combined for 2,188 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns.
“Anthony brings some good things to the table,” Brown said. “The guy has ball skills; he made big plays in high school on offense. That’s something you like to see (in recruiting). When you look for defensive backs in high school, it’s hard to even catch them on film. Half the time they’re out of the frame or they’re back playing three-deep and you never see them show up.
“So one of the things you look for is, ‘Is he productive on offense? Does he have vision with the ball in his hands? Does he see where everybody is coming so he can make moves to avoid them? And can he out-run angles?” If somebody has an angle on him and he can outrun them, then you know he’s got legitimate speed.”
Wright’s pass breakups on Thursday did not go unnoticed by head coach Dan Hawkins.
“He’s doing a nice job,” Hawkins said of Wright.
And “Anthony Perkins is showing up. Lamont (Smith) has really quick feet. I definitely think there’s some talent there with the freshmen, some guys with a chance to contribute.”
Wright said he felt a bit sheepish about all the attention on Thursday. Players don’t go in full pads until Friday afternoon’s first combined practice with the newcomers and veterans.
“Tomorrow I go against the older dudes, so we’ll really see what I’ve got,” Wright said.
Staff Writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
