Boulder – Preseason camp is less than a week old for Colorado, and the newcomers don’t go against the veterans until this afternoon. 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.”
Wright comes from excellent bloodlines. His cousin Mike Richardson was a starting cornerback on the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and played seven NFL seasons.
But what jumped out at CU secondary coach Greg Brown was Wright’s production on offense. In his past 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.
“So one of the things you look for is, ‘Is he productive on offense? Does he have vision, can he outrun 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, who also saw solid play from other freshman corners. Hawkins is looking for more depth at the position.
“He’s doing a nice job,” Hawkins said of Wright. “(Northglenn alum) 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 the attention he received Thursday. Players don’t go in full pads until this 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.
Footnotes
Hawkins must really be impressed with freshman wideouts Kendrick Celestine, Markques Simas and Josh Smith. The coach referred to them Thursday as “The Three Amigos.” Hawkins joked it’s not yet an official nickname, but certainly one that would resonate with area fans because of the Broncos’ Three Amigos (Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Ricky Nattiel) from the 1980s. … Wright’s cousin Richardson was one of 10 Chicago Bears to have speaking roles in the “Super Bowl Shuffle” video, and CU linebackers coach Brian Cabral also was on that Super Bowl team. … Perkins is a grandson of former Dallas Cowboys star running back Don Perkins.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
