Here's an interview that Rodrique Wright did for Mack Brown's site, after he took the Playboy AA trip to Arizona. He talks a little about AJ, Teddy and Santonio.
http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/pages/releases/2004_05/010/051305_50.htm
Wright Up the Middle: May 13
Rodrique Wright is an explosive, quick and athletic fourth-year starter at defensive tackle who has rapidly developed into one of the nation's top tackles. In 2004, he was tabbed second-team All-America by The Sporting News and honorable mention All-America by Pro Football Weekly, while also being named a consensus All-Big 12 selection. In April, he was named to the 2005 Playboy All-America Team and recently traveled to Phoenix for a weekend of activities and the photo shoot.
Hey Longhorn fans,
I'm back from my trip to Phoenix for the Playboy All-America team, and I was honored to be named to the team. You hear about it all the time with all the preseason hype and all the guys say that the Playboy All-America team is the one everybody wants to be on. Both J-Scott (Jonathan Scott) and I were thrilled to be on it and among all the top players in the nation. It was amazing.
I was excited about being on the team, but I was more excited about getting out there and meeting all the guys you see your name with all the time. Seeing Gabe Watson from Michigan, Mathias Kiwanuka from Boston College and all those guys, it's just interesting to size them up. It's fun to see what kind of people they are. You compare yourself to them and it makes you feel good being around them, because they're all the same type of guys. You see them on TV just like they see us on TV, and you wonder, "Is this guy like this, or is that guy like that?" But we all had a lot of similarities, so it was fun.
Jonathan and I really had a great time, and in some ways, we're really similar also. We're the type of people who will at first be kind of quiet and to ourselves until you get to know us and we get to know you, then we'll open up. We're both laid back, and he's probably a little bit more laid back than I am. When we first got there, we were just hanging around each other the whole time until we got to know more people, then we started talking and being more comfortable.
There were a lot of activities, and I didn't think I would enjoy them as much as I did. I really enjoyed the water Olympic games. I had Jesse Mahelona and Jason Allen from Tennessee, and A.J. Hawk from Ohio State on my team. It was funny because we're going head to head with A.J. and Ohio State in the second week of September, but we were on the same team, having fun and high-fiving. I remember one time, my team went 3-on-4 against another team, and it was me, A.J. and Jesse versus the other Ohio State guys, Ted Ginn and Santonio Holmes, and a couple of other guys. We were playing water basketball, and A.J. threw me the ball and I dunked it to win the game. We were celebrating together, and in my mind I was thinking, "I'm going to be playing this guy." We're both on the defensive side, and we're going to be trying to destroy them in September, but right now, we're high-fiving. That was a funny feeling. I talked to all three of the Ohio State players, but I basically talked to A.J. the most. They were saying how it would be such a big game and it much fun it would be. I asked them about their stadium and how many fans it holds, nothing too serious, but we had a good time.
The photo shoot was probably the best part. You see everybody at the events, but I'm not the type of person to just go up to everybody and figure out who they are and start talking. At the photo shoot, you get the chance to see who's wearing what colors and what position they play. Then you can put faces to schools and jerseys. We had a D-line shoot, then we joined the whole defense and then the whole team. It was fun. Everybody we just acting goofy and was kicked back having fun.
I had been to Phoenix twice, but I had never been to anything like that hotel. It was way up in the hills. The times I went to Phoenix before, it was hot, but this time it was perfect. The only time I even started to get a little heated, we were in the pool, so it was great.
It's going to be wild being in the magazine. I always knew about the Playboy All-America Team, but I never really knew the picture was in the actual magazine. I can't wait to see how the photos turn out. The issue will probably be out in August, but I'm not sure how my parents will react to having a Playboy. I'll probably get one and cut the pages out of the magazine and frame it or something and send it to my mom.
Right now, the semester is coming to an end. We'll be working out in the summer, and I can't wait to start my senior year and the new season in the fall. We all want to build on last year and we're going to be working hard to reach our goals.
Hook 'em
Rod
