Scooby (Phillip) Wright III wasn’t just born the Pac-12 Defensive player of the year. Or was he? It’s been 24 years since any underclassmen has taken that title. The 6’1” 246lbs sophomore linebacker out of tiny Windsor, California (an incorporated area of Sonoma County) was the North Bay All-League MVP his graduating year of high school, All-Redwood Empire Defensive Player of the Year, and selected as a Cal State All-Star. In his freshman year at Arizona, he started 12 of 13 games with 83 tackles (46 solo and 37 assisted) with one reception (against Oregon), good enough to earn him a spot on the all-conference team.
This season, Scooby already has 140 tackles (84 solo and 56 assisted). He has 27 TFLs (the most in the country), 14 sacks and six forced fumbles. He’s also shifted to middle linebacker, considerably lowering opposing offenses’ chances of converting on third down. This year, Scooby has become all offensive coaches’ biggest concern on game day. He’s surpassed many top tier prospects in the same position, and to his credit, he’ll play his heart out regardless of the stats that come along with it.
Recently, Scooby sat down with Fox Sports to talk about how he was unfairly deemed a “two-star” prospect. Washington turned him down without explanation, suggesting that he check out schools “outside of the Pac-12.” He used the underestimation to motivate him, a chip on his shoulder if you will, to play with excellence. He made his Twitter handle, “TwoStarScoob.” And Arizona took notice: they were the only school to offer him a scholarship. Now everyone else is eating crow.
Last time Oregon and Arizona met, TwoStarScoob wreaked havoc on Oregon’s offense in their only loss (at home, nonetheless). Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year winner Marcus Mariota rarely looks like he’s having a bad day. But whenever he does, it always seems to be when he’s playing the Wildcats. Friday will be another battle, this time in a neutral zone, and you better believe the Ducks’ are out for retribution. Mariota is 1-2 against the Wildcats, but Scooby is 2-0 against the Ducks. The insanely talented QB only has 23 turnovers and 12 interceptions in his college career, but six and three of those respectively were against Arizona.
Highlighting Scooby’s accomplishments and fastidious defensive prowess against is in no means meant to undermine Oregon heading into the Pac-12 Championship. It simply highlights what an underestimated team, especially defensively, Arizona continues to be despite the stats they put on the board week after week. There’s no way Mariota isn’t carrying a torch for Scooby after the two teams’ last meeting where the LB stripped the balled from him during Oregon’s final drive to tie the game. Mariota’s accuracy is better than ever, but he’s also been sacked 11 more times this season than last. Arizona’s proven that Cats don’t like water but that doesn’t mean they can’t play in it. But, do the Ducks have more to gain? Or, rather, do they have more to maintain against the formerly unranked team. Certainly Mariota nor Scooby can be held solely responsible for the outcome of the game. Oregon’s defense needs to keep Arizona from rapidly converting touchdowns like it was able to against Arizona State. Conversely, Oregon’s offense is well aware that Arizona has its own flaws: it could have easily lost to Arizona State for the same reason. Something tells me this won’t be the same type of game that we saw with Arizona against ASU. Both defenses will be on their best behavior, and whichever team has the greater time of possession will win. But no matter what, Scooby will try to sniff out his favorite snack: Mariota.
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