Kentucky starter Jordan Wright returning for fifth season of college football
The outlook for Kentucky’s defense in 2022 was buoyed Sunday by outside linebacker Jordan Wright, who announced via social media that he will opt into an additional year of eligibility and play a fifth season for the Wildcats.
Wright, a senior on the 2021 team that last weekend completed a 10-3 campaign with a win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl, is eligible for another year of play under the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver. He started eight of Kentucky’s games in 2021, missing the other five due to a lower-body injury.
He was healthy enough to play in the Wildcats’ bowl game, in which he led the team with 10 tackles (one for a loss) and had a pass breakup that led to an interception of Hawkeyes quarterback Spencer Petras. Wright finished the season with 30 tackles.
Wright, listed at 6-foot-5 and 233 pounds this season, has a long, wiry frame that makes him a versatile defender in terms of pass coverage, and helped him finish second on the team with six pass breakups in 2021.
In a post on Twitter, Wright alluded to his injury in a manner that indicated it played a role in his decision not to enter the NFL Draft and to return to UK.
“I have goals that I individually would like to obtain for myself as well as my team,” Wright wrote. “Returning will allow me to grow and develop, to pursue my dreams of playing in the NFL and help my team win the SEC.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 12:52 PM.
