The third time is the charm. That well-worn, old adage certainly rings true in Northwestern’s pursuit of Mike Wright.
The Wildcats recruited the quarterback out of high school in the Class of 2020. He took an official visit to Northwestern in December of 2019 but committed to Vanderbilt the following week.
The program showed a little bit of interest again at the end of the 2022 season, when Wright entered the transfer portal after three years with the Commodores. He ultimately chose Mississippi State in January of last year.
But this time, after Wright put his name in the portal for a second straight year, the Wildcats finally got their man. He committed to Northwestern on May 9.
Wright said that, at this point in his career, after four years of college football at two different schools, Northwestern was the perfect fit. He said his decision all came down to two things.
“First, will it help me position myself and give me the best chance to reach my ultimate goal of getting to the NFL? Then, I wanted to surround myself with really great people.
“Those were the two biggest things for me, and when I looked at it, there was no question that I needed to be here at Northwestern… Northwestern checked both boxes in a large way.”
Wright knows that Northwestern meets the great people requirement because of the visit he took on May 6-8. He spent a lot of time with players and coaches during his time on campus, especially wide receivers AJ Henning, Bryce Kirtz and Calvin Johnson II. They were all his hosts, and he said that they helped him make the decision an easy one.
Sure, the facility was impressive. But to Wright, who has seen a lot over the last four years, “a weight room is a weight room.” Plus, as he points out, “I’ve seen it all before,” recalling his official visit back in 2019.
A big difference in the Northwestern of four years ago and the Northwestern now is a completely new coaching staff. Head coach David Braun just completed his first year at NU, replacing 17-year head man Pat Fitzgerald. More significantly in Wright’s situation as a quarterback, offensive coordinator Zach Lujan arrived in January and is building his first offense for the Wildcats.
Much has already been written about Lujan favoring mobile, dual-threat quarterbacks. Wright, who has passed for 2,520 yards and run for 1,229 over 38 games in his college career, seems to be the ideal signal caller for his offense.
According to Wright, however, it’s less about how his skills fit into Lujan’s system and more about how his personality fits Lujan’s. In fact, Wright says that Lujan doesn’t really have a system. He’s got concepts for the running and passing games, but what sets the coach apart, according to Wright, is that he adjusts his offense based on his personnel. So he will tailor his playbook and play calls to Wright's strengths.
That, more than anything else, made Wright believe in the Wildcats’ new offensive boss.
“The one word I hope to be using a lot [this season] is creativity,” he said. “There’s no standard answer about what his system is. He adjusts to his players and the guys on the team. That speaks volumes about the type of coach he is… That’s what really sold it to me.”
Wright has only started 14 games over his four years – 11 at Vanderbilt, and then three last year at Mississippi State. His best year was in 2022, at Vandy, when he started six games and threw for 974 yards, with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He added a single-season, career-best 517 yards and five more touchdowns on the ground.
He also became the first starting quarterback for the Commodores in 40 years to beat Kentucky and Florida in the same season. The win over Kentucky snapped Vanderbilt's 26-game SEC losing streak.
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There’s virtually no doubt that Wright will be the full-time starter for Northwestern in 2024. Ben Bryant, the starter last season, ran out of eligibility and is gone. Brendan Sullivan, who started four games last year and played in 13 as a Wildcat over the last two years, was beaten out for the starting job this spring, sources say, and has since transferred to Iowa.
That left the program with Jack Lausch, who has run for 77 yards and thrown for 78 in two years as the change-of-pace, Wildcat quarterback, as the No. 1 QB -- until Wright committed. (Lausch, however, will likely still have some sort of role in the offense.)
Wright hasn’t experienced a lot of success in his career. Vanderbilt went 10-35 during his four years in Nashville. The coach who brought in him in, Derek Mason, was fired after Wright’s second year and replaced by Clark Lea.
Mississippi State finished 5-7 in 2023. Coach, Zach Arnett, who took over as emergency interim after the tragic passing of Mike Leach late in 2022, wound up getting dismissed before the end of the season.
Northwestern, coming off of an 8-5 season and a Las Vegas Bowl win, has experienced veterans returning on both sides of the ball. Wright knows he has a chance to win with the Wildcats.
Asked what he hopes to bring to the program this season, Wright talked about leadership and making the team better. Then he discussed his personal philosophy of quarterback play that gets to the heart of who he is.
“I say this all the time: people overcomplicate the quarterback’s job,” he said. “It’s about doing the right things and letting the talent do their jobs. My job is to get playmakers the ball where they need it – whether that’s with a handoff or a pass – and let them be special.”
Northwestern has some of those special players on offense this season. Henning and Kirtz combined for 94 catches, 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Cam Porter is back for his fifth year at running back and has 1,237 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in his career.
Wright is familiar with switching schools. He was a Commodore in 2022, a Bulldog in 2023 and now he’ll be a Wildcat in 2024. So this is the third straight year that he’s moved. He can’t wait to become a Wildcat; so much so that he’s already on campus.
Shortly after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Mississippi State on May 10, he made the long, lonely drive from Starkville, Miss., to Evanston. That’s about 700 miles – and, it could be argued, much further than that in terms of culture and environment.
Wright wisely divided the trip into two segments. He drove about five hours to Nashville, where he spent the night with his younger brother Alan, a senior cornerback at Vandy. Then, he drove the remaining seven hours the next day.
Wright arrived in town on Monday and is staying at a hotel for now, but he expects to find an apartment and roommates soon. All of the uncertainty and upheaval might give some people anxiety, but Wright did the same thing just last year, when he moved from Nashville to Starkville.
Wright has an outgoing, boisterous personality. He’ll tell you as much. It’s difficult to think of him spending 12 hours alone in a car over two days with no one to talk to.
“I’m an open book,” said Wright. “I’m a big communicator.”
So his one message to Northwestern fans is this: “I love meeting fans and supporters. If you see me, come say, ‘Hey.’ I love meeting new friends.”
Northwestern fans have seen a lot of substandard play at quarterback in recent years. If Wright plays like a veteran and, like he says, consistently gets the ball into his playmakers’ hands, he’ll have more friends than he’ll know what to do with.
