QB Mike Wright high on UCF

UCF's search for a quarterback in their 2020 class has centered on Mike Wright, a speedy slinger from Woodward Academy near Atlanta.

Wright, who is 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, got the official offer a few weeks ago after he was personally evaluated by offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

"I've always been a big UCF fan in general," Wright said. "I've always been intrigued by the school. I told our coach that and made sure to send my film down there. Coach Lebby responded back, I think that was around February, and we've been in contact ever since. He always said he was going to come up and see me this spring. After he saw me practice, he gave me a call and said, 'You've got an offer to play at UCF.'

"(Coach Lebby) said he loves my style of play. He thinks I'd fit perfectly with their offense and I believe so too. He likes the way I can make every throw on the field and do the plays not in the playbook. If there's a 3rd and 6 and you need a first down, I can run and get it. He also said he loves the way I lead my team. It's all been really exciting."

He made his first visit to campus on Monday.

"We were there the entire day, from 8 until 4," Wright said. "I was there with my brother and my dad. We saw everything, even threw the ball a little bit and had fun. We took the campus tour and saw everything academically. We went inside some classrooms and did a photo shoot. We got on the football field around noon and worked out a little bit with Coach Lebby. He was real hands on with me. We're putting some more RPO stuff in our scheme and he showed me some different ways to get the ball out faster. I'm going to take what I learned and bring it into our offense."

"Once we were finished on the field around 2, we spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Coach (Josh) Heupel. He was awesome. He's worked with so many great quarterbacks and for him to extend me an offer, that means a lot to me. I've always been a big fan of his. We didn't even talk that much about football. He was asking about the family, what I'm doing this summer, Disney World, video games, just getting to know me. He stressed they want me."

What stood out the most about his visit to UCF?

"When you go on college visits, there's always eye candy," Wright said. "There's always facilities. I always want to make sure I look at the people behind the facilities because the facilities don't make a program. When I was on campus, the students were very friendly. I don't think they knew who I was, but everybody said hello. That stood out. Also, at other places, you can tell when players don't interact well with coaches. The players walked by and were easily conversing with the coaches, talking about their families and stuff like that. That stood out too."

Wright was excited to meet UCF quarterback Darriel Mack Jr., who he watched earn MVP honors in last year's American Championship Game.

"I'm a big fan of D.J.," Wright said. "I got a chance to watch his high school film. I don't know how I came across it. When KZ (McKenzie Milton) went down, it was Mack that stepped up. I didn't know him personally, but knew all about him. He was getting work in and I got a chance to talk to him, pick his brain a little bit. That was reall cool."

He also cut it up with the defensive linemen, who were inside the Nicholson Fieldhouse working out.

"They were playing around with me, saying that I'm lucky they can't hit the QBs in practice," Wright said. "It was fun. The players were real cool."

From UCF, Wright and his family drove straight to Athens, Ga., on Tuesday where Woodward Academy participated in Georgia's 7-on-7 tournament.

"We did pretty well," Wright said. "We got runner up. We lost to Colquitt County, which is a really good program here, state champions. We did pretty good and are still proud of ourselves."

Wright also works out with Cam Newton's 7-on-7 program. That's not just in name - Newton himself coaches the team.

"We train every single Sunday," Wright said. "I'm out there every weekend since March working out with Cam. He's literally our coach, our offensive coordinator. He calls the plays. He's always there every Sunday, ever since my eighth grade year. He's just a real cool dude. He was always one of my role models before. He's a guy from the south side of Atlanta who was doubted playing quarterback and he beat barriers to get where he is today. He still comes back and hangs out with us. He's real hands on. He loves to teach the game."

Among Wright's other offers include Utah, Charlotte, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Western Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Liberty, South Alabama, Bowling Green, Tulane, Coastal Carolina, Boston College, Arkansas, Georgia State, Ole Miss, Minnesota, Kentucky, Louisville, FIU, Georgia Southern, Cincinnati and Illinois.

In addition to UCF, Wright is very interested in Utah and is planning a visit out west soon. The plan is to have a decision either later this month or early July.

"That's kind of the plan," Wright said. "I think we're going to Utah at the end of June. It would be an unofficial visit."

What will be important when making his decision?

"At the end of the day, I want to be the best quarterback I can be," Wright said. "That's the main thing. I also want to be the best person I can be. Where I can excel as a person."

Academically, Wright is interested in multimedia production as well as engineering.

"I have a production company so Orlando being close with Disney, that would be cool," Wright said. "Also, electrical engineering. My father is an electrical engineer at Georgia Power. I've always gone to work with him and thought I could do that too. I'll decide sooner or later, but those are two areas I'm very interested in."