He’s still got it! Arizona Wildcat Scooby Wright III is playing in the USFL

Scooby Wright III is baaaaack, the former beloved Arizona Wildcat is back to playing the game he loves the most, professional football.

Scooby Wright III, after wearing the No. 58 on other teams, has returned to the infamous No. 33 he wore at Arizona. Wright III now plays on the Birmingham Stallions defense along with former Wildcat Lorenzo Burns (No. 22).

First, a little background and history about the USFL. The first United States Football League (USFL) season was played in 1983, which was followed by a 1984 season and a 1985 season.

In 1986, the plan was to play and broadcast games at the same time as the NFL, but the organization instead decided to cease operations primarily due to a lawsuit the USFL ironically won against the NFL for running a monopoly but was only awarded $3 (yes, you read that correctly).

This is the fourth try, with Fox Sports as a minority owner, at standing up a new pro football league after the last three attempts to launch the USFL failed (1945, 1985, and 2010).

The USFL will employ and pay the players directly and operate as one entity. All the games will be played in one stadium, and all the players will be housed in one hotel; the season will be played in a bubble.

There are eight teams and each team will have a seven-man practice squad and a 38-man active roster:

1. Birmingham Stallions
2. Houston Gamblers (Head Coach former Arizona Football HC Kevin Sumlin)
3. Michigan Panthers
4. New Jersey Generals
5. New Orleans Breakers
6. Pittsburgh Maulers
7. Philadelphia Stars
8. Tampa Bay Bandits

Scooby’s team, the Birmingham (Alabama) Stallions is led by Head Coach and General Manager, Skip Holtz, a Former Louisiana Tech head coach, and son of legendary football coach Lou Holtz. The Stallions are 1-0, and Scooby racked up multiple tackles and one sack/strip/turnover in his opening debut against the New Jersey Generals (28-24).

The former Freshman All American and Pac-12 Player of the Year has played for the following professional teams:

• Cleveland Browns (2016) – NFL Drafted
• Arizona Cardinals (2016–2017) – NFL
• Arizona Hotshots (2019) – AAF: Alliance of American Football
• New England Patriots (2019) – NFL practice squad
• DC Defenders (2020) – XFL (4 games, 17 tackles)
• Birmingham Stallions (2022–Present) – USFL

It warms my heart seeing this young man so happy, “I felt like that girlfriend came back that I didn’t know was coming back. Just happy to be back with my true passion.”  Scooby had just graduated from the firefighter academy in December and was about to embark on a new career and was in the middle of earning his EMT certificate in Phoenix when he got a call from “coach J” (Assuming DC John Chavis), “He said, hey, I still think you have a lot left!”

“I thought the football dream came to an end. Finally, being honest I had to go to therapy because it was such a hard thing to be away from for two years,” explained Wright III in a Fox Sports video about some key players signed by the USFL, “Football was such a big part of my life, you know, and I felt like that girlfriend was missing. You get to the point when you’re 27, and you gotta look to something else to do.”

As this one fan put it, his three favorite things in his life are God, Scooby Wright, and the USFL.

Scoooooooby! You have always been one of my favorite Wildcats, and I am happy to see you happy and smiling doing what you love most. It’s not over, and you are still writing your book.

So after the jiujitsu tournament chapter, the going back to school to finish your degree chapter, to the eventual return to Tucson visit to the firefighter training chapter, you can now add a “Return to Pro Football” chapter and we are here for it! Now go beat Kevin Sumlin’s Gamblers Saturday at 7:00 pm PST on Fox Sports 1.