Rodrique “Rod” Wright is the nephew of former Chiefs first round pick, receiver Elmo Wright. He is also the cousin of former Seattle Seahawk defensive tackle Cedric Woodard. In addition to being an excellent football player in high school, Rodrique was also a member of the track and field team where he threw the shot put for four years.
Rodrique got off to a fast start as a freshman, starting 9 of 13 games and earning Big XII freshman of the year honors. He entered his sophomore season as the unquestioned starter at defensive tackle and went on to start all 13 games on his way to All-Big XII honors. He had an off year as a junior, starting 10 games during a season in which he was plagued by an ankle injury. Still Rodrique had a good chance at being a first round pick in the 2005 NFL draft, however, he opted to return to Texas for his senior season to boost his draft stock in 2006.

At 6’5” 305lbs, Rodrique Wright has excellent size for a defensive tackle in the NFL. He has the ability to successfully take on double teams, freeing up one of his teammates to make the big play. He has the ability to play in both the 3-4 and 4-3 defensive schemes. Over the course of his career at Texas, Wright has developed into one of the most dominant pass rushers in the nation at the defensive tackle position. He is very strong and has a pretty good first step. He is very athletic for a man his size and he is a solid tackler. He has the ability to play both the run and the pass, however at times he will focus too much on getting to the quarterback, effectively taking him out of some running plays. Rodrique has been known to have a questionable work ethic as well as durability issues. However, his physical ability and high level of production at a major college football program like the University of Texas make him one of the top defensive prospects in the 2006 NFL draft.