Under the Helmet with Ryan Wright
Oct 6, 2021 | Football
NEW ORLEANS - As Tulane gets set to take on Houston in week six of the college football season, TulaneGreenWave.com sat down to chat with Ryan Wright as he gets ready to take on the Cougars on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT).
How did you get into punting? Was there ever a point where you weren't the punter?
"I grew up playing every sport. I was a quarterback throughout high school, but I started out as a goalie in soccer and once I made the transition to football, our coach said, "who wants to punt" and I kind of raised my hand because I knew I had the leg for it, so it just kind of stuck and I started taking it seriously my sophomore year."
Do you know where you currently rank in the nation in punting or is that something you don't really care about and look at?
"In the past I would say yes, I know, but I've been just trying to take it one punt at a time and not focus on where I stand in the country, because I know that if I do my 1-11th, hit my best ball. It's going to help the team be in a good position to hopefully pin the opponent down inside of the 20. By doing that, things are easier on the defense and that way, we get another punt from them, so, our offense gets good field position. It really all part of the cycle."
Do you have a specific routine you do like before each punt?
"No, not too much. I do a little leg kick just to get warm, sometimes a jump if I've been sitting on the sideline for too long. Other than that, I just try to clear my head and let my technique do the talking."
Is there a point during your motion that you know it's going to be a good kick?
"Yeah, you can tell like right when it comes out my hand in the drop, I'm like, okay, this is going to be a bomb. But if I drop it bad, its automatic, I'm like, it's kind of going to be bad."
Did the special teams unit set any goals at the beginning the season?
"I mean, we want to be one of the best special teams units in the country and Coach (Willie) Fritz does a really good job was spending so much time on special teams and making it the third phase of the game. A lot of places, I know, don't pay that much attention to it and I think having a coach that pays attention to it so much just shows that special teams is important. It can help us win games, and it's helped us win games in the past.
Where does the nickname The Fridge come from?
"It comes from Geron Eatherly. My freshman year I was a little bit bigger at the time and he jokingly called me the fridge and it kind of just stuck.
You post things on social trying to get the attention of Pat McAfee, have you ever gotten his attention?
"Yeah, I think he knows who I am. I obviously know who he is. I watch his podcast every week and he talked to me before our Thursday night game in 2019 against Houston. He said do my thing and that's what I tried to do.
Musicians tend to have weird requests in their dressing rooms at a venue. What would be your one demand if that were you?
I probably say have Sour Patch Kids in a bowl for me."
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