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JOHNNIE WRIGHT
Running Back
1977 / 1981
Fort Myers, FL
Biography
A big tailback, Wright had been named Fort Myers Player of the Year in 1976 and joined classmate George Rogers in giving Jim Carlen two highly touted backs in the 1977 class. Wright saw considerable action at tailback, initially backing up Spencer Clark and Casper Carter but drew the start in the season finale against Clemson that season. Wright began the ’78 season backing up Clark again but had his coming out party in the season’s fourth game, as he ran for 156 yards in an upset of of 19th ranked Georgia. He would take over a starting role and go on to have two more 100-yard games that season, against Ohio U. and North Carolina. The Gamecocks’ powerful rushing attack of Wright at tailback and Rogers at fullback took a hit in fall camp before the ’79 season when Wright tore ligaments in his knee and missed the entire year. When he returned in 1980 Rogers had taken over at tailback but Wright dutifully led the way for the Heisman winner from the fullback spot. He did have his moments in the spotlight still, rushing for 162 yards on just 13 carries against Duke and then scoring the winning touchdown in Carolina’s 17-14 upset win at Michigan. Rogers’ graduation left the tailback spot to Wright in 1981 and he had three more 100-yard games (Mississippi, Duke and UNC). The South Carolina Sportswriters’ Association named him State Offensive Player of the Week for his work against Ole Miss. Other highlights included scoring the go-ahead TD in a win over Kentucky and contributing 115 yards rushing in the upset of the 3rd ranked Tar Heels.

Wright was named 2nd team All-South Independent after his senior season. He was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 12th round in 1982 but saw only limited action (3 yards rushing, 12 receiving) in his one year with Baltimore. After being released he resurfaced in 1985 with the Orlando Renegades of the USFL.
Prior Schools
SchoolLocation
Cypress Lake Cape Coral, FL


Roster Listings
YearRosterNumPosHtWtYrGmsGS
1977 Georgia Tech, Clemson progams 36 RB 6-1 200 Fr 1 1
1977 Media Guide RB 6-1 195 Fr
1978 Media Guide 36 RB 6-1 200 So 3 3
1978 Game Program vs. Duke 36 RB 6-1 200 So
1980 Media Guide 36 FB 6-1 205 Jr
1980 Wichita State, Pacific game programs 36 RB 6-1 200 Jr 4 4
1981 1981 Media Guide 36 TB 6-1 205 Sr
1981 Clemson 1981 36 RB 6-2 215 Sr 7 7
Depth Chart Appearances
DescriptionPositionRank
1978 Media Guide Tailback Co-Starter
9/23/1978 vs. Duke Kick Off Returns Co-Starter
9/23/1978 vs. Duke Tailback 2nd String
1980 Media Guide Fullback Starter
1981 Media Guide Tailback Co-Starter
9/26/1981 vs. Georgia Tailback Starter
10/17/81 vs Virginia Tailback Starter
10/24/81 vs North Carolina Tailback Starter
Honors
AwardYear
1981 George Terry Best Attitude
Rushing
YearAttYdsAvgTD
1977 74 371 5.0 1
1978 176 903 5.1 6
1980 90 481 5.3 3
1981 212 834 3.9 5
Tot 552 2589 4.7 15
Rushing from Play-by-Play
YearAttYdsAvg1DNeg RushNR%Stuff%10+ Yds10+ %20+ Yds3D Conv%TD
1978 141 733 5.2 41 8 44.68 19.9 24 17.0 4 44.4 3
Receiving
YearRecYdsAvgTDCom%1DCDTCD%BP%
1977 2 17 8.5 0
1978 9 54 6.0 0
1980 2 17 8.5 0
1981 9 73 8.1 0
Tot 22 161 7.3 0
Receiving by QB
YearQBRec Throws Com% Yds 1D TD Success Rate
1977
Ron Bass 2 2 100.0 15 0 0 100.00
Gregg Gresham 1 1 100.0 12 1 0 100.00
1978
Garry Harper 3 4 75.0 20 1 0 50.00
Skip Ramsey 2 2 100.0 15 0 0 0.00
1981
Terry Bishop 1 1 100.0 5 0 0 0.00
Success Rate from Official Play-By-Play Stats
YearPass PlaysPass SRPass SPPRush PlaysRush SRRush SPPRecv PlaysRecv SRRecv SPPRecv FC%Tot SPPSPP/Play
1977 65 60.00 72.7 3 100 5.97 0 78.67 1.16
1978 132 57.60 151.06 6 33.3 -0.29 60 150.77 1.09
1980 5 20.00 -0.47 0 -0.47 -0.09
1981 40 37.50 19.56 1 0 -0.17 100 19.39 0.47
Kickoff Returns
YearRetYdsAvgTD
1977 4 71 17.8 0
Tot 4 71 17.8 0
Games Started
DateOpponentPosition
1977-11-19 Clemson Tailback
1978-10-07 Georgia Tech Tailback
1978-10-21 Mississippi Tailback
1978-11-25 Clemson Tailback
1980-09-06 Pacific Fullback
1980-10-18 Georgia Running Back
1980-11-22 Clemson Fullback
1980-12-29 Pittsburgh Fullback
1981-09-12 Mississippi Tailback
1981-09-26 Georgia Tailback
1981-10-03 Pittsburgh Tailback
1981-10-10 Kentucky Tailback
1981-10-17 Virginia Tailback
1981-10-24 North Carolina Tailback
1981-11-21 Clemson Tailback
Single Game Rushing Stats
SeasonGame DateOpponentAttYdsTD
1977 1977-09-03 Appalachian State 3 15 0
1977-09-10 Georgia Tech 8 41 0
1977-09-17 Miami (Ohio) 4 24 0
1977-09-24 Georgia 2 15 0
1977-10-01 East Carolina 3 44 0
1977-10-08 Duke 4 4 0
1977-10-15 Mississippi 5 28 0
1977-10-22 North Carolina 9 44 0
1977-10-29 N.C. State 11 52 0
1977-11-12 Wake Forest 20 82 1
1977-11-19 Clemson 5 23 0
1978 1978-09-09 Furman 15 82 1
1978-09-16 Kentucky 8 59 0
1978-09-23 Duke 16 57 0
1978-09-30 Georgia 27 156 1
1978-10-07 Georgia Tech 22 67 0
1978-10-14 Ohio 19 125 2
1978-10-21 Mississippi 16 63 1
1978-10-28 North Carolina 20 112 0
1978-11-04 N.C. State 8 20 1
1978-11-18 Wake Forest 15 98 0
1978-11-25 Clemson 10 64 1
1979 1979-09-08 North Carolina 23 97 0
1980 1980-09-13 Wichita State 4 11 1
1980-09-20 Southern Cal 10 19 0
1980-09-27 Michigan 12 33 1
1980-10-04 Duke 13 162 0
1980-10-11 Cincinnati 5 77 1
1980-11-01 Citadel 4 13 0
1980-12-29 Pittsburgh 4 23 0
1981 1981-09-05 Wake Forest 17 63 0
1981-09-12 Mississippi 22 121 1
1981-09-19 Duke 18 113 0
1981-09-26 Georgia 10 20 0
1981-10-03 Pittsburgh 7 20 0
1981-10-10 Kentucky 21 66 1
1981-10-17 Virginia 19 87 1
1981-10-24 North Carolina 27 115 0
1981-10-31 N.C. State 19 61 0
1981-11-07 Pacific 5 19 0
1981-11-21 Clemson 16 68 1
1981-12-05 Hawaii 21 78 0
Single Game Receiving Stats
SeasonGame DateOpponentRecYdsTD
1977 1977-09-17 Miami (Ohio) 1 12 0
1977-10-15 Mississippi 1 5 0
1978 1978-10-07 Georgia Tech 1 -5 0
1978-10-14 Ohio 2 8 0
1978-10-21 Mississippi 2 11 0
1978-10-28 North Carolina 1 8 0
1978-11-04 N.C. State 1 7 0
1978-11-18 Wake Forest 1 11 0
1978-11-25 Clemson 1 14 0
1980 1980-09-20 Southern Cal 1 9 0
1981 1981-09-19 Duke 1 9 0
1981-09-26 Georgia 6 42 0
1981-10-24 North Carolina 1 3 0
1981-12-05 Hawaii 1 19 0
Scoring Plays
DateOpponentQtrTimeUSCOppPlay
1977-11-12 Wake Forest 4 06:52 24 14 Johnnie Wright, 2-yd run (Britt Parrish kick)
1978-09-30 Georgia 1 05:48 7 0 Johnnie Wright, 3-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1978-10-14 Ohio 1 07:21 7 0 Johnnie Wright, 3-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1978-10-14 Ohio 4 11:00 24 7 Johnnie Wright, 28-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1978-10-21 Mississippi 4 13:25 7 10 Johnnie Wright, 2-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1978-11-04 N.C. State 4 03:00 13 22 Johnnie Wright, 2-yd run (pass failed)
1978-11-25 Clemson 4 06:36 23 41 Johnnie Wright, 2-yd run (pass failed)
1980-09-13 Wichita State 1 7 0 Johnnie Wright, 1-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1980-09-27 Michigan 3 17 14 Johnnie Wright, 1-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1980-10-11 Cincinnati 2 42 7 Johnnie Wright, 60-yd run (Eddie Leopard kick)
1981-09-12 Mississippi 2 10 0 Johnnie Wright, 1-yd run (Mark Fleetwood kick)
1981-10-10 Kentucky 3 14 7 Johnnie Wright, 1-yd run (Mark Fleetwood kick)
1981-10-17 Virginia 3 21 3 Johnnie Wright, 3-yd run (Mark Fleetwood kick)
1981-10-31 N.C. State 3 13 12 Johnnie Wright, 1-yd run (Mark Fleetwood kick)
1981-11-21 Clemson 1 7 0 Johnnie Wright, 1-yd run (Mark Fleetwood kick)
Receptions
YearDateOpponentDownTo GoSideYdlinePlay
1977 1977-09-17 Miami (Ohio) 2 9 MOH 41 Johnnie Wright, 12-yd pass from Gregg Gresham (Farais)
1977 1977-10-15 Mississippi 1 10 50 Johnnie Wright, 6-yd pass from Ron Bass (Plasketes); end of game
1977 1977-11-12 Wake Forest 1 10 WFU 28 Johnnie Wright, 9-yd pass from Ron Bass (Mark Lancaster)
1978 1978-10-07 Georgia Tech 2 16 USC 45 Johnnie Wright loses 5 on pass from Garry Harper (Lawrence Lowe)
1978 1978-10-28 North Carolina 3 18 UNC 39 Johnnie Wright, 8-yd pass from Skip Ramsey (Darrell Nicholson)
1978 1978-11-04 N.C. State 3 36 USC 4 Johnnie Wright, 7-yd pass from Skip Ramsey (Robert Abraham)
1978 1978-11-18 Wake Forest 3 11 USC 26 Garry Harper's pass complete to Johnnie Wright, gain of 11 (Osborne)
1978 1978-11-25 Clemson 2 9 CLM 48 Johnnie Wright, 14-yd pass from Garry Harper (Brown)
1981 1981-09-26 Georgia 2 10 USC 20 Johnnie Wright, 5-yd pass from Terry Bishop
Defensive Plays
YearDateOpponentDownTo GoSideYdlinePlay
1978 1978-09-30 Georgia 1 10 USC 47 Johnnie Wright rush for 4 (Petrisko)
1978 1978-10-07 Georgia Tech 1 10 USC 20 Garry Harper pass intercepted by Cox at SC 36, returned 13 yards (Johnnie Wright)
1978 1978-10-28 North Carolina 1 10 50 Johnnie Wright rush for 1 (Darrell Nicholson)