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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 27, Digital 4

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 4 38 In the second-to-last game of his freshman season, Wright dislocated his right shoulder. After the sea- son, he was diagnosed with a torn labrum and told if he had surgery, it'd mean he'd miss all of his soph- omore year. He didn't want to, so he played without getting the shoulder re- paired. That meant it frequently popped out of place and had to be popped back in. That meant frequent pain. That meant times when Wright wouldn't stretch vertically for balls for fear the shoulder would dislocate again. And he still had 50 catches for 805 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games as a sophomore. Those yards ranked 11th in the NJCAA, while the catches and TDs were 14th-most in the country. And he didn't stop returning kicks, either, even with the in- creased role on offense and the inju- ry. He racked up nearly 600 more yards there, finishing with 1,355 all-purpose yards, which ranked sixth in the NJ- CAA. He had explosive games — like a 13-catch, 208-yard effort against North- eastern Oklahoma A&M and a three-catch, three-touchdown, 139-yard game against Fort Scott. "Terry Wright is extremely dynamic," Brohm said. "He's a playmaker. He's got great feet. He's got good hands. He wants the ball. He has that mentality." Wright expects to build off that sophomore season at Purdue. Though he's played some on the outside, he'll line up in the slot for the Boilermakers — that's where top returner Phillips plays — and he thinks that's where he's best-suited. Wright isn't the biggest guy — he said he's "5-foot-11-and three-quarters" and weighs nearly 180 pounds — but says his speed is what can separate him. Though he hadn't run a 40 in a couple years, he said the last one he clocked was a 4.36. "This guy is just a complete stud," Shephard said during a John Purdue Club recruiting event on Feb. 1. "All we have to do is get the ball in his hands, and he just makes things happen. That's what he does. … Speed, ac- celeration, change of direction, that's what he is capable of doing every single day." That'll be the expectation for both Wright and Zico. And not just from the coaches. When the pair met each other on a recruiting visit, they bonded over their JUCO paths and left feeling like they'd formed a "special connection," Wright said. And one they think will benefit the Boilermakers. "Dynamic duo, it's going to happen," Zico said. "That's my guy right there." j Coffeyville JC Despite playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder, explosive slot receiver Terry Wright had 800 yards and eight touchdowns at Coffeyville in 2016. Once he's recov- ered from offseason surgery, he expects bigger things once he gets to West Lafayette.

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