Six Auburn Football Players Aim to Advance Their NFL Draft Stock in the Senior Bowl

Dec 7, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Gabe Wright (90) reacts during the first quarter of the 2013 SEC Championship game against the Missouri Tigers at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Gabe Wright

Position: Defensive Tackle
Height: 6-foot-2 7/8
Weight: 299 pounds

Like Dismukes, Gabe Wright provided valuable leadership for the Auburn football program as a captain in 2014. He also proved to be very unselfish by shifting from his familiar defensive tackle spot to defensive end following a knee injury to Carl Lawson in spring practice.

Wright lost about 25 pounds after the end of the 2013 to the beginning of the 2014 season to get to his listed weight of 284 so that he could better handle the responsibilities of a defensive end, though he shifted back and forth from defensive tackle throughout the campaign.

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Already somewhat undersized for an interior lineman, Wright compensated with better than average quickness and active hands. Still, Wright had a better year in 2013 than he did in 2014. It may have had something to do with playing a new position early in the year and then splitting time between two roles as the season progressed.

“I’m absolutely hungry. I know there are some question marks raised, and that’s what this week is for: To erase all of them,” Wright said this week. “I think it’s going to be a good week.”

Having gained most of the weight back he lost, Wright will have an opportunity to show his stuff this week in Mobile, and he has a bright future.

“Guys like Mike Bennett from Ohio State and Carl Davis from Iowa, Gabe Wright from Auburn, Grady Jarrett from Clemson,” ESPN analyst Todd McShay said recently, “there’s a lot of Day 2, early Day 3 interior defensive linemen in this class.”

Next: Recruiting: What We Learned From Big Boom Weekend

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