ORONO, Maine — Micah Wright demonstrated enough potential last season to get on the field as a first-year player.
His contributions were short-lived, as he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on a punt return in the University of Maine’s game Sept. 25 at Towson University.
Three games into the 2015 season, Wright is emerging as a big-play receiver for the Black Bears.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from Newark, New York, grabbed seven passes for 139 yards and a touchdown — all in the first half — to help UMaine register a 27-17 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Rhode Island at Alfond Stadium.
“He’s gotten off to a great start,” said UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove. “He’s very confident when he gets his hands on the ball.”
Wright made two acrobatic catches against URI, highlighted by a 51-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. On the play, backup quarterback Drew Belcher threw deep down the right side.
The ball was underthrown and hung in the air, but Wright went up over URI safety Tim Wienclaw to make the grab, then was able to maintain his balance and jog the last eight or nine yards into the end zone.
“Honestly, I was just running the routes the right way, stuff that we worked on this week,” Wright said, “[I was] just trying to go up and make plays.”
Wright made another highlight-reel reception with a fully extended dive on a 35-yard throw from Dan Collins.
“We felt like there were some zones that we could take advantage of,” Cosgrove said. “Micah caught a number of his balls on what we call a spot route; just find a little [open] spot in the zone.”
Even after facing Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in the first two contests, Wright leads the CAA with 6.7 receptions and 91.3 receiving yards per game — half of UMaine’s average passing yardage.
Wright dedicated himself and worked his way back into the lineup.
“It was a long road, but just training my shoulder to get back to football strength and stuff like that,” he explained. “Obviously weight room, speed, working on my all-around game the whole offseason and the season last year.”
Wright applied for and received a medical redshirt from the NCAA, which means he has four years of eligibility remaining, counting this season.
“He was a kid on the rise as a first-year player and at that position that’s difficult,” Cosgrove said.
“He’s a very competitive kid in practice, one-on-one situations and such.”
Saturday might also have been a breakout game for UMaine wide receiver Jared Osumah, but penalties wiped out two scoring plays.
The sophomore had a leaping, 19-yard scoring catch negated by a hold in the first half, then had a 6-yard TD reception wiped out by an illegal shift in the fourth.
“He made two great catches and we’re doing something dumb,” said Cosgrove, who was irritated by UMaine’s penalty woes (14 for 118 yards).