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Meet Your Newest Titan - Kendall Wright

 James Lang-US PRESSWIRE
James Lang-US PRESSWIRE

Born on November 12, 1989 in Mount Pleasant, Texas, Kendall grew up just south of Mount Pleasant in Pittsburg, Texas.

High School

Kendall attended Pittsburg High School, where he was a Texas All-State performer in three sports: football, basketball and track. He played quarterback and cornerback for the 3A Pirates, and led the team to their first playoff victory in 20 years as a senior. Kendall had a quadruple-double on the court as a senior, and was chosen as the Tyler Morning Telegram's East Texas Basketball Player of the Year in 2007. Kendall also brought home the state championship in the long jump and triple jump as a junior, then repeated as triple jump champion as a senior setting a meet record in the process. Kendall was also an honor roll student at Pittsburg High, and served as a youth basketball coach in the community.

Pittsburg High Trophy Case

*2007 Tyler Morning Telegram first team All-East Texas
*2007 Longview News Journal first team All-East Texas
*2007 2nd Team Class 3A Texas Sports Writers Association All State
*2007 honorable mention Associated Press All State
*Rated as a 3-star recruit and the nation's 64th best athlete by Rivals
*Rated as a 3-star recruit and the nation's 67th best athlete by Scout
*Ranked #47 on SuperPrep's Texas 110
*Ranked 81st on the Dallas Morning News State Top 100
*Listed in the Waco Tribune-Herald, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Houston Chronicle's Texas Top 100s
*Rated in the state's top 20 receivers in the Texas Football Magazine's Texas Top 300

Baylor

Kendall burst on the scene in 2008 for the Bears, making an instant impact on the field at the receiver position. Wright led the Bears in receiving all 4 years he was on the team. Kendall is Baylor's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Those are just some of the sixteen (16!) school records he set or tied during his 4 years on the field. Kendall caught at least one pass in all 50 games he played as a Bear, started 41 of those games, scored touchdowns during his career not only receiving, but also running and even passed for a touchdown. Wright even set a school record by turning in 19 100 yard receiving games, including 9 in 2011. He also walked onto the Baylor basketball team as a freshman! He ranked third nationally and led the Big 12 with 1,663 yards as a senior, and seventh nationally and second in the Big 12 with 8.3 receptions per game.

Baylor Trophy Case

*2011 First Team All-American: Pro Football Weekly, Athlon, Phil Steele and CBSSports.com
*2011 Second Team All-American: SI.com, FoxSportsNet.com, Yahoo!/Rivals.com, and the Associated Press
*2011 Consensus First Team All Big 12
*Semifinalist for the 2011 Biletnikoff Award
*2012 Senior Bowl participant

2012 NFL Combine/Baylor Pro Day

Wright turned in a not-so-great 4.61 40 yard dash at the NFL combine, but he posted a 38.5 inch vertical jump. He was measured at 5'11" and tipped the scales at 196 pounds.

Kendall's pro day allowed him to turn in a much better 40 time. He posted a 4.42 at Baylor on March 21st.

What They're Saying

Josh Norris of Rotoworld:

No one separates better in this draft, adjusts extraordinarily well

Frank Wycheck:

Eerily reminds me of Derrick Mason. Will be a souped up version of Mason.

David Climer of the Tennessean:

In the NFL of 2012, you can never have enough receivers. The name of the game is outscoring the opponent, not shutting him down. So quibble about the identity of the Titans’ first-round pick if you want. But don’t criticize the position they prioritized. I for one applaud that the Titans have switched gears and gotten with the program.

Mike Munchak:

We were thinking about winning....and Kendall was the player who will have the most impact on games next season.

Ruston Webster:

We have a good group, but it is really more about Kendall, he has the speed and the big-play ability, the ability to catch a short ball and turn it into a long run. And he can create some things for us on offense. He will be fun to watch and is going to make our offense even better than it is.

Chris Palmer:

This guy is electric, the fact that he has the ability with run after catch … his hands are very, very good. He is a guy who will allow us to move him around and complement our other receivers and allow us a chance to be more explosive offensively. We think we can do an awful lot with this player.

And from this great story by Mark C. Moore of Our Daily Bears (who watched every game Wright played):

Baylor's offense relied on Wright's ability to find an open space in the defense, make the catch in the most important situations (most often on third downs), and stretch the field with his speed against the opponent's best defenders. There were times when Wright, not RG3, was the flashiest and most impressive player in an offense flush with stars.

Welcome to Nashville and our Tennessee Titans, Kendall!

GO TITANS!