UND football fall camp Day 9: Jack Wright's value on display
Aug. 12—GRAND FORKS — UND senior wide receiver Bo Belquist is the runaway favorite to lead the Fighting Hawks in receiving yards in 2023.
Who might be second? There's a heap of candidates worthy of making a case.
On Saturday, in UND football's 10th practice of fall camp, junior Jack Wright showcased some of his value as he looks poised for an expanded role this season.
Quarterbacks Tommy Schuster, Trey Feeney and Jerry Kaminski all connected on long gains to Wright in the passing game during skelly drills at the Pollard Center.
"I think (Wright) is a do-it-all guy for us," UND wide receivers coach Sam King said. "He can play all the spots. He's improved his blocking, and that's big for him. That was the last thing he really had to get better at because he's got to block for guys on screens. He had a good offseason in the weight room, as well.
"He's really reliable. You might not draw up a bunch of plays for him but he goes out and makes plays. That's a good quality to have."
Wright will always be tied to the remarkable distinction as the national all-time leader in touchdown catches out of Regent Prep High School in Oklahoma. Wright scored 112 career touchdowns in his 8-man high school football days.
Wright's role has slowly expanded after redshirting in 2020. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, Wright caught 18 passes for 182 yards.
As a sophomore in 2022, Wright caught 18 passes for 216 yards with 12.0 yards per catch. He had a 23-yard touchdown catch with 53 seconds left at Northern Arizona to seal a 27-24 come-from-behind win.
With UND losing Garett Maag to graduation and Marcus Preston to the transfer portal, UND will have an opportunity for new wide receivers to emerge behind Belquist.
Wright is joined in that next mix with Nate DeMontagnac, Red Wilson, Wesley Eliodor, Elijah Klein, Caden Dennis and Nick Kupfer.
"It's a good competition," King said. "We're about halfway through the camp portion (of practice). I think the quality is improving, and it's made them all better."
Details: UND practiced in helmets and shorts from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. indoors at the Pollard Center.
Play of the day: Tommy Schuster went deep to a diving Jack Wright, who caught the touchdown pass behind a safety and cornerback in tight coverage.
Keep an eye on: Redshirt freshman safety Jett Sutton broke up a lob pass from Jerry Kaminski to 6-foot-6 Elijah Klein, who made the initial catch before Sutton batted the pass away from the typically sure-handed Klein.
* The Kansas City Chiefs were represented with a scout in attendance.
* Former UND men's basketball coach Rich Glas took in portions of Saturday's practice.
* UND worked through desperation offensive plays, at half speed, late in team work.
* Simon Romfo connected with Red Wilson on a deep touchdown pass during skelly drills.
* True freshman Payton Bodine of Velva batted down a Feeney out route from his linebacker spot.
* Rookie wide receiver Michael Gross caught a long ball from Kaminski.
* Cornerback Clayton Bishop had a pass breakup on a Kaminski pass intended for DeMontagnac.
* UND is at the point in fall camp where the team is starting to collect some minor injuries, likely making some tough decisions on playing time and reps for Tuesday's scheduled scrimmage.
