Former Arizona star Scooby Wright III to play for USFL title

When the NFL didn’t pan out for Scooby Wright III he turned to an alternate league. And another. And another.

Turns out fourth time has been the charm for Wright, who as a member of the Birmingham Stallions will play for the USFL title next week. His team beat the New Orleans Breakers 31-17 on Saturday night in Canton, Ohio, setting up a July 3 championship battle against the Philadelphia Stars.

The 28-year-old linebacker had five tackles (one solo) in the win over New Orleans. For the season he’s registered 57 tackles in eight games, including three sacks. His play early in the season drew national attention, particularly for his patented sack dance in which he emulated his “Sharkdawg” spirit animal.

The USFL was the fourth different professional league Wright has played for since his 3-year career at Arizona from 2013-15. He was Pac-12 Defensive Player as a sophomore in 2014, winning four national defensive awards, and in 2015 was drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns.

Wright never played in an NFL game for Cleveland, but in 2016-17 he appeared in 13 games with the Arizona Cardinals. After being waived by Arizona in 2018 he signed with the Arizona Hotshots of the American Alliance of Football, logging nine tackles in eight games in 2019 before that league shut down.

He signed with the New England Patriots in 2019 but couldn’t make the active roster, and later that year was drafted by the DC Defenders of the XFL. That league folded in April 2020, but not before Wright had 17 tackles in four games.

Birmingham drafted Wright in February, and in Week 4 he was the USFL’s Defensive Player of the Week.