Apollo Wright

Apollo Wright begins his seventh year at UNM and he returns to coaching the running backs, which he did in his first three seasons at UNM from 2013-15.  He spent the previous three seasons as quarterbacks coach and he also has served as UNM’s special teams coordinator.

UNM used three starting quarterbacks in the 2017 season, and the three combined for 1,489 yards passing and eight touchdowns along with 685 yards rushing and four touchdowns.  One of his charges, Lamar Jordan, signed a free agent contract after the season with the Atlanta Falcons.

UNM’s special teams continued to excel under Wright, with Corey Bojorquez earning first team All-MW honors as a punter and signing a free agent contract with New England, and kicker Jason Sanders getting drafted by Miami in the seventh round.  Elijah Lilly returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Texas A&M, and had two others during the season called back as well.  That touchdown ran UNM’s streak of consecutive seasons with a kickoff return touchdown to eight straight, and it was the 10th under head coach Bob Davie, tying for the third-most in the nation in that time frame.

UNM’s special teams were special again in 2016 as Lilly, who at the time a true freshman, averaged 27.4 yards per return, including a touchdown. Additionally, UNM’s kickoff coverage unit was phenomenal, with an NCAA top touchback percentage of 82.1%.  UNM hit 69 of 84 kickoffs for touchbacks, and only 14 kickoffs were actually returned.

Under Wright, UNM’s quarterbacks were terrific, especially late in the season.  UNM starting quarterback Lamar Jordan had a 145.3 rating, throwing for six touchdowns and 681 yards, rushing for another 739 yards and three touchdowns.  Overall UNM’s quarterbacks completed 53.6% of their passes for 1,389 yards and 11 touchdowns, and they rushed for 987 yards and six touchdowns.

In 2015, UNM’s special teams were truly special, with Carlos Wiggins returning a kickoff for a touchdown against Hawai’i, and a pair of successful faked punts.  The Lobos were also seventh nationally in kickoff touchback percentage and punter Zack Rogers finished his career fifth on the career average list at UNM.

UNM’s stable of rushers under Wright had a solid season as the Lobos at the time tied a school record with 42 rushing touchdowns.  UNM ranked either second or third nationally in rushes of 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 yards, and Jhurell Pressley finished his career seventh in career rushing at UNM, second in career rushing touchdowns, and signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2014, UNM’s running back corps combined for 2,590 yards and 27 touchdown runs. The Lobos had a 1,000 yard rusher in Jhurell Pressley, who hit the 1,083-yard mark despite just 114 carries. His 9.5 yards per carry led the nation and was the best mark in school history. Lobo running backs averaged 6.7 yards per carry, better than the overall team average of 6.4 yards per carry.

Pressley was an honorable mention All-Mountain West selection after his 2014 season after rushing for more 60-yard runs individually than all but four other schools in the FBS.

UNM’s running backs combined for 2,387 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2013. Second-team All-Mountain West selection Kasey Carrier ranked 16th in the nation in rushing yards per game with an average of 112.2. Carrier’s 1,122 yards represented the ninth best single-season rushing total in UNM history.

Wright arrived at UNM in February of 2013. He spent six seasons at Florida International University, the last three as the Panthers’ running backs coach. In 2012, Wright worked with a trio of backs who combined to rush for 1,452 yards and 15 touchdowns despite each missing games due to injury.

One of the players was Kendrick Rhodes, who set a school record with 1,149 rushing yards on 234 carries in 2011 and was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection. Twice during the 2011 year, Rhodes carried the ball 30 times, tying for third all-time in a single-game.

Rhodes has seven 100-yard rushing games during his career, which is an FIU record. He had five 100-yard games in 2011.

FIU running back Darriet Perry finished his career in 2011, and under the tutelage of Wright, the veteran established several FIU rushing records. During the 2010 season, Perry scored a school-record 16 rushing touchdowns while the team finished with 26 total scores on the ground. Perry would ultimately finish his collegiate career a year later with 27 rushing touchdowns.

Wright previously served as Florida International’s special teams coordinator (2007-11) and helped turn kicker Jack Griffin into one of the nation’s finest and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2011. Griffin set school records for extra points and field goals for the Panthers.

Wright’s punt return unit, which included future Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, finished No. 1 in the country with an average of 15.93 yards per punt return in 2011.

In 2009, the punt return unit ranked 18th overall and first among the Sun Belt Conference teams. The Panthers also ranked second in the SBC in kickoff returns and third in net punting. Hilton, who was an ’09 Freshman All-America, led the Sun Belt and finished ninth nationally with an average of 14.78 yards per punt return and was also among the national leaders in kickoff-return average.
Wright also coached current Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Anthony Gaitor from 2007-09 at FIU. Gaitor led the Sun Belt Conference with five interceptions in 2008, returning two for TDs.

Prior to arriving at FIU in 2007, Wright served as a member of the Villanova staff for six seasons as running backs coach and spent three years as the Wildcats’ special teams coordinator. He played a major role in the performance and development of former NFL All-Pro Brian Westbrook, who rushed for 1,603 yards and 22 touchdowns en route to earning the Walter Payton Award as the Division I-AA National Player of the Year, the Atlantic 10 Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2001.

Wright also mentored Wildcats running back Terry Butler, who accumulated 2,080 yards on 464 carries (4.5 avg.) and 17 touchdowns in his four-year collegiate career before spending a brief career with the New York Jets.

Wright’s responsibilities at Villanova also included the breakdown of opponent film and serving as the program’s pro liaison.

Prior to Villanova, Wright was the secondary coach at LaSalle University from 1999-2000. Besides his duties as secondary coach, Wright was also in charge of the kick and punt return units.

In 1999, he was a graduate assistant at Wagner College, drilling the defensive backs and wide receivers. Wright began his coaching career with his first stint at LaSalle as the assistant defensive backs coach in 1998.

Wright played football for four years at Cheyney (Pa.) University, including two seasons as the starting quarterback. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure services in 1998. Wright earned his master’s degree in education from Wagner (N.Y.) College in 2001.

He and his wife Melanie have three sons; twins Jayden and Michael, and Mason.