Scooby Wright Wins Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Latest Details and Reaction

The pain of losing the Pac-12 Championship Game likely still stings for Arizona, but Wildcats linebacker Scooby Wright III can at least revel in his personal success.

The sophomore star won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Monday, which is handed out to the best defensive player in college football. Wright tweeted out a selfie of him with the award:

The Arizona football Twitter page also saluted Wright's accomplishment:

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller felt Wright more than earned the honor:

Rob Moseley of GoDucks.com thought that it also helped the stature of the Pac-12 as a whole:

Wright has certainly traveled quite a road to get to this point. He was far from a highly regarded prep star when he arrived in Tucson, Arizona. According to 247Sports' composite rankings, he ranked 94th at inside linebacker and No. 2,078 overall.

Almost nobody could've seen his meteoric rise coming. Wright admitted that lack of attention helped to motivate him when he hit college.

"Coming out of high school, I didn't really have too many colleges knocking on my door—actually nobody really wanted me except Arizona," he said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "So I always have that little chip on my shoulder. You always remember those people who didn't think you were good enough. It still motivates me to this day."

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Wright was a terror for opposing offenses in 2014. He amassed 153 total tackles, including 28 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. In Arizona's upset win over Oregon back on Oct. 2, his sack on Marcus Mariota and subsequent fumble recovery helped seal the victory in the fourth quarter.

Wright will unquestionably be one of the defensive stars to watch this bowl season. The Wildcats may have missed out on the playoff, but they did qualify for one of the six selection committee bowl games. They'll meet the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31.