One of the most notable things that needed to be re-worked this offseason by the New Orleans Saints was their special teams unit. While Charlie Smyth showed a little bit of promise last year, and Zach Wood is a long-time staple of the franchise, the punter spot and return positions were all somewhat in limbo. One of the first moves the team made in response to that was signing punter Ryan Wright to a four-year contract, solidifying a role that has been hit-or-miss for years.
On top of that, though, there is a previous connection between Wright and current Saints long snapper Zach Wood, which makes for a positive start to his tenure here immediately. Wright noted recently in an interview with Meagan Glover of WGNO-TV that he and Wood go back to his college days.
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“When I was here at Tulane, he would come out here with Thomas (Morstead) and Wil (Lutz), and get some work in, so we go way back,” Wright said. “I would warm him up a little bit, play some catch with him, back when I was a freshman here, and it’s just so cool that I get to be a teammate with him now.”
This means that the two could go back as far as 2018, Wright’s first season at Tulane, which means they could have known each other for nearly a decade at this point. With how much turnover has been experienced on special teams since Wil Lutz and Thomas Morstead were let go, it is good to see two players having some work together in the past, as the rest of the roles continue to be filled in.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints’ new punter Ryan Wright shares history with snapper Zach Wood