Cowboys Rookie CB Nahshon Wright: Win More Than 'Underwear Olympics'?

'I’m looking forward to (training camp),' Wright said, 'just being able to go out and showcase my talents, just because I know football’s not a game of T-shirts and shorts.'

Mike Fisher | Jun 14, 2021

FRISCO - True story (and you can ask Michael Irvin to verify): At some point in an early-1990's offseason, the future Hall-of-Famer Irvin and yours truly were watching a Dallas Cowboys workout featuring impressive young athletes ... wearing nothing but T-shirts and gym shorts.

Meaning it wasn't real football.

And before Irvin trotted out onto the field, somehow, in the midst of our conversation, the two of us coined the phrase "Underwear Olympics.''

I assume Irvin must've later used it with SI's Peter King, because about six months later, the phrase caught fire, probably in fitting conjunction with the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Anyway, as we were watching and listening to all things OTAs and mandatory minicamp here inside The Star in recent weeks, my attention perked up at a comment from Nahshon Wright, the recent Cowboys' NFL Draft selection in the third round that generated headlines because of his proclamation that he's "The Next Richard Sherman.''

In fact, the rangy kid from Oregon State would need to show up to workouts to establish that he was even in the same class with second-round Cowboys corner Kelvin Joseph out of Kentucky ... which he actually did, as Wright showed up frequently, especially as Joseph spent some time in COVID quarantine, slowing his bid to win the job opposite Trevon Diggs.

Anyway, watching and listening ...

“I’m looking forward to (training camp),'' Wright said, "just being able to go out and showcase my talents, just because I know football’s not a game of T-shirts and shorts.''

Oh, man. "Not a game of T-shirts and shorts.''

That's "Underwear Olympics'' talk! And suddenly, Nahshon Wright is my guy.

Vet Anthony Brown might actually win the other corner job, but the Cowboys' desire for length at corner is working so far as it regards the 6-4 Wright. (We should mention second-year kid Reggie Robinson as another unusually tall corner who had a good OTAs and minicamp.)

“He’s made some plays,” head coach Mike McCarthy said of Wright. “There are some technique things, which we all are going through right now at pretty much every position. But yeah, I really like the way that he’s jumped in here.

“He’s been aggressive, competitive. Definitely what you’re looking for in your young guys.”

Next at The Star comes "rookie school,'' a time to keep learning. But by the time we get to around July 20 in Oxnard? Wright looks forward, he said, to “Being able to go out there and translate what I’ve been doing here.”

Yeah, because that's when the "Underwear Olympics'' becomes real football.