Pat Fitzgerald Creates New MSU Award After Viral Moment
· Yahoo Sports
Pat Fitzgerald found a new way to recognize toughness at Michigan State. He also found one nobody is likely to forget.
Fitzgerald introduced a weekly Spartan Warrior honor Monday, with offensive tackle Robert Wright Jr. becoming the first recipient after his unusual viral moment during Michigan State’s 30-20 win over Toledo.
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Wright vomited as the ball was snapped on MSU’s fourth-quarter two-point conversion, then stayed with his assignment and continued blocking. Rodney Bullard Jr. caught the conversion, extending the Spartans’ lead to seven.
The moment spread quickly online. Fitzgerald was more interested in what happened after Wright became sick.
“Absolutely phenomenal job by Robert staying in the fight,” Fitzgerald said Monday. “That was absolutely disgusting.”
According to Spartan Shadows, Fitzgerald created the Spartan Warrior award as a weekly honor and credited Wright for what the coach described as his “puke and rally.”
Apparently, this was not even Wright’s first experience with the situation.
“I asked him today on the field,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m like, ‘Have you ever gone viral before?’ ‘He’s like, coach, I did that at Georgia Southern, and nobody noticed.’ I go, ‘Welcome to the Big Ten, welcome to Michigan State.’ People are gonna notice.”
Wright spent the previous three seasons at Georgia Southern, playing 15 games at right tackle with 11 starts before enrolling at Michigan State in January.
There is plenty of comedy attached to the first Spartan Warrior award, but the reasoning behind it fits what Fitzgerald has been trying to build. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan said during preseason camp that the staff wanted “the courage, the toughness, the willingness to go do it” from the offense.
Wright provided a fairly literal demonstration.
It also adds another piece to the personality Fitzgerald has brought to East Lansing. After his first victory, Fitzgerald delivered several memorable postgame lines while emphasizing aggressiveness and toughness.
One week into the season, Michigan State now has a Spartan Warrior award.
Wright set a difficult, and preferably non-repeatable, standard for winning it.