Born in prison, 350-pound tackle Sears Wright has overcome all odds.

Sears TOWER And his name is Mr. Wright. Sears Wright, actually. You may remember him as the man you can't forget. He's the one who sticks out of even such a skewed group as a football team for sheer size. To put it mildly, at 6-foot-6 and nearly 350 pounds, Penn's starting left tackle is difficult to miss. But there's more to Wright's story than being big and strong. In recent years, it has become commonplace to associate jail and major college athletics. His story includes both, but unlike the usual scenario -- athlete ruins promising career with illegal activities -- Wright's history is one of accomplishment. When people are released from prison, they are told that they have their whole lives ahead of them. For no one was this as true as for Sears Wright, who left a Connecticut jail at the tender age of three days. At the time of his birth, both of Wright's parents were incarcerated, meaning that the task of caring of him fell to his grandparents, Rev. Sears Wright and his wife, Ruth. They took him home to Bridgeport, Conn., but Wright grew up in Atlantic City, where his grandfather, a minister with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was moved a few years after Wright was born. It's a city that glitters on the surface, but has a rougher edge. "It's like a ghetto," Wright said. "They're doing a lot of stuff now to make it nicer, but past where they expect the tourists to go, it really isn't too nice." Wright was big from the start, which ironically hindered his football playing as a kid. There was a midget football program in Atlantic City, but it had strict age and weight requirements. Nine-year old Sears Wright tried to sign up, but was over the limit. He could have tried skipping dinner and coming back the next day, but those excess 50 pounds weren't going anywhere fast. Wright's chance to play football would arrive at Atlantic City High School. He was installed at right guard, a key position for the team, which ran primarily between the tackles. Weighing in at 320 pounds, size and strength were his meal ticket. "I had no technique, no technique at all -- none," Wright said. Despite his rawness, Wright suffered no dearth of attention as a senior. The huge all-South Jersey guard, who also starred in track and field, was prized by many college programs, including scholarship schools like Duke, Richmond and Massachusetts. But Penn had several appealing characteristics for Wright, who finished in the top 10 of his graduating class. He had heard about the Wharton School from his high school coaches, one of whom is the father of Quakers strength and conditioning coach Rob Wagner. Equally important for Wright was the proximity of Philadelphia to Atlantic City and his grandparents. "After I came to Penn on my recruiting trip, I really liked it here," Wright said. "I wanted to get a good education, and this is real close to home. I've got to be able get back and forth home." College football was a whole new ballgame for Wright. It started in the worst possible way, an injury on the very first practice of his freshman season. Wright suffered a pulled quad muscle while running the 40-yard dash. "I missed the whole camp, and, if you're not there for camp, you're basically lost -- especially as a freshman," Wright said. During his sophomore year, Wright took on a much greater role on the team, even starting two games in Penn's second-straight undefeated season, before assuming a starting job last year. Moved to left tackle, his fundamentals have progressed considerably under the tutelage of Penn offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Chuck Priore. "Sometimes bigger kids have problems with their balance," Priore said. "Being overweight, he was very top-heavy, so he had to learn control, learn to bend his knees." This year, Wright has become a stalwart on the left side of the line. It is typical to see the Quakers run behind Wright's block in key short-yardage situations, most recently the game-tying two-point conversion Saturday at Brown. Wright's recent success is largely attributable to his summer training regimen, which resulted in a massive weight loss. He now says he is in the best shape of his football career. "Sears has done a nice job in the off-season," Penn head coach Al Bagnoli said. "He's increased his conditioning level so that he doesn't tire out at the end of eight or 10 plays." Wright and another lineman, Dale Hetherington, stayed at Penn this summer and worked with the coaching staff. The end result was an offensive tackle who is leaner and quicker, but still huge. From a peak of about 390 pounds, Wright got down to a low of 340. "He's always been able to move -- it's kind of amazing," Penn right guard Matt Julien said. "Right now, he's as quick as anybody out there." Wright also exhibits what Julien calls good "football sense," the ability to read his opponent and take away his strength. Football sense can only come from one place, a deep love of the game. Ask him if he'd like to extend his playing days after this year and the soft-spoken Wright is noticeably excited. "I would love to stay in football," said Wright, who would also consider playing in minor leagues like the World League of American Football. "If I get the opportunity, I would give it my all. As long as I get to continue playing football, I wouldn't mind it." The Penn coaches recognize that it would be a long-shot, but Wright wouldn't be the first long-shot lineman to blossom in the pros. "He's got the body type," Priore said. "I think it would take a major commitment, but the one thing the NFL's looking for is size, and he's got that. Realistically, it's not a dream he should put to sleep." If playing after college proves impossible, Wright's post-Penn plans may include coaching, preferably at the high school level. But that thinking can wait. There are still four more wars to be waged in the trenches and one-and-a-half more semesters before the this chapter of Sears Wright ends. Perhaps Bagnoli said it best: "He really is one of those success stories you hear about."