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Daniel Wright’s freshman season left quite the first impression with his Alabama teammates.

Whether it was the several big hits he landed on kickoff coverage or his singing ahead of 6 a.m. workouts, the true freshman safety did his part to catch people’s attention this past season.

“It’s been a pretty good season for me, especially on special teams,” Wright told BamaOnLine at Alabama’s media day prior to the national title game in Atlanta. “I played a big role there, doing my best. I just tried to help the team and did as much as I can.”

Wright played in all 14 games of the Crimson Tide’s march to another national championship.

During his first season in crimson, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native collected 10 tackles, all of which came on kickoff coverage -- and tied the team lead in that category. He was selected as one the Alabama coaching staff’s special teams players of the week for his efforts at Vanderbilt and Texas A&M and versus Arkansas.

Like many freshmen before him, Wright embraced his role on special teams, and because of that, he was able to see the field and consistently contribute one year removed from high school.

“I can definitely say that’s one of the main things you can key on for a freshman coming in to Alabama,” Wright said. “You want to play a big part on special teams because that gets you on the field faster than you’re supposed to. It just makes you that player, it makes you a name. So, for myself, I kind of made a name for myself out on specials teams. I’m pretty good at that.”

The Boyd Anderson (Fla.) product also received valuable experience in the secondary.

When All-American safety Minkah Fitzpatrick exited the LSU game with an injury, it was Wright that replaced him at Money in Alabama’s dime package. He also played there as a reserve in late-game situations during the season, which benefited his development.

Alabama DB Daniel Wright

So, that’s a position Wright would feel comfortable playing in 2018, although as a starter.

“I kind of like that Money role because it’s a lot of blitzing, a lot of just man-on-man coverage,” he said. “It’s pretty good when you’ve got Minkah in front of you telling you all the things you need to do. Just helping me out whenever I needed guidance for certain stuff I don’t understand. He was there for me, also, having to learn the safety role, too.”



Wright didn’t waste his time around Fitzpatrick, who many project will be top-10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He attempted to soak up as much of the veteran’s knowledge as he could in 2017.



“Oh man, Minkah’s one heck of a player. He’s going to do great when he goes to next level,” Wright said. “But I can say Minkah’s like another teacher out there, not just a player. He’s a teacher and a coach, helping out from a coach’s point of view, just showing you certain types of fundamentals that you need to know on and off the field.”



Fitzpatrick and the rest of the Tide’s Game 1 dime defensive backfield will not be returning for the 2018 campaign, however. With four seniors and a pair of early entrees to the NFL draft, Alabama will have an inexperienced secondary manning the backend next fall.

But players like Wright, Deionte Thompson, Shyheim Carter and Xavier McKinney all saw time with the first-team defense over the course of the 2017 season, which will be a bonus as Nick Saban tries to reconstruct the Tide’s defense for another title run.

And Fitzpatrick praised Wright and McKinney for their progress as true freshmen.

“They’re both really smart, really intelligent,” Fitzpatrick said at the national title parade. “They came in and learned the playbook pretty fast. Now it’s going to be a matter of just solidifying and mastering the program and the defense and that’s really it. Both of them do a real good job, they challenge each other and push each other and they’ll continue to do the same things.”

One of the ways Wright challenges McKinney and the rest of his teammates is by testing their patience. Although it’s typically entertaining -- like the time he sang “Happy Birthday” to Saban on his birthday -- Wright likes to hit the high notes in the early morning.

“Everybody knows I love to sing,” said Wright after singing for a television crew in Atlanta. “I come into the locker room for a 6 a.m. practice singing. So, everybody’s kind of used to it now.”

Alabama is in the middle of its infamous Fourth Quarter program right now and will begin spring practice next month. Between now and the Tide’s Sept. 1 season opener against Louisville, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound safety wants to improve specific areas of his game.

“I definitely want to work on my fundamentals,” Wright said.

“I have a skill technique, so I just want to work on more fundamentals of being in the right place at the right time. I can key on that, and knowing my leverage.”

By doing that, Wright hopes to build on the attention-grabbing freshman year he put together and compete for a spot in Alabama’s new-look secondary for the upcoming 2018 season.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).