DAVIE, Fla. (July 31, 2005) -- Miami Dolphins rookie defensive tackle Manuel Wright returned to practice July 30, four days after he was publicly scolded by coach Nick Saban and left the field in tears.
Saban ripped into the 6-foot-6, 329-pound Wright as players were warming up July 26. Wright left the field wiping his eyes, and the episode made national headlines.
Wright missed subsequent practices while recovering from a sore back.
"It was a tough week, but that's part of being a professional," Wright said. "You have to learn how to overcome things. Things like that are fuel in the gas tank for me."
Wright, who played on Southern Cal's national championship team last year, was taken in the fifth round of last month's NFL supplemental draft.
"I'm happy to see that he feels better about his situation and that he feels that he can contribute here," Saban said.
Meanwhile, offensive tackle Stockar McDougle also returned to practice after the shooting of his brother, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle.
The Dolphins excused McDougle for Friday's practice so that he could be with his brother, who was shot by armed robbers July 28 in southwest Miami-Dade county, police said.
