Lincoln Riley reveals Ceyair Wright is not currently with USC

USC defensive back Ceyair Wright is not currently with the team, head coach Lincoln Riley said on Tuesday. Wright, in his third year in college, has played sparing for USC.

His last appearance came against Notre Dame in mid-October. All told, Wright has appeared in seven games, but has been absent of late, prompting reporters to ask Riley if he has an update on Wright.

“I don’t. I don’t. He’s not with us right now. That’s all I can say about it,” Riley said.

Wright has three pass breakups, a tackle for loss and 11 total tackles in 2023.

His bigger claim to fame than football, though, is acting. Wright played a starring role in Space Jam: A New Legacy as Darius James. He’s also appeared on the ABC comedy Grown-ish.

Whether or not he returns to the USC team, one that has gone through a tumultuous season, remains unclear.

Riley discussed Wright balancing football, acting prior to the season

Riley was asked about how the redshirt freshman balances his football and acting careers. Riley, who coached several players at Oklahoma who were simultaneously on the Sooners baseball team — including Heisman winner and Oakland A’s draft pick Kyler Murray — was not fazed by the dual demands on the young defensive back. It is, however, new to the head coach in one regard.

“I mean, the fact that it’s acting,” Riley said, “yes. But, we’ve also had guys that have had other interests or other things going on in their lives. Like I compare it to having a guy play baseball and football like we did with Kyler and some of the other guys — to me, that’s even more of a challenge. At least what he’s doing is not physically demanding so it’s just find a little time in the schedule and I will give the kid credit, he’s clearly done a good job. Because he’s a much better player right now than he was in the spring. So he made some nice improvements throughout the summer.”

Wright, a Los Angeles native, is not likely to start for the Trojans, but is in the mix among a group of relatively young and talented corners at USC. And while there is of course plenty of time for his football career to play out, acting seems like it could work out OK.

“And I hear he’s a pretty good actor, too,” Riley said.