The Lights Have Come On For Ceyair Wright

USC finished off its 2021 recruiting class with three huge commitments on the defensive side of the ball. Five-star Plus+ defensive end Korey Foreman, four-star cornerback Ceyair Wright and four-star linebacker Raesjon Davis all made public commitments to the Trojans after the early signing period. All three were seen as absolute must-gets for USC in that class, as local stars who would contribute quickly at all three levels.

But finding instant success at this level as a true freshman is never an easy task. All three likely envisioned themselves making more of an impact last season.

Wright saw time in just two early-season games in 2021. He came in as a reserve against San Jose State in the season opener and played against Washington State in the season’s third game. He recorded one tackle in each game, but didn’t see another snap.

There seemed to be a crossroads moment for Wright this spring. Davis received praise for his offseason maturation and Foreman talked about starting anew under this Trojans’ coaching staff. Wright, meanwhile, was on the receiving end of blunt criticism from position coach Donte Williams,

“Ceyair’s biggest problem is Ceyair,” Williams said following a spring practice. “He has a lot of things going on. For all I know, he may be in Space Jam 3.”

Wright is a budding actor as well as a cornerback for the Trojans. He had a role in Space Jam 2 before enrolling at USC. This summer, he landed a role in the ABC sitcom, Grown-ish. And the lights came on for Wright, both on set and as a football player.

The show provides an apt title as well, considering Wright did a fair bit of growing himself over the summer.

“I definitely feel like I’ve grown up a lot,” Wright said after USC’s Wednesday fall camp practice. “The transition from my first year to this year, I take a lot more time in the facility, watch film or do recovery. Just slowly and steadily becoming more of a pro.”

Wright said incoming transfer Mekhi Blackmon played a big role in his new routine. Former Alabama linebacker Shane Lee gets a lot of credit for helping this offseason transition for the USC program. But Blackmon’s veteran presence in the secondary has been very important to that group.

“Mekhi coming in here, it was really great to see him,” Wright said. “He has a good routine that he goes through, so being able to fall in line with what he’s doing…it’s helped me a lot in transitioning and doing things exactly how they’re supposed to be done.”

Wright is Pushing for a Starting Spot

USC needs to replace all five starters in the secondary. The Trojans began working in younger players throughout last season, so there is some experience still here. But none of that group of five veteran leaders who began the season in the USC secondary returns for this season.

Wright said the message from defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is that the five best defensive backs are going to be on the field.

“We’re all teammates, but at the end of the day, we’re all competing to be able to play,” Wright said of those five open spots.

Heading into fall camp, Blackmon appeared to be a lock to start at one of the cornerback positions. The other spot looked to be as wide open as any position on either side of the ball.

But it was Wright who went out with the first team on Day 1. With injuries hitting the position this spring, Wright got plenty of reps with that group and held onto the spot to start fall camp. Blackmon didn’t seem surprised by that during USC’s media day ahead of the start of camp. He wasted no time in singling out Wright as someone in his position group who really improved this offseason.

“Most definitely Ceyair Wright,” Blackmon said, adding Wright’s heightened maturity level is noticeable. “He’s really brought it from spring to now, PRPs and everything like that. He’s really done a good job.”

Wright also credited Donte Williams’ guidance this offseason and also hearing plenty from his dad, Claudius Wright, a former NFL cornerback. And the extra 10-15 pounds of weight he put on is both evident and necessary if he’s going to throw himself around as part of this attacking USC defense.

Grinch uses the word “strain” a lot to talk about the necessary philosophy for his defense. Wright sees that from this group and said it could be a calling card.

“Coach Grinch talks about strain,” Wright said. “We have it on t-shirts. Just straining to the ball. We do a ton of pursuit drills and everybody running to the ball. I feel like our hustle is big for us.”

Wright said different cornerbacks are shuffling through spending time with different groups. But finding someone to take hold of that spot opposite Blackmon is a significant item on the to-do list for USC this fall. Wright looks to be in a good spot to do that, though it’s still very early in camp.

Finding a Balance Between Football and Acting

Choosing USC was partly about being able to continue his acting career, so that will always be important for Wright. But the two don’t compete for his attention.

“Now I’m in camp, so I’m completely away from anything that’s unrelated to football,” Wright said. “I’m locked in completely and it’s really great. I love it out here.”

Wright said they wrapped filming for this season of Grown-ish two weeks ago, putting him on track to fully dive into fall camp. He said the production worked around his schedule so that he didn’t have any conflicts during the summer.

“That was one of the things we discussed going into it,” Wright said. “I had football and that was going to come first. There was no way I was going to miss anything when it comes to being on the field, anything that has to do with lifting, anything that had to do with any type of meeting. I was going to make sure I was there.”

Wright laughed when asked if teammates badger him to get them featured on the show.

“Oh my God, every day,” he said. “Every day. ‘Get me a role.'”

Wright said he’s watched the episodes in which he appears with his roommates, Prophet Brown and Colin Mobley. Other teammates have come over to watch as well.

“It’s crazy,” Blackmon said. “This dude is really on TV. It’s different. It’s funny for him, just knowing who he is. But he really is a good actor.”