Ceyair Wright will be facing his former team for the second time when Nebraska football welcomes the USC Trojans into Memorial Stadium Saturday night.
The senior corner and Los Angeles native spent two seasons with the Trojans before transferring to Nebraska in 2024. Now, he will be playing USC at his new home.
“I think that I’ve been really intentional about that, throughout the course of the season, just taking everything week by week,” Wright said of managing the emotions going into Saturday’s game. “I think that approach allows me to make sure that I don’t get too consumed with a personal battle or anything like that but still stay focused on the goal of just being at our best.”
In last season’s contest against the Trojans, Wright had a fantastic homecoming with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown, four solo tackles and a blocked field goal.
“That last game specifically was definitely kind of like a full-circle moment for me,” Wright said. “Just considering I transferred from there, and it was my first time getting to compete against them. The entire week though I definitely was very intentional about just trying to push the team to be ready for a battle. Not just football-wise, but just the mental battle, as well, of the game.”
Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler and Wright have a close relationship, with Wright encouraging the promotion of the former seconder coach to take over as DC after Tony While left for Florida State. Butler got a little emotional when talking about Wright’s impact on the program.
“When I look back at my career, the things that are going to matter to me the most are the relationships that I have with players,” Butler said. “That ultimately is — you have success, you enjoy the competition, you love the experience, but when you really look back on it, any impact that you had on other players’ lives, as a player and as a person, to give them a better avenue for success or just maybe whatever it is.
“I’m getting older now. I’m 52, and most people don’t think about me doing this 31 years. I’m starting to get a little more perspective as it relates to when old players call me or reach out to me, or after games. That’s starting to have a little bit more of an impact on me, than it did in my younger years.”
Wright echoed the sentiment about what Butler’s meant to him.
“Me and coach Butler have a great relationship,” Wright said. “I feel like we have a lot of trust in each other, and I think that that allows me to play with confidence, play with freedom, and I’m really appreciative for him for everything that he’s taught me. I think that he’s really allowed me to grow as a player in terms of my ability on the field and as well as my mind on the field.”
This season, Wright’s stepping into more of a leadership role, and his teammates have noticed. This includes junior running back Emmett Johnson.
“Ceyair’s been a great vocal leader for our team,” Johnson said. “I would say when he first got here, he was a lot of leading by action, but he earned everybody’s respect in the program. He’s been a great person for this team. When things are getting tough, he’s the main voice, and he helps us out a lot. He talks about how we’ve just got to keep fighting, keeps us together. Even when we do well, he talks about things we’ve got to get better at. So he’s a great leader for this program. He’s been doing a great job.”
Wright’s leadership skills have not only impressed his teammates, but Coach Matt Rhule has taken notice as well.
“He’s just grown so much from when he first got here,” Rhule said. “He got here in a great place, just seeing the maturity and the leadership. I truly, every Thursday night, get a text message from him. ‘Can you please turn the stadium lights on.’ He’s out there every Thursday night, when he’s got a whole group of guys with him. So, what he’s doing on the field, he’s doing way more behind the scenes for our culture and the things we want to have moving forward.
“So, I’m sure he’ll be really excited to play against his buddies and friends; last year he knew a bunch of the guys. At the same time, you’ve got to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s being focused and neutral and playing each play. If there’s anybody that I trust to do it, it’s him.”
Last season, Wright totaled 39 tackles, six pass breakups, two interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble and one quarterback hurry. With the season-ending injury Malcolm Hartzog suffered early in the season, Wright moved to the nickel position and has thrived. He’s only made 14 tackles this season but already has five pass breakups as teams have largely avoided targeted him and have had little success when doing so.
“We talk about process a lot as a team,” Wright said. “I think that while the team also has to have a process, I think it’s important for every individual to have their own process. I know that for me myself, I thrive best when I have a routine. I think that when I’m complacent and I fall out of my routine is when I kind of don’t do my best. So I think that I’ve been trying to be diligent about just being very routine-oriented throughout the course of the season.”
With the move to Lincoln came a lot of changes, but Wright’s embraced his new role and the differences. Now, he will bring his leadership skills to the game on Saturday.
“The way of life here has made me develop,” Wright said. “I think that the time I’ve had with myself has allowed me to kind of just put myself out there as a person. I think that I am somebody that cares about my teammates naturally, or cares about other people naturally, and getting the chance to kind of just have alone time where I can focus on myself gives me the energy to want to pour it into other people as well. I think that that slower lifestyle has allowed me to really be myself at my best.”
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 630 p.m. CT on NBC.
