USC CB Ceyair Wright turning heads at spring practice

LOS ANGELES — Lincoln Riley rarely has trouble conveying his thoughts when talking about his players. But as the USC head coach tries to find a way to explain what redshirt sophomore cornerback Ceyair Wright is doing this spring, he struggles to properly articulate.

“Ceyair Wright’s been, I would say, one of the – it’s not a surprise – he’s been one of the, to me, breakout players,” Riley said, before immediately reconsidering. “It sounds weird to (say) ‘breakout player’ for a guy I think started nine games for us last year. You don’t typically say those things together.”

Wright actually started 11 games for USC in 2022. He had highs, like his first career interception in Week 4 against Oregon State. And there were lows, like losing his starting job for the final three games of the season.

But Wright has taken that experience and is building on it in ways that are exciting USC’s coaches this spring.

“Just comfortability and confidence. I think that’s what’s helping me a lot,” Wright said. “I got a lot of experience on the field last year and I think it’s translated well onto the practice field this year just in terms of being out there worried about making plays instead of just, ‘Let me do my job.’”

Part of Wright’s adjustment last season came as part of the natural growth of any young player. After redshirting his first year at USC, Wright was thrown into the deep water of the college game last year. He had to adjust to the speed that was not the same as when he played at Loyola High.

But it began to slow down late last season. Now that he’s had time to process that experience, the game has become even clearer for Wright.

“The word I would use just watching him practice through six practices, he’s just practicing more confident,” Riley said. “He’s like a lot of guys on this team right now where there’s a little bit of the realization that whatever I did last year is probably not going to be good enough to get me on the field this year. Like, if I’m going to go do this, I’ve got to go.”

Another factor is a second year in strength coach Bennie Wylie’s training regimen.

USC’s defensive backs were easily pushed around last year. Riley lamented after the season how the secondary was too skinny to compete at the level that USC is accustomed to. It was easy for receivers to knock USC DBs out of rhythm, or for players like Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid to break their tackles.

But a second season under Riley and Wylie and the tide is starting to turn, and the defensive backs’ strength is starting to match their other physical attributes.

“Some of these guys’ bodies are starting to change. Ceyair puts on muscle, his strength numbers are a lot different,” Riley said. “That confidence starts to build, man, and they start playing the game to make plays as opposed to trying not to screw up or trying just to stay in the right position and not get beat as a corner. It’s been fun to see Ceyair start to take some of that confidence and run with it.”

“Just knowing when you hit somebody, you’re not going to get knocked back. They are,” Wright added.