Winston Wright Jr: Path To The NFL Draft

By Simon Carroll

In draft season, the word ‘playmaker’ is so often overused that it has almost lost some of it’s significance. Defined in the dictionary as an ‘offensive player who executes plays designed to put one or more teammates in a position to score’, it should really be reserved for the elite few that do it’s true meaning justice; those that deliver that priceless commodity on the football field.

Throughout his career, Winston Wright Jr. has earned the right to be called a playmaker, regardless of the role asked of him. The former East Carolina wide receiver and kick returner sits down with Simon Carroll to discuss his path to the NFL Draft:

Natural Talent

Known for it’s history, architecture and coastal beauty, Savannah is also synonymous for producing NFL talent. The oldest city in Georgia has been the birthplace of numerous football stars, in particular explosive receivers and returners – with Isaiah McKenzie perhaps the most notable name to hail from the area. A similar talent, Winston Wright Jr. is about to forge his own path into professional football, his journey beginning in the same city at a young age:

“I’ve been playing football since I was seven years old. I come from a close family, and they all really encouraged me to play early; my dad and my stepmom, two sisters and a brother. I was the oldest, so kind of led the way with sports – I played a lot of sports as a kid! My dad was big on sports and threw me into everything. Basketball was pretty big for me too, but football was always the most important – and it was inevitable that it would take over everything else eventually.”

Wright headed to Memorial Day High School, where he very quickly established himself as a star on the gridiron. But it was on defense where his football career began, balling out as a freshman cornerback and safety with four interceptions. Winston’s team-first mentality meant he would embrace any role given to him, even if he knew the secondary was not his forever home:

“I’ve always kind of been an athlete with a ball in my hands, and so was very much keen to show what I could do on offense. With college in mind, I knew I wanted to play on that side of the ball primarily. But my position back then, it was hard to define! I had a few college offers to play defense, got some interest as a cornerback. I was classed as an ‘athlete’ during the recruiting process, which is a general term for someone like me who has played all over the field. At high school, they might not throw the ball fifty times a game, so as a receiver I needed to show what I could do in other situations too. I even played quarterback at high school – I was the starter as a sophomore! It was a case of doing whatever my team needed – and honestly, I knew I could be good wherever I played.”

Smart Recruiting

Winston Wright was more than just ‘good’ at Memorial Day High School. A three-time All-State and All-Region selection, the utility man racked up 2,000 rushing yards and 3,000 receiving yards in his time there, not mentioning the feats at quarterback or in the secondary. And he was making a name for himself as an electric kick returner too, all the while helping this school to two state titles. A bonafide playmaker, Wright received more than twenty scholarship offers to play college football – and unlike a lot of his peers, was more than happy to fly as far away from the nest as possible to find the perfect landing spot:

“Me being from Savannah, I’ve seen a lot. And I always knew I wanted better for myself – I was one of the few students who wanted to be as far away from home as possible! It was about avoiding distractions, getting a new start. Recruitment picked up for me after my tenth grade year – I was at a small private school that wasn’t really on the radar. In fact, I think I was the first guy from there to go to a Power 5 school. But my head coach was great, helped me get my name out there, and the offers started coming in.”

Conscious of his need to find an offense that suited his skillset, Wright was acutely aware of the schools that could take full advantage of his big play abilities. Looking at college football stars with similar games to his that had thrived in certain environments, Wright found a home ten hours north of Savannah that knew exactly how to utilise his talents:

“First it was smaller offers, FCS, then Group of Five. But going into the Summer of 11th grade, interest was coming from all over the country. North Carolina, Duke, Iowa State, and of course West Virginia. And WVU man, it really stuck out – the history with Tavon Austin and what he did at that school was big for me. Because he had a similar skillset to me, was used in a lot of the same ways I was at high school, I thought if I went to Morgantown, I could do something special just like he did. Me and my dad took a visit up there and I fell in love with the place immediately. It was so different from home! I decided to follow what God put in my heart, and became a Mountaineer.”

Growing up in the heart of SEC country, it was a little surprising to see a high school kid eschew the overtures of some of the biggest programs in the country closer to home. But Wright and his family took a very deliberate approach to his recruiting process, choosing scheme and playing time over history and location:

“My play style, talking with family and coaches, I didn’t ever really see myself going to the SEC. I’m an athlete, capable of explosive things with the ball in my hands, and felt that kind of skillset was more suited to the ACC, Pac-12 or Big 12. I’m sure I would have made an impact in the SEC, but the smashmouth brand didn’t lean to my strengths. I made it a focus of my recruiting to find schools where I would fit in best, rather than prioritising staying local or playing for a team I was a fan of.”

Country Roads

Fully locked into West Virginia, Winston Wright’s time in Morgantown might never have happened. As is often the way in the cutthroat world of college sports, head coach Dana Holgorson left WVU for Houston the offseason before Wright was due on campus. The Mountaineers hired Neal Brown as Holgorson’s successor, and in these situations recruits have no guarantees. But after sitting down with the new coaching staff, Wright was convinced it was still the place to be:

“People say you shouldn’t commit to a coach, but you do. It’s inevitable. Relationships are very important. So when that happened, I was a little worried. But the new coaching staff under Coach Brown, they really had the same vision as the previous staff had. And the same deal was still on the table – I could go there and make an impact as a freshman and contribute right away, and be in a scheme that played to my strengths. If they had come in and said something else, I would have gone elsewhere and who knows where I would be right now. But in the end, Playing for Coach Brown couldn’t have worked out better.”

Despite the minor bump in the road, things went according to plan for Wright, who makes an immediate impact as a freshman, predominantly on Special Teams. He slowly works his way into the rotation too, his breakout moment coming against Baylor where he hauls in four catches and a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown. Despite the early returns, Wright doesn’t mind admitting he needed to adjust quickly:

“College football humbled me. I always knew what hard work was, but the difference at the next level and what it took to be successful opened my eyes. I was at a great school with great people around me, everything there to help me be a success, but the learning curve was steep. So I feel like my freshman year started off slow by my own standards! I didn’t play the first two games, still learning the ropes. But the coaches quickly grew to trust me and give me the opportunities to contribute. Which I appreciated, because I’m the kind of person who likes to think my work speaks for me. If they threw me in, I was going to swim not sink. But not being straightforward and learning the value of earning it, it stood me in good stead for the rest of my career.”

Wright would go on to increase his contribution to the Mountaineers the next two seasons, becoming a focal point on offense as well as a dynamic returner. He amassed more than 1,250 yards as a receiver in his sophomore and junior campaigns, breaking 100 yards on multiple occasions. Wright led the team in receiving in 2021, despite mostly aligning in the slot – vindicating the research he had done before choosing to head to West Virginia. The school suited him, and he suited the school – holding up his end of the bargain with hard work and 100% commitment:

“I’m a confident person. If you ask me who the best at something is, I’m going to say me! And that’s not hubris, it’s just me knowing what I’m capable of on a football field. But there was definitely a point where I felt like I became ‘the man’. It was probably after that sophomore year – I just got a real sharp focus of what I wanted to be and to achieve. Anything I could do to help my team and myself, I did it. My work ethic just shot through the roof, and I knew I was going to have a special junior year.”

Emulating An Icon

Winston Wright had established himself as a key component on both WVU’s offense and special teams. The plan of emulating Tavon Austin in Morgantown had worked – and it was recognised by the coaching staff too. Ahead of his Junior year, Coach Brown gave Wright the honor of switching his number from 16 to 1 – the jersey that Austin wore during his years on the team. I asked Winston if that was something he had always aspired to; and despite wanting to create his own legacy, he was aware of the honor and significance that number represented:

“Yes and no really. You know what it’s like at college – if someone offers you that number 1 jersey, it’s a big privilege reserved for the best players, and I was never going to turn it down. I was becoming more vocal, developing into a leader too, which is a person befitting such a jersey. But what Tavon did there, I knew it was a blessing to be in his company. Some coaches might not like to put that pressure on their guys, some guys might not like it themselves. But he was a great player, and I wanted to be the same. If anything it gave me more determination – making sure that jersey got the player it deserved. And I went on to break Tavon’s single game kick return yard record too, so I think I did it justice.”

By the end of his junior year, Wright had accounted for 2,500 all-purpose yards in a West Virginia uniform, being named All-Big 12 by multiple outlets. At a crossroads in his career, Wright had a decision to make, which would ultimately herald the end of his time in Morgantown, and the beginning of a new chapter in Tallahassee, Florida:

“After my junior year, I was contemplating whether to stay or leave West Virginia. I had good feedback from the league, probably could have got drafted that year. But me just being a competitor, I thought I had more to show. I decided to do that, I was gonna go back to school and play for one of the top universities in the country and show I could do it at the highest level. Florida State ticked those boxes, and was closer but not too close to home! My family could come and see me play more which was important to me.”

The changing world of college athletics has allowed talents to move schools much more freely – and also enjoy financial benefits as well. But for Wright, money didn’t come into the equation – just like it was three years earlier, the focus was on scheme fit and being able to contribute:

“Wherever I went I was going to get NIL opportunities. And of course, I got some at Florida State. But my thing, the most important thing, was I wanted to compete against the best. I wanted to show my abilities were transferable, could work at any level and in any conference in College Football. It really was as simple as that – find the best school that would allow me to show everyone what I was capable of. You can’t get caught up on money – NIL is there to make sure we get what we deserve, and we are all blessed to receive it now. But football for the majority of us is the first and last thing. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Tallahassee Test

Winston Wright spent just six days in the transfer portal before zeroing in on Florida State. As we’ve discovered, schools having precedent when it comes to utilising athletic playmakers was important, and he very nearly ended up heading to Lexington, Kentucky and plying his trade in the SEC:

“Again, like high school I was blessed to have schools everywhere in the country looking at me. And I thought it was going to be Kentucky at one point. I liked the way they had used Wan’Dale Robinson the previous year, but the offensive coordinator Liam Coen took a job and headed back to the NFL. How I’m used is important, so I looked at my other options. And FSU appealed to me; they had a down year the season before, and I knew I could come in and compete right away, contribute and help get that thing right.”

Coaching changes can be accounted for, but injuries cannot: determined to show the world what he could do at one of college football’s most prestigious programs, Wright’s career at Florida State was derailed before it even began, a car crash wiping out his first season in Tallahassee. Breaking a bone in his leg, Winston embarked upon a gruelling rehabilitation that turned 2022 into a washout. The injury hangover endured the year after, with the coaching staff keen to avoid any complications for their receiver. Unaccustomed to such setbacks, it was a testing time for Wright:

“My start at Florida State was really the first time in my college career I had to battle adversity. Coming back from that car crash, working hard to get healthy again, and then being behind the curve trying to compete, it was tough. I can’t say enough about how well they treated me through that rehab process – I healed well, very quickly, which I was extremely grateful for. Their plan after the accident was to kind of ease me back into things, which being the competitor I am, I struggled to come to terms with. I felt healthy, ready to go, and wanted to be out there every play. So 2023 was obviously frustrating, and I knew that in my last year I wanted more. It wasn’t a bad breakup, just another business decision on my part. I had to show the world I was the same dude before the crash.”

With just one season of eligibility remaining, Winston Wright knew there was little latitude for another season like the previous two. Once again looking for a new home, perhaps the pressure to find the right landing spot was even greater than ever. In the end, being given the platform to contribute and re-establish his case for a shot at the NFL drove Wright down to Greenville, South Carolina, for the final stop of his college career:

“This past season, I knew I was 100% back. So I had to find a school that trusted that – no easing in, no rotation, just let me go do my thing. Backfield, slot, outside, returner, the whole lot. Just get that ball in my hands! In the end, it came down to Mississippi State, Baylor and East Carolina. I’m an X’s and O’s guy, and I knew this would be my last year, so there was a lot weighing on this choice. But just speaking to Coach Houston, his blueprint for me aligned with my own. Again, it was another school that wanted to improve after a down year, and I felt they could lean on my abilities to make that happen.”

"I Knew I Was Back, I Just Had To Show It"

Spoiler alert here; Winston Wright headed to East Carolina and delivered a final season befitting of the standard he had set before the unfortunate car crash. It wasn’t all plain sailing with the Pirates though, who struggled for the early part of the season. And Mike Houston paid the price, being fired after a 3-4 start. That was a bitter moment for Wright, who was fond of his head coach – but the receiver was proud of how the program rallied to finish strong:

“That was rough. I loved Coach Houston – he was a great guy and gave me this final opportunity to validate my college career. I understand it’s all business, and things like this happen all the time in college football, but I was upset for him. You can’t give up though, and as a team I thought we responded really well.”

Under interim head coach Blake Harrell ECU went on a tear, finishing the season with eight wins and earning a bowl game against NC State. The Pirates cap the season off in style, defeating the Wolfpack in the Military Bowl 26-21. For Wright the season was a success story personally too, his game returning to the levels he was accustomed to:

“I knew I was back, I just had to show it. That final season vindicated my decision to come to ECU, to prove I was right. I did what I had to do, took care of business, and had fun doing it. The team finished off strong, won a bowl game, and I was an All-American. That accomplishment meant a lot – it was something I hadn’t even achieved at West Virginia. It was a quick eight months as a Pirate, but one that worked out really well for me – and I paid back their trust in me with my performance on the field.”

With tongue firmly in cheek, I ask Wright whether he considers himself a Mountaineer, Seminole or a Pirate. He of course has fond memories of all three spots and wouldn’t change his college journey for anything, telling me he learned something at each stop he will carry throughout the rest of his life. Through success and adversity, Wright has left a legacy that he can look back on with no regrets:

“When I look back at that college career, I feel proud. I’ve come a long way from Savannah, Georgia! I’ve grown as a man tremendously over the last six years, on the field and in life. I really want to take this opportunity to thank everyone I encountered along the way at those three schools, everyone who helped me get to this point. All the coaches, staff – they helped shape me into the best version of myself. The NFL has always been the goal for me, ever since I was a kid. And after those three years at West Virginia, I knew that I had a real chance of getting there. Now, I’m working hard to make that a reality. And I don’t know if I would be in this position if it wasn’t for everyone who helped me along the way.”

All Eyes On The NFL Draft

With his college career consigned to history, Winston Wright is on a mission to make sure there’s plenty more football left for him. Working out at X3 Training in Fort Myers, he’s one of hundreds of draft prospects working on their testing numbers. Wright heads into this process knowing that his resume speaks for itself – and history shows there’s demand for what he can bring to an NFL team:

“I have no doubt there’s a role for me in the NFL. First of all, I’m an elite returner. I can come on day one and you can throw me down there. That’s a unique selling point and an extra dimension to my game that stands me out from the crowd. Beyond that, you can put me anywhere on offense and let my playmaking ability do the talking. I’m about 190lbs, which isn’t small for a slot receiver, and speaking to scouts the feedback is good – there’s room on rosters for guys who bring to the table what I do.”

I’ve interviewed a lot of draft prospects over the years, and special teams is something that comes up every time. The gateway to a roster spot, players that offer extra value on special teams are coveted, even if they are tough units to play on. I don’t think, however, that any have had the same affection for the job as Winston Wright does. The mere mention of the phrase elicits a smile – and as he explains, there’s logic behind his admiration for being a returner:

“Man, I love special teams. I know everyone says it, but I really do love it. It’s not often you’re guaranteed to get the ball as a receiver, a lot has to go right. But as a returner you know you’re probably getting it. And having that ball in my hands, it gives me that juice I need to become a big factor in the game. So when that ball is in the air and I’m seeing it drop into my hands, there’s not a doubt in my mind I’m taking it to the house. You’ve gotta have that confidence, that mindset. And that juice then transcends to my role on offense too. If you give me that ball, I’m gonna make a big play.”

Somewhere Wright was able to show his big play ability recently was over in Orlando at the Hula Bowl, one of draft seasons’ marquee showcase opportunities. Appreciative of the invite, Wright embraced the unknown – and put his best foot forward:

“That was a great experience. Just being able to learn from unfamiliar coaches in an unfamiliar offense in a short space of time, I liked how we were all kind of taken out of our comfort zones. And me being able to pick it up quick and translate it into the game, it felt good! I played a lot of outside at the Hula Bowl, which was an opportunity to showcase abilities some might not have seen before. I got to show my versatility which I appreciated. I was able to meet with scouts and coaches from almost half the league, got some great feedback after with some nice texts. It felt good to make a strong impression over there.”

The Final Audition

March 24 is the next date on the calendar for Winston Wright – when NFL representatives will head en masse to Greenville to East Carolina’s pro day. It’s Wright’s final opportunity to put on a spectacle for the people who hold his football fate in their hands – but despite the perceived pressure, he’s excited for the opportunity:

“I’m confident, and feel ready. So really, my Pro Day is about going back to ECU, having fun and competing. I can’t wait to see my teammates for one more time! I’m gonna have a big smile on my face all day. But I’m also gonna ball out, test well, and impress teams in meetings. It’s one last chance to show people what I can do, and I can’t wait for it.”

Ever since it became apparent that he could excel on the gridiron, Wright has been carefully cultivating a path to professional football. Smart choices on where to play and in what system has delivered a talented playmaker with such a diverse skillset it’s hard to think of an NFL team that couldn’t make use of his services. At 190lbs and challenging to deliver a sub-4.5 second forty, his testing can only reinforce what the tape already shows – a dynamic athlete who – if you give him the football – is a big play waiting to happen. Considering the rise of smaller slots like Tutu Atwell or Calvin Austin, Wright’s measurables bring little in the way of jeopardy either. When you put it all together, it’s quite clear: Winston Wright is worthy of a draft pick.

Draft weekend represents the biggest moment in Wright’s life. But despite the enormity of the occasion, he’s paid little attention to it thus far. Focused on taking care of everything he can through the rest of the process, he’s had other priorities. Nevertheless, he knows who he wants round him when that moment comes:

“I’m still figuring out what to do that weekend! It’s not been the main focus right now as you can imagine, but I’ll probably be back home with my family in Savannah, amongst those who have been there from the beginning. I want them to experience that moment with me, when that phone hopefully rings. It shows them that all the hard work, the journey, it’s paid off. I know I’m not done yet, but for me to earn an opportunity to go to the NFL would be a dream come true.”

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

Lead Writer/Head of Content

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST and covers the Jacksonville Jaguars for SB Nation.

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A huge thank you to Winston for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchdown wishes him well in his future career.