Written by Sarah Bergstrom, USC blog contributor
Demetrius Wright sits on a bench overlooking McCarthy Quad. It's the Monday evening before Thanksgiving, Conquest, the annual celebration of rivalry week with a pep rally, a ferris wheel, and the torching of a wooden Bruin. He had just climbed off the stage with his teammates after the traditional, pre-UCLA game student body pep talk, and he began to think about taking a different stage one final time. Â As he prepares to play his final game in the Coliseum this Saturday, the senior safety reflects on his four years as a Trojan and gives thanks for the road that brought him all this way. Â
Demetrius Wright sits on a bench overlooking McCarthy Quad. It's the Monday evening before Thanksgiving, Conquest, the annual celebration of rivalry week with a pep rally, a ferris wheel, and the torching of a wooden Bruin. He had just climbed off the stage with his teammates after the traditional, pre-UCLA game student body pep talk, and he began to think about taking a different stage one final time. Â As he prepares to play his final game in the Coliseum this Saturday, the senior safety reflects on his four years as a Trojan and gives thanks for the road that brought him all this way. Â
It all started in his backyard at the age of seven. Wright was born the fifth of eight kids and spent his childhood competing with his two older brothers in just about every sport possible. What he lacked in age and size, he made up for in strength and speed, using his gifts to outdo his older foes.Â
"It was really fun growing up with so many siblings because we were never bored and always had someone to play with," explained Wright. "I think that's what drove me to be the way I am in sports, having to compete with my brothers. I didn't hit a growth spurt until I was in high school and they were 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-6 which meant I had to be physical to stand a chance."
An athlete from the beginning, Wright played a variety of sports including baseball, soccer, and track. But it was between two endzones playing perhaps the most physical sport, where he naturally found himself most at home. As he grew to become an elite athlete, Wright set his sights on USC. At the 2009 US Army All-American game, he donned a Trojan hat and made his selection official.
Family is something that has always been incredibly important for Wright and in picking USC he was choosing his new family. But being a member of a family isn't always easy, and it's clear that Wright's time at USC has had its share of challenges. As he reflects on his first three years as a Trojan, he thinks about adversity and frustration, but when he looks back, he also knows he wouldn't have had it any other way. There were other schools he could have attended, other jerseys he could have worn, but for Wright, something was always special about being a member of the Trojan Family.
"It really touched him during recruiting," said Marilyn Curry, Wright's mother. "Demetrius asked why players' names weren't on the backs of the USC jerseys and Coach Carroll explained that it was the name on the front of the jersey, not on the back, that is important. USC is my son's dream school, playing football anywhere else was never his desire."
The safety's early time at USC was one of adversity. He was buried on the depth chart, saw little playing time, and struggled to excel on the field. It would have been easy to be discouraged, easy to let his head hang low, but Wright chose to be patient and to learn while he waited on the sidelines. He says he learned a lot from players who came before him, learning to develop his own style, playing aggressive, fast and physical; learning to persevere and keep working in the face of challenges; learning to be a student of the game.
"Be dedicated to your craft. That's what the older guys always told me and that's what I tell the younger guys now," said the senior safety. "It's not always about talent, you've got to be smarter in the film room. That's how you get even better."
And get better he did. This season he has 47 tackles, including 29 solo tackles in just 11 games besting his 28 total in the past three years. The senior has made his mark on the field, adding consistency and physicality to a thin defensive unit.
"I feel like I could have been doing this since I got here," Wright explains. "I just needed the opportunity and a coach who believed in me. I've got that in Coach Pendergast and Coach O. They gave me the plays and the chance to be out here on the field and now it's my time."
The Trojans are closing out on a Cinderella-story of a season as a family that has overcome a great deal en route to a No. 23 ranking. This year everything has changed for Demetrius Wright and everything has changed with his team as well.
"This has always been my family. But this year we've become even more family-oriented," said the senior. "We needed each other and got closer as a team. We've all come out together, come out strong, and this is how far we've come. Right now, I don't see us losing those games we lost at the beginning of the season. The change of culture has changed everything on the field."
The highlight of his senior campaign came two weeks ago against Stanford. Wright had eight total, played every down on defense, and played a critical role in the Trojans' 20-17 upset over the Cardinal. Exhausting, but worth every ounce of energy he gave, Wright said he'll never forget that game.
"I was really focused, really prepared throughout the week and I was on the field a lot," said the safety. "I played on special teams too so I only got off the field when the offense was on. Sometimes, when they would go three and out, I was really tired. But we did our job, it was physical, and we won. It was the highlight of my career."
Without a doubt, the success of the entire defense this year has come from a full team effort. Wright's performance at safety allowed Josh Shaw to move to corner, expanding the strength of the defensive backfield even more. The Trojan defense has forced 16 interceptions and 32 sacks this season under the guidance of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, and Wright believes his unit could go up against any team right now.
"The group of guys we have is really special," said Wright. "I've known Josh Shaw since my junior year of high school and so we've always had that connection. We can look at each other and know exactly what the other one is going to do. Our group is strong, when they put us all on the field together we're going to make magic happen."
The group will take the field together on Saturday in the final regular season game this year. For some of them, including Wright, it will be their final game under the lights of the Coliseum.
"I don't even have words," he says after a long pause. "There's so much to say. It means a lot. To play my last game as a Trojan in the Coliseum against my rival school, it's everything. It's payback week. Everybody was hurting after last year and we're about to change that."
This Thanksgiving, Wright had much for which to be thankful. He's thankful for his story, for overcoming the obstacles that stood in his path during his early seasons at USC. He's thankful to get to play the game he loves, to take the field in Cardinal and Gold on yet another Saturday. And he's thankful for his family, his seven brothers and sisters, his mom and his step-dad, and his Trojan family, a bond that will never be broken.Â
"I had chances to transfer, to go somewhere else, but I never wanted to leave," Wright says as he looks at his teammates standing in the Quad. "That's why I came here, to be a part of this.This has always been my dream and this has always been my family. It has meant everything to be a Trojan.
