18 months after devastating injury, Winston Wright ‘honored and blessed’ to suit up for Florida State

Every player on the Florida State football team is looking forward to Sunday night’s season opener against LSU in Orlando.

They have been working for this moment for months. It’s a chance to play on a national stage against another top-10 opponent. An opportunity to begin their quest for a championship season.

Winston Wright Jr. has all of those motivations, just like the rest of his teammates. But his personal emotions might be even stronger.

“It feels good just being able to play the game that I love,” Wright said. “Just to contribute to the team.”

There was a time when Wright wasn’t sure this would ever come.

Just a few months after he transferred to Florida State from West Virginia in the spring of 2021, the veteran receiver was involved in a frightening car accident.

The first concern was whether everyone would survive. Then it was whether Wright, who sustained a devastating injury, would regain full use of his leg. Then, finally, it was if he would be able to resume his college football career.

This Sunday night — a full 18 months after the accident — Wright will officially be able to check off that final box.

“Very honored and blessed to be able to put on the garnet and gold finally,” Wright said. “Before the game, it’s going to hit me for sure.”

Wright not only is expected to play in his first game as a Seminole, but he could be in the starting lineup. He and freshman Destyn Hill were listed as co-starters when Florida State released its post-camp depth charts on Monday.

Whether his number gets called early, or often, Wright insists he isn’t really worried about that just yet.

The Savannah, Ga., product knows how far he has come just to have this opportunity.

All the hours and hours of rehab. All the weeks and months of uncertainty.

The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Wright returned to running and light cutting last fall. But the redshirt senior said he never got too frustrated about not playing in games, because he knew deep down that he wasn’t quite ready.

“I really didn’t feel comfortable until close to spring,” Wright said on Tuesday.

Truth be told, the veteran receiver didn’t feel completely like his old self even then. It wasn’t until he started competing in Florida State’s workouts this summer that he recognized his old explosiveness. That he felt completely confident sprinting wide-open and making hard cuts while running routes.

For the first time since his accident, Wright felt like the guy who caught 63 passes with five touchdowns during his final season at West Virginia.

And it has been full-speed ahead ever since, culminating with his best performance yet in the Seminoles’ second preseason scrimmage.

“He had to go through a long and tough journey to get back to this point,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “To see him confident, to see his speed, the explosiveness, being put back on display. He had a great play Sunday night. Those are the moments when you have the game taken away from you; there is a question whether you’re maybe ever going to play again. To be able to get back out and see and feel what you were, it was a hard journey for him. I mean, I compliment him, his family.

“His dad and I, we text all the time. I got that phone call the night when it happened. I’ll never forget talking to his dad. To see him back on the field, having a chance to be able to help this football team, is really special. I’m grateful for Winston and just the work he’s put in, but excited to see him get out there and play.”

Even the soft-spoken Wright sounded impressed by his effort in that scrimmage inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

“I was playing faster, more physical,” he said. “You could see the confidence in my moves and stuff like that. So that went well.”

On Sunday, Wright will get to do it with fans in the stands.

And the college football world watching.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m ready for it.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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