Like everyone expected, a Nebraska Football player changed his number yesterday from No. 15 to No. 1. But instead of Dylan Raiola, as was anticipated, it was Husker cornerback Ceyair Wright who will wear No. 1 this year, the last of the players to be awarded a single-digit jersey by team vote. Coach Matt Rhule traditionally holds the single-digit jerseys for players who win a player’s vote as one of the toughest players on the team.
“I got really tired of having a guy in my program who had spent three years at like No. 47… wanted to wear No. 1 or No. 3, and he had earned it and we would give it to a recruit,” Rhule said before his first season. “What we decided was (numbers) 1-9, now 0-9, would go to the nine or now 10 ‘toughest’ guys on the team. When I say ‘toughest’, we define that for the guys, but really the guys who best exemplify what it means to be a Cornhusker. To be accountable, to be dependable, to be tough, hard-working, competitive every single day.”
Wright emerged last year as Nebraska’s top cover corner last year in his first season at NU after transferring from USC. He made eight starts and led the team with six pass breakups. His two interceptions ranked second on the roster. He also made 39 tackles.
Wright gained notoriety before his college football career as an actor. He appeared in Space Jam: A New Legacy, Training Day, 2 Broke Girls and Grown-ish, among other credits.
No. 0-Javin Wright, LB
No. 1-Ceyair Wright, CB
No. 2–Jacory Barney, Jr., WR
No. 3–Marques Buford, Jr., DB
No. 4–Janiran Bonner, WR
No. 5–Riley Van Poppel, DT
No. 6–Dane Key, WR
No. 7–Malcolm Hartzog, Jr., DB
No. 8–DeShon Singleton, S
No. 9–Vincent Shavers, Jr., LB