‘Hollywood Husker’ has become a leader on Nebraska’s football team. Now he’s preparing to play in his home state

Lincoln: the Hollywood of the Midwest.

Okay, maybe nobody calls it that. But Nebraska football player Ceyair Wright has ties to both cities.

Wright grew up in Los Angeles and went to USC for the first three years of his college career, before transferring to Nebraska in summer 2024.

On Saturday, the senior defensive back returns home when Husker football visits the UCLA Bruins.

The culture shock of transitioning from L.A. to Lincoln, and the structured Husker football program, was a challenge at first, but the senior has grown exponentially. Coaches and teammates said Wright’s journey has enabled him to go from actor and football standout in Hollywood to one of the most outspoken leaders for the Cornhuskers.

Hollywood, USC and a magical play

It’s well documented that Wright did some acting before and during college, including portraying LeBron James’ son in the second iteration of the famous movie “Space Jam,” called “Space Jam: A New Legacy.”

The defensive back’s last acting appearance came in 2023 for the show “Grown-ish,” in which he’s credited for 15 different episodes.

Saturday marks a Hollywood homecoming for Wright, who started in 15 games at USC, crosstown rivals to the Bruins.

The last time the defensive back played in Los Angeles, he created immediate fireworks.

Wright announced he would transfer to Nebraska in late June 2024. The delayed transfer to the Big Red led to little playing time at the beginning of the 2024 season. But he started to carve out a role by late September.

In mid-November, Wright became an impact player for the Huskers. For matchup with USC last fall, he had the game of his life.

Fox play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti immediately recognized how big of a moment this was, right as they were talking about the defensive back on air.

“That’s intercepted. It is Ceyair Wright! Down the sideline into his former house. Unbelievable!” Benetti exclaimed as Wright crossed the goal line.

The pick six was his first collegiate touchdown and remains his only score. He also blocked a fourth quarter field goal, all on his former home field turf.

That game carried a little more weight, Wright said.

“I would say that last game, specifically, was definitely kind of like a full-circle moment,” Wright said leading up to this year’s rematch with the Trojans.

Embracing the Big Red culture

His coaches and teammates acknowledged how emotional that moment was for him. Those great plays meant Wright found himself in a leadership role, junior running back Emmett Johnson said. The senior defensive back led by example last season but has been outspoken this year.

“He earned everybody's respect in the program, and he's been a great person for this team,” Johnson said. “I would say when things are getting tough, he's the main voice.”

He holds everyone accountable after a victory, too, Johnson added.

Their head coach would agree.

One of six team captains, Wright takes coaching and criticism well. Following a narrow win against Northwestern last month, head coach Matt Rhule said the senior acknowledged he and his teammates needed a harsh film review session from their coaches.

“I said ‘I'm gonna light you guys up here.’ He said, ‘As you should,’” Rhule recalled. “And so when you have guys like that that are okay with getting coached hard, even after a win, you can do special things.”

That honesty and accountability from a team leader allows Rhule to trust his players’ thoughts when making decisions.

But Wright’s outgoing presence for the Blackshirt defense didn’t happen overnight.

Moving to Nebraska was an adjustment, Wright said. But his teammates helped him be diligent about learning the “Nebraska way.”

“Being in L.A., we had a lot more going on outside of football,” Wright said. “Being here, though, things are a lot more centralized on football.”

That renewed focus on football helped him evolve into a vocal leader for the Big Red.

“He's just grown so much from when he first got here,” Rhule said.

In his decade-long journey of leading Division I football programs, Rhule said most young people moving away from home don’t adjust to a new city and culture quickly.

“But guys like Ceyair, they've done that,” Rhule said. “He's not only adapted, he's embraced it.”

Rhule called Wright an “elite, elite, elite player,” who also breathes positive energy into the team.

“So he's doing what he's doing on the field. He's doing way more behind the scenes for our culture and the things that we want to have moving forward,” Rhule said.

Leading up to a rematch against USC last week, assistant coach John Butler joked about the team captain’s performance against the Trojans the year before.

“I said, ‘If you played like that in every single game, you'd be a first round pick,’” Butler said. “And, he's really played that way for the most part this year.”

This season, Butler was promoted from Wright’s position coach to defensive coordinator. The decision happened, in part, because Wright advocated for Butler.

The now-defensive coordinator said 31 years of coaching has enlightened him.

“When I look back at my career, the things that are going to matter to me the most are the relationships that I have with players,” Butler said.

He and Wright arrived in Lincoln around the same time. “We all come together for a reason,” Butler added. “Timing is everything.”

Tough test back home

It’s been a journey for the senior defender.

During last week’s reunion, No. 23 USC entered the matchup leading the country in passing yards per game. But Wright and his defensive teammates held the Trojans to 135 yards, the school’s lowest passing total in a game since 2018, according to ESPN.

This week, the team’s mental toughness will be tested.

USC escaped Lincoln with a 21-17 win. Nebraska lost starting quarterback Dylan Raiola for the season, due to a broken fibula.

That means true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef will have a homecoming of his own. Lateef grew up in Compton, California, a Los Angeles-area suburb, and is tasked with leading the Huskers on the road in conference play.

Overall, the slower pace of Nebraska has prepared Wright for moments like these, to use his energy to elevate his teammates, similar to the way they invested in him last year.

“I think that I am somebody that cares about my teammates naturally or cares about other people naturally,” Wright said. “And getting the chance to kind of just have alone time where I can focus on myself, gives me the energy to want to pour it into other people as well.”

The 6-3 Cornhuskers hit the gridiron against the 3-5 Bruins – winners in three of their last four games – at 8 p.m. CT. Fox will carry the broadcast.