Southern Wayne senior D’Untae Wright signs a national letter-of-intent to play football at Chowan University next fall. Sitting beside Wright is his mom, Lameisha Wright. Watching, from left behind Wright, is his grandfather James Darden, brother Zayden Gray, uncle Gerry Darden and aunt Beverly Pemberton. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior D’Untae Wright will follow in his late father’s footsteps and play football next fall at Chowan University. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Newly-minted Southern Wayne head coach Matt Hine talks about D’Untae Wright’s choice to play football at the next level and describes the type of player he was to his teammates this past fall. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior D’Untae Wright smiles as he gets a kiss from his mom, Lameisha Wright. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior D’Untae Wright smiles with his mom, Lameisha, and his aunt, Beverly Pemberton. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior D’Untae Wright is surrounded by his teammates after he signed a national letter-of-intent to play football next fall at Chowan University. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Somewhere Demetric Wright is proudly smiling down on his son, D’Untae.
Who could blame him?
The Southern Wayne senior is following in his dad’s footsteps. With his family surrounding him, Wright signed a national letter-of-intent to play football this fall at Chowan University.
His dad played defensive back at Mississippi State. He suffered a career-ending injury during an NFL combine.
“I think about him a lot…his advice, anything he did,” said an emotional Wright, whose father passed away from cancer when the teen was 7 years old.
But Wright almost didn’t play with this Saints.
He spent his previous three years at Wayne Prep Academy, which doesn’t have a football program. He transferred to Southern Wayne and eligibility concerns kept him from stepping onto the field.
“I didn’t find out I couldn’t play until the first game when coach [Frank Costen] pulled me to the side and told me I wasn’t eligible,” Wright said. “The moment he told me, I started crying because I wanted to be out there on the field with the team. I knew they wanted me out there.
“That was hard.”
Though he couldn’t suit up, he did the next best thing.
Wright practiced daily, worked out in the weight room, studied the playbook and served as a cheerleader/coach for his teammates on the sideline.
His character impressed newly-minted Saints head coach Matt Hine, who guided the team’s defense last fall.
“The season didn’t start like he wanted to and the second he walked onto the football field, he was an absolute spark plug for us,” Hine said. “He was a tremendous leader for our kids…took [each game] as serious as anybody. He made sure everyone understood what they were supposed to do, making sure the offense was on the same page.
“I got to ‘steal’ him once in while to play in our defensive backfield.”
According to stats on MaxPreps.com, Wright played three games. He accounted for nearly 200 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns offensively.
Wright researched a number of schools, but settled on Chowan.
He reached out to head coach Paul Johnson on Twitter and set up a visit.
“It felt like home,” Wright said.
The 5-foot-8, 161-pounder felt energetic after his meeting with Johnson. The two discussed Wright playing in the backfield and utilizing his speed on the perimeter as a slot receiver.
Wright is ready to put in the work to succeed with the Division II program that’s posted back-to-back seven-win seasons. The Braves fell to Fayetteville State in the 2022 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship game.
Currently a member of Conference Carolinas in its other sports, Chowan is joining the Gulf South Conference for the 2023 and 2024 gridiron seasons. Conference Carolinas will officially sponsor football in 2025 with the addition of Shorter University.
Hine said Johnson is getting a gem.
“He had so many obstacles in his path this year, showed perseverance, strength, grace and high character,” Hine said. “They’re getting a tremendous young man that no matter where he’s sitting on the depth chart, he’s going to show up and be a good teammate.”
Just like his dad.
