Boise State roster countdown 2018: Day 23, Damion Wright

When you think about it, 23 days is really just 3 weeks and 2 days. Whoa. With the aforementioned 23 days remaining until kickoff, today we’ll highlight the Boise State player to wear the #23 jersey—Damion Wright

#23, Damion Wright, Junior, S

Stats

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 202 lbs. (+8)

High School: Bishop Mora Salesian High School, Los Angeles, CA

How’d he get to The Blue™?

By being awesome (obvi). A consensus three-star athlete (Scout/Rivals/247sports), Wright played QB while at Fontana Jurupa Hills (in 2013), and did quite well—with 2,512 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 1,000 yards rushing, while adding another 18 rushing touchdowns. All that offense was more than enough for Wright to earn All-CIF Southern Section East Valley Division Offensive Player of the Year honors. He switched schools, AND to defensive back between his junior and senior seasons and helped lead his new team to a CIF semifinal appearance, as well as being named to the All-Angelus League First Team. Despite overtures from the likes of Florida, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Washington—Wright committed to the Broncos and effectively shut down his recruitment—meaning the only official offers he came away with were from the likes of Boise State, Idaho, and Navy. I’d say he chose wisely.

Nickname

“DJ”

I believe this is his honest-to-goodness nickname, so I shalt not intervene.

Look-alike

Basketballer Deandre Jordan

Career Highlights

All-Angelus League First Team as a senior. Helped Salesian to the CIF Southern Section Southeastern Division semis in 2014. Led Jurupa Hills to a CIF East Valley Division title as a junior. All-CIF Southern Section East Valley Division Offensive Player of the Year in 2013. Earned spots on All-Inland Empire Second Team and All-Mountain Valley League Second Team in 2012. A freshman member of All-Mountain Valley League Second Team in 2011.

2018 Prospectus

There was a time...not really even all that long ago that Boise State was in dire straits (and not the awesome kind that sang “Walk of Life”) at the safety position. The Broncos were barely able to get through spring camp with the guys they had, and the early departures of Dylan Sumner-Gardner and Kam Miles just seemed to exacerbate the situation. But all the sudden...poof...the safety position is one of the deepest units on the team (an absolute unit, even) and if the depth chart was based on seniority, Damion Wright would be in a great position. It isn’t, of course, and Mr. Wright wasn’t able to strike while the proverbial iron was hot, so now I’m wondering where he does fit on a depth chart that has players like Kekoa Nawahine and DeAndre Pierce at the top and guys like Jordan Happle, Tyreque Jones, and Evan Tyler in the mix.

It strikes me as a little unusual for a junior to have registered no playing time after being on campus for 3 years. I don’t know if it’s because of a somewhat tighter safety rotation or what, but I’d at least expect Wright to have received some special teams snaps. One would think that as an upperclassmen, Wright would know the ins and outs of several position groups and units and therefore be able to show some leadership on the field if called upon. I’m hoping that this season he gets that chance. A free education is nice, but I assume he has a desire to play as well.

Is he on Twitter?

Yeah, but he seriously does not post. I mean, his last post has coaches Yates and Brown in it, so if you want to give him a follow—don’t expect much content (@thedjwright2)

Completely made up fact

Damion’s nickname is “DJ” not because his middle name starts with a “J” (although it might). It’s actually because he spins records in the locker room before the games and during halftime. He does not take requests.