Four-star CB Ceyair Wright picks USC on All-American Bowl special
USC landed the final piece to its highly-ranked and deep defensive back recruiting class Saturday as local 4-star cornerback Ceyair Wright chose the Trojans over Notre Dame, Michigan and others while announcing his decision live during the All-American Bowl TV special on NBC.
Wright, from Loyola HS, is ranked the No. 5 cornerback and No. 102 overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.
His addition gives USC six 4-star DBs -- five ranked within the Rivals250 -- this cycle, joining fellow corners Prophet Brown and Jaylin Smith and safeties Calen Bullock, Xamarion Gordon and Anthony Beavers.
Wright and Brown are two of the top-8 cornerbacks in this class while Smith is the No. 5-ranked athlete.
After signing no defensive backs period in the 2020 cycle, new cornerbacks coach Donte Williams and safeties coach Craig Naivar delivered the Trojans a much-needed foundation for the future in the secondary.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time. For the next three to four years I'm going to be going to the University of Southern California," Wright said in making the announcement.
With starting cornerback Olaijah Griffin making the move to the NFL this year and fellow starter Chris Steele set to be draft-eligible after next season, that youth movement could take hold sooner rather than later.
Wright will join the fellow newcomers and returnees Isaac Taylor-Stuart, Dorian Hewett, Jayden Williams and Adonis Otey in competing for position on the depth chart in 2021.
As for Wright, he took a visit to Notre Dame with his family last month and there was some strong buzz off that trip for the Fighting Irish. He had also visited Michigan.
But USC always seemed like the logical favorite. In addition to being a standout on the football field, Wright is a serious actor who has a major role in the upcoming Space Jam 2 movie. He also wants to study business, and USC offered a combination of advantages to those interests that no other school could match.
"Acting is something I've been doing for a long time and I feel like LA is the best place to do it, so staying home is the move for me," Wright said during the announcement.
He also built a strong connection with Williams through this recruiting process.
"I speak with USC coaches daily. I love the way the team is playing and the secondary especially," Wright told TrojanSports.com last month.
Now, he'll be a key cog in where that unit goes into the future.
Overall, Wright is the 20th commit/signee in this class while USC has also added two former 4-star prospects as transfers in DT Ishmael Sopsher (from Alabama) and S Xavion Alford (from Texas).