The Florida State University depth chart lists Destyn Hill and Winston Wright as co-starters for Sunday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff against LSU. Both are tales of dreams delayed. Last week, we wrote Hill’s 30-month wait since last playing a football game and, while Wright’s wait has only been 21 months, it has been an excruciating rehabilitation journey back to the game he loves.

Wright, a 5-foot-10, 191-pound receiver, accumulated over 2,500 all-purpose yards in three seasons at West Virginia before transferring to Tallahassee in January 2022. There were expectations Wright would become the Seminoles’ starting receiver and kick returner in 2022 as he caught 129 passes for 1,338 yards and seven touchdowns in three seasons with the Mountaineers.

2021: 63 receptions for 688 yards (10.9 ypc) and five touchdowns

2020: 47 receptions 553 yards (11.8 ypc) and two touchdowns

2019: 19 receptions 97 yards (5.1 ypc)

Wright also added 1,236 yards on 52 kick returns with two touchdowns, one of 98 and another of 95 yards, setting the WVU record for kickoff returns in a season, including the 98-yarder vs. Maryland.

But in March 2022, less than three months after arriving at Florida State, Wright’s football career nearly ended in an automobile accident in Savannah, Ga., his hometown. Wright, who was a passenger, sustained a serious leg injury. He is in the final stages of recovery.

Suddenly, the Georgia prep record holder in the 200 meters (22.22) was facing an arduous rehabilitation at a new university, with an unknown FSU medical team and athletic trainers.

Almost two years later, Wright will be a co-starter against LSU on national television, which is no small achievement.

“I’m very excited, very blessed,” the former All Academic Big 12 player said after Tuesday’s practice. “Taking it a day at a time but very honored and blessed to be putting on the garnet and gold finally.”

After 16 starts at West Virginia, this is a start he won’t take for granted because this one is the culmination of 18 months of determination that came in several stages.

“I would just say I had to keep myself motivated,” Wright noted of the early months of his rehab. “I got my family, I talk to them every day, they motivate me.”

Wright’s new coaches and teammates didn’t abandon him. Instead, head coach Mike Norvell and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans constantly praised Wright’s heart and effort.

“I just love the young man’s spirit, and the work he’s putting in,” Norvell said in September 2022. “He’s working through the process, going through rehabilitation. He’s getting more and more on the field. Getting him some routes, getting him some return game. It’s going to be a process as he goes. There’s going to be some really-good days and some days we’ve got to modify and adjust.”

“Just being around these guys was big,” Wright said last September of his new teammates.

Any early dream of playing in the 2022 season was unrealistic, Wright came to realize. “Last year, I wasn’t thinking about playing,” he said. “My mindset was just getting better at practice, getting more comfortable running around. That was my main focus last year.”

FSU’s medical team and coaches were patient, but Wright said he wasn’t pampered. “I was getting pushed for sure,” Wright said. “I was getting the work in.”

In the process, he came to know the training staff well. “Very close to Alicia (Taylor-Mendez), Josh (Chatman), Tyler (Webb),” Wright said. “They helped me tremendously, so I’m very grateful for them too. Good people.”

While he was up and running last fall, Wright said he knew he wasn’t ready yet. “To be honest, I really didn’t feel comfortable until close to spring,” he said. “During the season, you know how you feel comfortable, but I didn’t feel like I was fully 100 percent.”

What Wright was able to do during the rehabilitation was learn the playbook.

“While I was hurt, I was still able to get into meetings and my coaches were still able to meet with me to go over the plays, so I was ahead of the game,” the three-time all-state selection said. “I just needed to get the reps. It’s different to go over the plays in the film room and then when you get on the field. I just needed to get the repetitions down.”

While football is football, Wright said the FSU offense is different than what he ran with the Mountaineers. “In this offense you have to really be thinking a lot,” he said. “You really have to know the opponent, route depth, you have to be on time with the quarterback so it’s pretty different.”

The former state champion in the 100 meters and 200 meters was able to take the reps he needed in the spring but more important were the reps he took during the summer when he was finally running at full speed.

“After spring I felt good, but going into the summer, I felt very confident hitting the speeds that I was hitting before, so I feel confident,” Wright said of that stage of his rehabilitation. His confidence was back in his speed as was his confidence in his balance and ability to cut once again.

“You definitely have to get your confidence back in (cutting) and the skills and drills Coach Storms has for us, being able to cut helped me a lot,” Wright said. “I also do a lot of balance (exercise), getting your legs stronger, legs and hamstrings. That plays a big part of it too.”

A new NCAA rule, which now allows coaches to spend three hours per week with players in the summer, was also very timely in his rehab.

“That helped tremendously,” Wright said. “We went through the skills and drills, and you get time to go over the plays without the ball so that helped a lot.”

After the coaches left, the offense went 7-on-7 against the defense, with a football. “Getting time with the quarterbacks 1-on-1 helped, too,” he said, noting he would stay after to run extra routes with Travis.

“We would throw three times out of five days of the week, so we got a good connection now, getting the timing on routes,” Wright said.

The 7-on-7 battles also allowed the slot receiver to test his speed against FSU’s defensive backs, an important test in rehabbing his confidence.

“Getting repetition with good guys, everybody on our defense is good, so getting repetition and getting your confidence back is big,” Wright said.

His growing confidence was bolstered further in the second scrimmage of fall camp.

“The second scrimmage, I was playing faster, more physical, you could see the confidence in my moves,” Wright said, noting he’s been playing his way back into football shape this August.

“The hardest part, when you get back, is getting into game shape,” Wright said. “You’ve been running on the side but it’s different when you get in 11-on-11 and it’s plays, plays, plays.”

Florida State’s coaches and teammates are looking forward to the productivity Wright managed at West Virginia where on seven occasions he recorded six or more receptions. His best career outing was nine receptions for 106 yards.

As for his timeline on kickoff returns? “Maybe midseason,” he said. “I want to focus on receiving for now.”

The next phase of Wright’s journey is upon him, playing the game he loves for the first time since the December 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

“I’m very blessed to be able to come back,” Wright said. “I’m excited and ready for it.”

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