3/2/2023 football Edit

Winston Wright Jr. starting to round back into form athletically for FSU

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

Winston Wright Jr. went through a lot over his first 12 months with the Florida State football program.

The West Virginia wide receiver transfer arrived in Tallahassee last season as one of the Seminoles' more hyped newcomers. However, he never got to see the field in 2022 as he suffered a serious leg injury in a car accident while back home on spring break after just a few practices at FSU.

The injury was severe enough that while Wright was hopeful to return at some point during the 2022 season, that never happened. He began doing marginally more at practice, but never got onto the field in a game during his first year with the program.

That had to make Wright's performance in Thursday morning's Tour of Duty workout especially cathartic for him. He may not have a football back in his hands yet. That will come Monday when FSU opens spring camp.

But the slot receiver looked like himself again during the intense early-morning workout, running, cutting and doing all aspects of the grueling workout, many of which he couldn't have done last year no matter how hard he tried.

"He's got to the point where it's just like everyone else. He's out there and he's working, he's pushing himself," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said of Wright. "Just like anybody who has ever had an injury, there are going to be things that we make sure that we're doing all that we can to help him be his best. There's not a limitation with him. Now, it's just about getting better in all things.

"He didn't play this last year because there were some things that we wanted to see, feel that explosiveness and I'm starting to see that a lot of time here within these Tour of Duty workouts. He was active and rolling in every one of them. There are some things that we're smart with him as we're continuing to build that endurance, but he's been remarkable."

Upon arriving at FSU, Wright quite possibly didn't expect to be back in Tallahassee for the 2023 season. He led the Mountaineers in receiving yards in both 2020 (529) and 2021 (688) with seven touchdown catches and a kick return touchdown as well.

While the road may have not been what Wright expected, he seems to finally be back on track. FSU director of strength and conditioning Josh Storms can't help but have quite a few words of praise for Wright's effort in his recovery and how it is paying off now.

"It's been a long, hard path for him. But if there's any kid that was ever cut out to face that adversity and come out on top of it, it's Winston Wright. That kid's mindset is a different mindset than most young men his age," Storms said. "That's a guy who came in every day, nose to the grindstone, poured into the rehab process, tried to maximize what he was able to do full-go in the weight room to the point now where he's coming back full-go across the board. There are still some steps in front of him in terms of managing workload, us keeping an eye on the data and things like that. But from what he went through just shy of a year ago to where he's at now, he's been nothing short of remarkable."