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Change of Plans Pays Off for Markus Wright

For the past two years Markus Wright has been asked basically just one question.

“Why Jordan?”

To understand the reason for this, a little background is in order.

Wright is a senior at Jordan Vocational High School. The 18-year-old has made a verbal commitment to the University of California (Berkley) to play football beginning next season. According to Jordan’s head football coach, Jim Brown, Wright is the first football athlete from the school to commit to play for a Division I college in years.

“We are not sure but it has been decades, we think. There was a player who went to junior college and then went on to Division I play but straight from high school, it may have been close to 50 years. At least since the 70’s or 80’s,” says Brown.

To say that Wright has created a lot of buzz is an understatement. It has been a wave of excitement for the Red Jackets’ football program ever since Wright arrived on the scene as a rising junior. Knowing that the promising college prospect specifically chose the school among many other options has only added to the interest.

Back in middle school, Wright played football at Arnold Middle School. He probably would have moved on to Jordan as a freshman since he resides in the Jordan High School zone but a close family friend was planning on attending a local private school. Wright went there, too.

Always an excellent student, Wright found the academic standard at the school suited him. He played football on varsity as an outside linebacker and defensive end.  He even tried a season of basketball as a freshman. Wright had no issues with the school or athletic programs but he kept having a feeling he wasn’t in the right place for him to be seen as a viable football recruit.web wright inset1 CV 1015

During his sophomore year Wright made a decision to leave. He had come to realize he had the talent to play football at the college level and he wanted to be in a program where he would not only be groomed for that end but also be a major contributor to a team. He finished the school year with a pretty good idea of where he wanted to start in the fall. Wright had done his homework and after gaining the support and approval of his mother, he started a new chapter in his life at Jordan High School.

There are always rumors and speculation when a promising athlete changes schools and athletic programs. Wright’s situation was no different in that regard. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound exceptional student athlete had a world of opportunities available to him including schools with established winning football programs. So, the question then and even to this day, is, “Why Jordan?”

“People, like have this messed up perception about Jordan. They think it’s a really bad school but then when you get here, you find out they have these amazing teachers, amazing faculty and these amazing students and everything.  People don’t know that I take all college classes here. I take all advanced classes. I’m dual-enrolled through Columbus Tech so I am already like a college sophomore now. I’m still getting my education,” says Wright.

For the record, Coach Brown says no one from Jordan ever approached Wright about attending the school. Brown had noticed Wright and the athlete’s exceptional gridiron capabilities during “7 on 7” with Wright’s previous school but had no idea he was looking for a change.

“We never recruited him,” states Brown, simply.

As far as Wright was concerned, Jordan was the school closest to his home and he had heard about the football program under Coach Brown’s direction. Wright felt the Red Jackets football team was on the verge of growing into something special and he wanted to be a part of it.

“It’s harder to get recruited from a one A private school than it is to get recruited from a AAA school. I knew playing at the next level was what I wanted to do and playing at a small school wouldn’t get me there. And, I knew that the program was developing and I wanted to be a part of that so I would be known as the guy who helped develop it,” he says.

Once the move was made and Wright was officially a student at Jordan, he began to search for a college which would be the right fit for him. He had been gaining notoriety on the football field during his junior season, especially after Brown shifted Wright to offense. That move did more than change Wright to another side of the ball, it gave him a whole new perspective.

Wright says he had always wanted to play offense but ever since he was the overweight kid playing rec league football, he had been cast as a defensive player. Brown sought to change that because Wright was just built for the Red Jacket offense.

“He has big hands, soft hands for catching the ball. He’s a natural for it. Initially, he was nervous but I think it was at Hardaway when he caught a touchdown that he knew he could do it,” says Brown.

From the beginning, Brown says Wright has had no desire to be the center of attention but has worked tirelessly to improve. The payoff for that effort has been 10 college offers. Wright chose to play in the PAC-12 Conference as a middle linebacker, outside linebacker or strong safety for the UC Berkley Golden Bears but the primary reason for the selection, he says, is the school’s education standards.

It was a big decision over two years ago for a young athlete to leave a comfortable environment in the hopes of securing a better chance for a future of his own design. Looking back, does Wright have any regrets?

“Not one,” he says, smiling broadly.


Columbus Valley/Special Feature/October 2015

Markus Wright

Jordan High School

Columbus, Georgia

By Beth Welch

Photos by Jerry Christenson

Change of plans pays off for Jordan football player

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