Vanderbilt’s De’Rickey Wright Nominated For Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award

DALLAS (FWAA) — Vanderbilt’s De’Rickey Wright is this week’s nominee for the 2023 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Wright, a senior, lost his mother in 2020 and has fought through both football and injury concerns to be on the brink of becoming the first person from his family to graduate from college.

“She would be excited,” Wright told the school’s athletics website when asked what his mother would think of where he is today. “Still being here, having the ability to become the first person in my family to have a college degree? She’d have a big smile on her face.”

Christina Henderson gave birth to Wright when she was 16 years old. The two bounced from home to home for several years, with Wright regularly sleeping on floors and with food often hard to come by.

Henderson passed away at the age of 35 on Dec. 7, 2020, after suffering a brain aneurysm days earlier. Wright had to figure out how to look after his three younger sisters — Shi’Nita, Sha’Nora and Latrice — while navigating the challenges of being a college freshman during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vanderbilt went winless that season, coach Derek Mason was fired, and Wright barely saw time on the field as he dealt with a hamstring injury and was forced to quarantine twice because of pandemic policies.

Wright’s grades suffered and he struggled on the field during coach Clark Lea’s first season in 2021. Wright put his name in the transfer portal in February of 2022 but remained enrolled in school, eventually withdrawing his name from the portal in April.

Lea reinstated Wright to the roster in June of 2022, and the 6-foot-4, 217-pounder made enough of an impression to earn a starting role at the Commodores’ anchor position, despite having a plate and 12 screws inserted into a broken finger on his left hand.

The Gadsden, Ala., native finished the 2022 season with three interceptions, good for second in the SEC. Wright has started all six games he has played in this year — he missed time with an ankle injury — and is currently tied for the team lead this season in interceptions (two), forced fumbles (two) and fumble recoveries (one).

Wright has started in 22 of the 31 games he has played in during his college career, tallying 114 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, 15 passes defended and five interceptions.

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