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Wells, Wright suddenly back in thick of things for YSU
jacksonville, ala.
Youngstown State running back Jody Webb said this week that this year’s football team is different. Not only is it different because of the playoff position YSU finds itself in right now, but the team itself has been different.
The sacrifices the players have made for each other for the betterment of the team have been greater.
And you can’t find more who have sacrificed for the Penguins than Hunter Wells and Lee Wright.
Wells lost his starting quarterback job after a four-way competition this fall and after a few weeks into the season he wasn’t even suiting up for home games or traveling to away games.
Now he’s throwing for 290 yards on 10 completions, helping take down the third-seeded Jacksonville State Gamecocks to put YSU into the FCS quarterfinals.
Instead of giving up, Wells accepted his role during the down times this year as the scout-team quarterback, sacrificing himself so the team could flourish.
“People are willing to do stuff we’ve never done before,” Wells said. “That’s why we’re here. People have bought into the system.”
Wright’s situation was a bit different. Suspended after a gun incident on campus, Wright continued to show up to practice every day, believing he wasn’t going to see the field at all this year. But he was allowed to play this postseason and the team is now enjoying the fruits of the labors Wright didn’t know he could personally cash in on.
“No matter what, I’m a hard worker,” Wright said. “This was about me knowing how to fight and I’d do it again if I had to.”
Linebackers and quarterbacks aren’t natural allies, even on the same team, but Wells and Wright found themselves together during their time in limbo due to their similar situations.
“Hunter is amazing,” Wright said. “When we couldn’t play we’d sit around and talk about the games together. We’d talk about how we wished we were on the field and now that we’re on the field we’re making the best of it.”
Wright’s decision to come back had an extra layer to think about when a YSU board said his suspension had been served.
“I give [Lee] a lot of credit for stepping up and saying he wanted to play because this is a whole year of eligibility that he’s risking,” Wells said. “But people are doing things they’ve never done before. They’re willing to sacrifice to give us a better shot because we’re a better team with [Lee] on the field. It says a lot about his personality.”