Dae’Quan Wright’s path back to college football has already turned into one of the stranger storylines of the offseason, and now there’s another layer to it.
In a recent interview with The Advocate in New Orleans, the former Ole Miss tight end said LSU was not the only program that came calling once he entered the transfer portal. Per Koki Riley’s reporting, Wright said Ole Miss, South Carolina and Virginia Tech also showed interest in bringing him in.
Wright’s situation has drawn plenty of attention because he had hoped his name would be making noise for what he did on the field. Instead, his return to college football after spending time with the Cleveland Browns has put him in the middle of a controversy. He agreed to join LSU, cleared waivers in the NFL, and then was ruled ineligible by the SEC.
The interest from multiple schools fits with the résumé he built before all of that unfolded. Wright started his college career at Virginia Tech, where he played in Blacksburg during the 2022 and 2023 seasons and totaled 574 receiving yards.
His production jumped once he got to Oxford. After failing to score a touchdown at Virginia Tech, Wright found the end zone nine times over two seasons with Ole Miss. He also finished with 66 catches and 1,029 receiving yards there.
Whether the interest from Ole Miss, South Carolina and Virginia Tech played out exactly as Wright described remains unclear. What is clear is that his story is still very much unfolding.
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