A high school in Fresno getting attention from former Fresno State football stars. Here’s why
Former Fresno State standout and NFL player Dwayne Wright always wanted to be a head football coach.
The journey wasn’t easy. There were stints as an assistant coach at University City-La Jolla, alma maters Lincoln-San Diego and West Hills College, Fresno City College and Roosevelt High, where an offseason departure opened the door.
Wright will make his head-coaching debut Thursday when the Rough Riders host Reedley at Sunnyside Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“This has been a plan since I retired in the NFL,” Wright said. “I’ve always wanted to be in a program that mirrored how I grew up, and I’ll be able to give back to the city and I feel like I’m at home.”
Wright said it’s all about the student-athletes. He wants to make sure his players eat, go to church and have clothes.
“These types of things are very important to be a head coach. It’s not just football,” he said.
Wright was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft and played pro ball for six years.
Then it was coaching for Wright, and he had a vision: He hoped someday he would reunite with former Fresno State teammates on the sideline.
He did so with then-Roosevelt coach Vince Branstetter, who also had former Bulldogs offensive lineman Joe Schey on the staff.
When Branstetter and Schey left, Wright was named the head coach at Roosevelt.
He made a few phone calls and got former Bulldogs Bernard Berrian, Vincent Mays, Nico Herron and Elgin Simmons on the coaching staff.
Wright is already making a difference for the Rough Riders without playing a game.
He said the GPA went from 1.8 to 3.1. High classroom achievers get their name on a meeting-room wall.
Wright said they had a large turnout at their kickoff dinner. And the junior varsity has over 40 players.
“I’m demanding when it comes to academics,” he said. “Find a way to get the student-athletes to believe.”
Mayor Jerry Dyer talks to players
Wright invited Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer to speak with the team inside the weight room Monday.
He gave the team advice and encouraging words.
Players listened intently and sang the fight song afterward. The team posed for a photo with Dyer.
Bernard Berrian sees Fresno State connection
Berrian didn’t hesitate when Wright asked if he would join his staff.
He spent the past two seasons coaching at Buchanan with then-Bears coach Matt Giordano.
“We’re all familiar with each other,” said the former Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears receiver. “We’re familiar with the system that we ran at Fresno State. We’re familiar with the systems we run in other places. We have knowledge and we’re going to bring a lot to the Roosevelt area.”
Berrian said the Rough Riders will play like the Bulldogs he played for under coach Pat Hill.
“Hard-nosed, tough and aggressive,” he said. “They laid a great foundation at Fresno State for years to come, starting off with the Sweeneys and all the coaches in the pedigree after that. We want to start a program here like that at Roosevelt. We want to give these kids things they’ve never seen before and give them schemes and concepts and deal with things that they’ve never dealt with before on and off the field.”
Wright said he’s very “prideful” to see seniors he has worked with since eighth grade become role models for others.
He plans on sticking at Roosevelt for awhile.
“It’s time to keep my vision, one team, one goal and community and that’s what it’s about,” he said. “We have been doing big things in the community. We always say, ‘Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog. Bulldog born, Bulldog bred, I want to be a Bulldog until the day I’m dead.’ We meant that. These kids have bought in and we’re looking forward to the game.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
