Behind the scenes: Jeremiah Wright celebrates in Selma selection to New Orleans Saints in NFL Draft Saturday

Does a butterfly flapping its wing in one place cause an effect on things in another? Can one singular movement in a network change the entire system? We may never know.  

The Selma Sun/Black Belt News Network caught up with football offensive lineman, Selma High and Auburn University alumnus Jeremiah Wright on Saturday at his NFL Draft Watch Party which was held in Selma at Queen City restaurant when he found out he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round. Yes, he came home to be with family, friends and community for the big day.

So, picture this – the path of Jeremiah Wright. 

It's elementary school. Baseball. Yes, baseball is Jeremiah's sport of choice, and he is playing it well. Sixth grade. We are talking the original School of Discovery sixth grade. A coach who works at SOD but coaches at R.B. Hudson Middle School walks up to Jeremiah and asks him to come play football. Where? At RBH with the older children. Jeremiah responds, "You'll have to ask my mom." And that is what Coach Eugene Foster did. Mrs. Latasha Roller responded, "I will allow him to play, but if he comes home and doesn't like it, don't ask me anymore." She told The Sun that when she picked Jeremiah up from football practice, he was all smiles, so she told Coach Foster, "I will see you tomorrow." She says they went off to Hibbett Sports, purchased him a pair of cleats and the rest is history. That year, RB Hudson went undefeated at 9-0. They were officially a football home, thanks to one question by a coach that saw potential and inquired about it.

As the story would have it, the eighth grade Jeremiah was called upon to join the high school team as a middle schooler. Coach Leroy Miles not only added him to the roster, he allowed him to play in the final two games of the year (left tackle, right tackle, d-line, punter). Jeremiah showed why the Selma High School Saints brought him on early. Speaking of "Saints," put a pin right there.

Auburn University. Jeremiah is living out the goals of a student-athlete. He made it to college and to college football. He paused to tell us of the biggest struggle he had to fight to overcome. He tore his ACL in March 2021 during a team scrimmage. It was a downer for him to have his season end in injury and miss out on playing. He flipped the script, though. "Yes, that was really hard," he said. "But it taught me patience." That very patience found him playing football in a different way. He helped his teammates. "I saw things from the sideline that they might not have seen because they were on the actual field. I would share what I saw with them to help improve their game." Teamwork makes the dreamwork. Jeremiah was a sure example of how it does in more ways than one. 

After the rain. It is 2023. Auburn vs. Ole Miss. "That is where I made my first career start," smiled Jeremiah, who played on the offensive line. "And this is also the game that we made the most rushing yards in a game since the first half of the season." 

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It is Saturday, April 25, 2026. NFL Draft Day. The third and final day. Jeremiah is at a juncture in life that started many years before it. We took a good bit of time to talk with him about his thoughts. What we noticed is that the giant of a man at 6'5" and 348 lbs. is very gentle. Humble. Peaceful. He spoke with a soft voice to the children at the party and with kindness to all. His smile lit up the room during our interviews each day. About three years ago, a child quietly searched his name at a restaurant while posing for a photo with him after an Auburn game. As the room got quiet for that photo, eight-year-old Keimarion's phone spoke, "Jeremiah is also known as the weeping prophet." The room exploded in laughter, but what if? Weeping is certainly what Jeremiah did on this draft day – each phone call that came in, the announcement, conversation with his new coach – he teared up in joy and thankfulness. Please note, though, this is the offseason Jeremiah we are describing, not on the gridiron Jeremiah that is about to bully everything that even thinks about crossing that 50 yard line. Yeah, no, that one will be in beast mode from start to finish. In his words, "I'm ready to be a bully out there! I'm ready to go to work!" 

As he sat and talked with us, he would sometimes pause to think before he spoke. Jeremiah went back in time to leave some instructions for his sixth-grade self and any other sixth grade Jeremiahs watching him or who have arrived to this point already with him. It was a real moment of past meeting present and future in one sitting. He left these words, "Keep working. Keep striving. Keep shooting for the stars. You can do it. You can and you will make it. We ain't there yet, but we are on the way. With God. Still set goals to reach. Stay the course and stay under control. Keep that controlled aggression out on that field, though, that's where you get to be a bully at. Keep being a bully on that field, kid. We ain't there yet, man. Let's go!"

Jeremiah's parents had something to say. His father, Mario Collins, said he is deep into a proud father moment watching this all unfold. He said his son now has his foot in a door he has always dreamed about for him. His mother told us how things were raising Jeremiah amidst so many things that could have changed his course in the wrong way. She said first and foremost that when praises go up to God, the blessings come down. She prayed first. Then, she kept Jeremiah away from so many things that the average teenage boy would be curious about and want to get into. She said later in life that he came to her and said, "Ma, I see why now. I see why you didn't let me be out and do those things. Thank you." She remembered Coach Calvin Martinez Marshall taking Jeremiah to a camp that she could not take him to. She remembered Councilman Sam Randolph taking Jeremiah to his very first Auburn game as a young kid. "I would do it all again," said Marshall.  

We caught up with Randolph who was out of town at a funeral during the draft. "I'm so proud of Jeremiah, he said. "He always had that drive and determination since he was little. Now he's getting ready to show the world just how great he is, and I can't wait to watch him play on Sundays."

So, we ask if a butterfly flapped his wings one day. We doubt that is what happened. It is obvious, however, that one singular act can definitely cause a chain of events that leads to greatness.

All of this brings us to GAME DAY. Jeremiah's name was called way back in April as a draftee of the NFL. A kid from smalltown Selma, Alabama. It's the New Orleans Saints vs. Anybody. Everything that just happened in this article is on display. The rewind button is headed forward. Jeremiah walked us through his ritual. "OK. Game day. I wake up and thank God first. My music jam is now on. Young Jeezy. ‘Put On’ is the one I'm playing today. I head to the field and find the three yard line and that is where I pray. If I get to the three and someone is already there, I go and find the 30. I'm looking for the number three. Then, I walk the field and take it all in. Look for me doing this. It is my ritual. I look around to find family and friends in the stands. I breathe that all in. I will do this game one and every game after. Then, I prepare to go out and dominate. I'm a whole bully out there. Look for me. You will see me."