Isaiah Wright scrawled reminders on his bathroom mirror with a marker he kept from a Maryland football meeting room.
They ranged from life goals, like playing the piano and writing more, to motivational quotes and scriptures. One such reminder was the Serenity Prayer, a verse his mother sent him that describes accepting the unchangeable and finding courage to move forward.
The words guided Wright as he recovered from an Achilles tear that sidelined him for his entire first season with the Terps last year. Even as doubts lingered during his recovery, he was determined to return to the field.
The left guard, now positioned as the captain of the offensive line, finally achieved his goal during Saturday’s season-opener.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Wright said. “When adversity shows, it doesn’t mean it’s going to destroy you — you can turn it into something beautiful.”
After he graduated from Buffalo in 2023, the now-redshirt senior transferred to Maryland for a fresh environment. But the excitement of a new team and season ahead was abruptly interrupted that offseason.
Wright was in summer training, running endzone to endzone when he misstepped on his sprint. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound lineman instantly fell to the ground.
“It didn’t really hurt, it was just really sudden,” Wright said. “I tried to take another step and that didn’t work out.”
The day after his Achilles tear was diagnosed, the lineman still completed upper body and conditioning workouts to set an example for his new teammates and coaches.
Wright underwent surgery less than a week after the incident, keeping a positive mindset and joking with the anesthesiologist, “don’t mess up.”
“What could have been a very serious, somber moment wasn’t,” Valerie Wright said.
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Wright studied professional athletes who experienced Achilles injuries, including NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former NBA player Kobe Bryant. He emulated Rodgers by drinking bone broth, which is rich in collagen and supports tendon health
“No crazy diet, but just a very purposeful diet,” Wright said.
Wright watched videos of Bryant using a hyperbaric chamber, which provides extra oxygen, and told Maryland’s training staff, who set him up at one in Rockville, Maryland. For five weeks, he went twice a week for an hour-and-a-half each time.
Wright wore a mask as he breathed the pressurized, pure oxygen inside the chamber. He said when he left, he felt like he could run 10 miles.
“I came out of the chamber and I just felt like I could breathe so easily,” Wright said. “You kind of get a euphoric feeling when you’re done with the session.”
Wright’s movement with his right foot was very limited after surgery. The North Plainfield, New Jersey native could only perform toe exercises — in what’s often called toe yoga — that he still regularly does.
He alternated moving his big toe and the other four in his exercises. He also used an ultrasizer, flexing his foot and curling his toes to strengthen muscles on the bottom of his foot. He poured marbles on the ground before collecting them with his toes and returning them to the original container.
After about two months of only toe drills, Wright started exercising his entire right foot. He focused on different types of calf raises, sometimes adding weight with a kettlebell or barbell while seated.
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While the offensive lineman didn’t attend church, he reconnected with his faith through the Christian Cultural Center YouTube channel. Wright — who also hopes to become a film director or writer — turned to scriptwriting, poetry and reggae music from artists such as Bob Marley to connect with his Jamaican heritage.
“A lot of his music is really spiritual,” Wright said. “He also sang a lot about love, too, so a lot of his music was helpful to me.”
Wright began to walk after another month. In the Terps’ training room, he used an ultra-G treadmill, which helps reduce body weight with a differential air pressure technique to make steps easier.
Wright returned to the field after another six months of ramping up his training. His first time donning a helmet again came in Maryland’s first spring practice, which he admitted felt weird at first.
“I was just eager to get back on the field,” Wright said. “Wherever they put me, I was excited for.”
When Wright visited Maryland in 2024, he was drawn by the camaraderie between staff and players, the team’s need for an experienced lineman and coach Michael Locksley’s vision of becoming the first Black head coach to win a national championship. Wright committed before the visit even ended.
Now, Locksley and his teammates have called him an anchor of the offensive line.
“The leader of the o-line,” tackle Alan Herron said. “He makes sure the energy is here, comes to practice with the right mindset every day.”
In the Terps’ season-opening win against Florida Atlantic University, Wright didn’t allow a pressure and finished with the second-highest pass-blocking grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus. Maryland didn’t concede any sacks.
He’s a vital piece of a much-rebuilt offensive line — even if it’s a year later than he anticipated.
