Fond du Lac’s Will Wright receives Burlsworth award
Will Wright has always done things the right way.
A positive attitude and strong work ethic have guided Wright, a senior at Fond du Lac High School, to where he is today.
His teammates and coaches on the Fond du Lac football team noticed it, as he was an unquestioned leader and a captain for the Cardinals.
Now Wright is being recognized on a national level.
After being nominated by Fond du Lac coach Mike Gnewuch in the fall, Wright was recently selected as a recipient for the Burlsworth Character Award — a national award honoring character and sportsmanship in high school football.
Named after former University of Arkansas football standout Brandon Burlsworth, who many consider to be the greatest walk-on in NCAA football history, the award recognizes hard work and character in high school football players. During his career, Burlsworth, an offensive lineman, exemplified what going the extra mile and doing things the right way can bring — walking on to the Arkansas football team, earning All-America honors as a senior and eventually getting selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft.
Burlsworth died shortly thereafter in a car accident.
The Burlsworth Character Award has been given out in Arkansas high schools for the past decade, moving to a nationwide award this year.
According to the Burlsworth Character Award’s official website: “The award honors the player who may or may not be a top athletic performer, but who represents the ideals and values that Brandon Burlsworth had: to give 100 percent on the field and to stand as a moral example to his team. We hope that the award encourages the honoree to continue on his path of excellence, and inspires others to follow his lead.”
When deciding who he wanted to nominate for the award, Gnewuch and the rest of the Fond du Lac football coaching staff didn’t take long to come to a decision: Wright.
“He does everything right in and out of the classroom,” Gnewuch said of Wright. “His G.P.A. is exceptional. He was a Wisconsin Football Coaches Association all-state member for academics. He’s just a leader. He does the right things. He’s a kid that everybody looks up to. … He’s always positive, always does the right thing. He’s just a good role model for everybody on the team.”
When Wright found out he was a recipient for the award, he was a little taken aback. He’d known he was a nominee, but hadn’t really thought much about it up until this point. Now he realizes just how much of an honor it is to be mentioned in the same breath as Brandon Burlsworth.
“It’s pretty cool,” Wright said. “I didn’t really think about (getting nominated) that much because it was in October during the football season. But then with the movie coming out, I started to understand what he did and how he was looked at as the greatest walk-on, how he had such a positive light about him. I’m getting looked at like him. Even though I’m not the most athletically gifted just like him, but I’m positive and a good leader and making everyone smile — that (Coach Gnewuch) thought I exemplified that is pretty cool.”
On Friday morning, Wright was part of a short ceremony at Fond du Lac High School in which he was presented with a certificate from the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Wright also received a DVD from Burlsworth’s brother, Marty, congratulating him and explaining why he’d been selected, as well as Burlsworth’s biography.
Lastly, Wright’s name will be included in the credits of the movie “Greater” — which chronicles Burlsworth’s life and hits theaters in the summer. The film stars Christopher Severio, Neal McDonough and Leslie Easterbrook.
Gnewuch hopes that the example Wright has set will continue to influence the Fond du Lac football program in the years to come.
“We continue to have success on the field because we’re doing things the right way off the field,” Gnewuch said. “Will kind of embodies what a lot of guys on the team are doing. It’s contagious. You get good kids like Will doing the right thing and everybody else sees what he’s doing and they’re likely to follow because he’s such a good kid and such a good leader.”