DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — St. Teresa High School alum Jacardia Wright returned to Decatur this week after winning the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks.
Wright was a three-time Macon County Player of the Year for the Bulldogs before playing college football at Kansas State and Missouri State.
After signing with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent, Wright played in one game before suffering a season-ending injury.
Wright spoke to a new generation of St. Teresa Bulldogs, emphasizing education as the foundation of his path to the NFL.
"School comes first," Wright said. "Without an education, I would have never made it to the next step, which is college. And that opened up doors for all the other places I wanted to go in my life."
Wright said the homecoming carried personal significance.
"Decatur, Illinois means so much to me," Wright said.
He reflected on his first-year experience reaching the Super Bowl.
"I never knew anybody that made it that far, personally, so just making it to the NFL and then, first year, possibly going to the Super Bowl, it was definitely a dream come true and I loved every second of it," Wright said.
Wright said he hopes his story serves as a model for others from the city.
"Coming up out of this city, everybody can do exactly what I did," Wright said. "I didn't know any better. I've never been anywhere else, so being here and being able to share out all of these moments with my friends and family just meant the world to me."
Wright signed and also hung a jersey at the Forsyth Buffalo Wild Wings.
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