Standing on the practice
field in a San Francisco 49ers football uniform at
Redwood Middle School Monday, Kyle Wright must
have felt like his life had come full circle.
From St. Helena to Napa to Danville to Miami to
Minneapolis to Santa Clara and now back to the Napa
Valley, Wright looked around after a joint practice
with the Oakland Raiders during training camp and
noticed a lot of familiar surroundings.
“It’s good to be out here,” he said.
“It’s been a humbling experience.
It’s surreal.”
“I practiced with the Napa Saints right out there
on those fields, from when I was about 9 until I was
13,” Wright said, looking north. “I played
middle school basketball in this Redwood gym here.
That’s where we were getting taped.”
Wright, a rookie from the University of Miami, is one
of four quarterbacks on the Niners roster. The team had
two practices against the Raiders yesterday before
returning to their facility in Santa Clara.
“I’m just happy to be in a new situation
and have a new opportunity and just kind of turn the
page from that,” he said.
The 49ers claimed Wright, a former Napa resident, off
waivers from the Minnesota Vikings last month. Wright,
who played a year of junior varsity football at Vintage
High School before transferring to Monte
Vista-Danville, was signed by Minnesota as an undrafted
free agent in April following the NFL Draft. He was
waived by the Vikings on July 2.
He played four years of college football at Miami and
finished his final season by passing for 1,747 yards
with 12 touchdowns and rushing for 66 yards and three
touchdowns for the Hurricanes.
Wright was Miami’s starting quarterback for much
of the past three seasons. In 10 games in 2007, he
completed 141 of 241 passes.
Wright threw 38 touchdown passes with 31 interceptions
in 33 games at Miami. He played for the Hurricanes from
2004 to 2007.
“The last couple of years at Miami were
tough,” he said. “That’s kind of the
product of not winning games.”
In 2005, his first season as a starter, Wright tied a
school record by throwing five touchdown passes in a
47-17 victory against Wake Forest. He led the ACC in
touchdown passes (18), was second in pass efficiency to
Virginia Tech’s Marcus Vick, and was the only
Honorable Mention All-ACC selection at quarterback.
He was selected as the quarterback on the Preseason
All-ACC team and finished second in balloting for the
ACC Preseason Player of the Year in 2006. Wright was
also named to the Maxwell Award watchlist and was
projected as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.
Wright was widely regarded as the nation’s top
high school quarterback for the 2002-2003 season,
during which he was named the Gatorade National High
School Football Player of the Year and SuperPrep
National Player of the Year, as well as being ranked
the fifth best overall player in the nation by Scout
recruiting magazine. He played in the 2003 U.S. Army
All-American Bowl game.
Additionally, Wright was ranked as the best pro-style
quarterback in the class of 2003 by rivals.com.
He is playing behind Shaun Hill, Alex Smith and J.T.
O’Sullivan, the three candidates to be the
49ers’ starting quarterback. He is also working
with offensive coordinator Mike Martz and
quarterbacks coach Ted Tollner.
“When my agent called me and told me I was going
to San Francisco, I was really happy,” said
Wright, who grew up a Niners fan. “It was a cool
deal. I’m just trying to take my opportunities
one step at a time. I’m learning a lot from coach
Tollner and coach Martz.
“It’s hard coming in late in the game like
I did. I’ve really only been in the offense for
about a week. Coach (Mike) Nolan’s slogan this
year is ‘one step at a time.’ And
that’s how I’m approaching it.
“Coach Martz demands a lot. He and coach Tollner
are great teachers and I’m just trying to absorb
all that.”
Wright said he hasn’t been getting many reps
because he joined the team late.
“Honestly, it’s nice to be in a situation
where I can sit back and learn — that’s
pretty much what I anticipate this year,” he
said.
Wright attended St. Helena Catholic School from the
third grade through sixth grade and played in the St.
Helena Little League program. His father, Ken, works
for the city of Napa.
“I used to go up to the Vets Home, as my dad was
a baseball coach. I was a bat-boy up there, summer
after summer.”
(napavalleyregister.com)