Wright enjoys ‘surreal’ return to Napa

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)