Tuesday, December 19, 2006
The nomadic player will be snapping the ball to Alex Smith on Sunday.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Tony Wragge nearly resigned himself to a career as a 330-pound tight end for the Los Angeles Avengers last year.
Instead, he'll be snapping the ball to Alex Smith on Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers chase an unlikely playoff berth with an even more unlikely starting center.
Wragge's determination to play football led him from his native Nebraska to college in Las Cruces, N.M., and then from five NFL training camps to offseasons in Germany and the Arena League.
Wragge never regretted a single detour, but the one-time Avenger is clearly thrilled to step into injured center Eric Heitmann's spot with the 49ers (6-8).
"The whole process I've been through, I know it's been building up to this moment," Wragge said Monday when the 49ers returned from a long weekend after a 24-14 upset victory in Seattle last Thursday to keep alive their postseason hopes.
"I don't get nervous any more. That's not my deal. It's my job. If you're nervous, why are you doing it? I just don't want to let these guys down. I want to perform at that level, and I don't want to miss a beat."
Wragge stepped in to play three solid quarters in Seattle after Heitmann broke his leg, and the 49ers' coaches clearly trust him already.
Coach Mike Nolan expects Wragge -- an undrafted free agent in 2002 who only earned his first regular NFL job this season -- to start Sunday against Arizona instead of David Baas, the 33rd overall pick in the 2005 draft.
Coach's assessment
"Tony has played well when he's been in there," Nolan said. "There's absolutely no disappointment in David Baas, but Tony has had more game experience in the middle."
After leaving New Mexico State, Wragge spent the final two months of his rookie season with the Arizona Cardinals, who had cut him in training camp. He even started one game at left guard, but got demoted to the Cards' practice squad in 2003.
After a year out of football, he had fun last year with the Arena League's Avengers as a pass-blocker who also caught a touchdown pass. Wragge tried out for the 49ers last season with plans to rejoin Los Angeles if it didn't work out, and he made the final roster -- only to be cut 48 hours later when San Francisco signed fullback Chris Hetherington.
But the 49ers told Wragge to wait by the phone, and he rejoined the club in late November for the season's final five weeks. Although the 26-year-old had a wife and child at home, he knew his chances with San Francisco would be improved by a year with NFL Europe's Rhein Fire.
Filled in at guard
He easily secured a roster spot as a backup this fall, and started two games at left guard earlier in the season while Larry Allen was injured.
Wragge is the third player penciled in as the 49ers' starting center this season. Heitmann has taken over seamlessly in both of the last two seasons for Jeremy Newberry, the two-time Pro Bowl center whose bad knees probably have ended his career at 30.
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