It could be like old times: Brad Sorensen and Shareece Wright carpooling to Chargers Park in San Diego, just like they shared rides to Colton High School so many years ago.
But there’s one catch so far.
‘‘I haven’t had a chance to, because he’s staying at the hotel” with the other rookies, said Wright, a third-year cornerback, as the team’s minicamp wound down last week.
Still, life is good for both, as the NFL chapter of the Yellowjackets Alumni Club continues to flourish.
Wright has an opportunity to step into the Chargers’ starting lineup with the departures of Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason. Sorensen, who set all kinds of passing records at Division I-AA Southern Utah, was the Chargers’ seventh-round pick in April and seems highly thought of by his new team, though certainly nobody expects him to beat out Philip Rivers.
‘‘He’s a quiet guy, but don’t let that fool you,” Chargers quarterbacks coach Frank Reich said. “I think he’s pretty confident and comfortable in his own skin and who he is, and I think he has the right attitude to learn and to develop.”
That isn’t all, either. Besides Wright and Sorensen, former Colton coach Harold Strauss could, if he wished, bum tickets off of Ravens’ cornerback Jimmy Smith, Seattle’s Allen Bradford (transitioning from running back to linebacker), and Denver’s Damien Holmes.
‘‘We had an awesome team, so it’s fun to see all the success that’s come out of Colton High School,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen’s journey has had a few left turns. He played one year at San Bernardino Valley College before going on a two-year Mormon mission to Spain. He then redshirted in BYU at 2009, but got caught up in a numbers game and transferred to Southern Utah. There, he threw for more than 3,000 yards three straight years — and 21, 17 and 23 touchdowns, respectively — while throwing to a brand new set of receivers each year.
‘‘I liked his delivery, and I really felt he had one of the better arms in the draft,” said Reich, part of new coach Mike McCoy’s staff in San Diego. “ ... His feet were good, his accuracy was good, and his arm is really good.
‘‘Just talking to him, I could tell he had the right mental framework for a quarterback ... Offensively he wasn’t exposed to a whole lot (in college), but he’s picking it up well. In meeting with him, what I saw more was just an aptitude, to be able to mentally pick it up.”
The mission to Spain helped him, he said, in an unexpected way.
‘‘I got to throw the football maybe once a month, but it taught me diligence and hard work,” he said. “And then, going on a mission, I forgot a lot of the bad habits I developed. You come back and you learn fresh. I was older, I was more mature, and to learn the game again at that age, with more maturity, I think it just helped me out.”
His year at BYU, where he played on the scout team and soaked up football knowledge, helped too. He applied those skills at Southern Utah, and while there he’d talk occasionally with Wright, who was drafted by the Chargers in the third round out of USC in 2011. The conversations intensified after he was drafted.
‘‘He knew I had talent, and he thought if I had a chance to make it to this level it would be awesome,” Sorensen said. “He just told me to keep working hard, learn all I can, just learn from the veteran guys in front of me.”
Now Wright tries to pump up his buddy’s confidence, though that might have its limits if they’re ever across the line from each other during practice.
‘‘I’m letting him know that it’s a grind at this level,” Wright said. “And don’t get down on yourself. No matter how your day was, just come back and have a better day tomorrow.”
But there’s one catch so far.
‘‘I haven’t had a chance to, because he’s staying at the hotel” with the other rookies, said Wright, a third-year cornerback, as the team’s minicamp wound down last week.
Still, life is good for both, as the NFL chapter of the Yellowjackets Alumni Club continues to flourish.
Wright has an opportunity to step into the Chargers’ starting lineup with the departures of Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason. Sorensen, who set all kinds of passing records at Division I-AA Southern Utah, was the Chargers’ seventh-round pick in April and seems highly thought of by his new team, though certainly nobody expects him to beat out Philip Rivers.
‘‘He’s a quiet guy, but don’t let that fool you,” Chargers quarterbacks coach Frank Reich said. “I think he’s pretty confident and comfortable in his own skin and who he is, and I think he has the right attitude to learn and to develop.”
That isn’t all, either. Besides Wright and Sorensen, former Colton coach Harold Strauss could, if he wished, bum tickets off of Ravens’ cornerback Jimmy Smith, Seattle’s Allen Bradford (transitioning from running back to linebacker), and Denver’s Damien Holmes.
‘‘We had an awesome team, so it’s fun to see all the success that’s come out of Colton High School,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen’s journey has had a few left turns. He played one year at San Bernardino Valley College before going on a two-year Mormon mission to Spain. He then redshirted in BYU at 2009, but got caught up in a numbers game and transferred to Southern Utah. There, he threw for more than 3,000 yards three straight years — and 21, 17 and 23 touchdowns, respectively — while throwing to a brand new set of receivers each year.
‘‘I liked his delivery, and I really felt he had one of the better arms in the draft,” said Reich, part of new coach Mike McCoy’s staff in San Diego. “ ... His feet were good, his accuracy was good, and his arm is really good.
‘‘Just talking to him, I could tell he had the right mental framework for a quarterback ... Offensively he wasn’t exposed to a whole lot (in college), but he’s picking it up well. In meeting with him, what I saw more was just an aptitude, to be able to mentally pick it up.”
The mission to Spain helped him, he said, in an unexpected way.
‘‘I got to throw the football maybe once a month, but it taught me diligence and hard work,” he said. “And then, going on a mission, I forgot a lot of the bad habits I developed. You come back and you learn fresh. I was older, I was more mature, and to learn the game again at that age, with more maturity, I think it just helped me out.”
His year at BYU, where he played on the scout team and soaked up football knowledge, helped too. He applied those skills at Southern Utah, and while there he’d talk occasionally with Wright, who was drafted by the Chargers in the third round out of USC in 2011. The conversations intensified after he was drafted.
‘‘He knew I had talent, and he thought if I had a chance to make it to this level it would be awesome,” Sorensen said. “He just told me to keep working hard, learn all I can, just learn from the veteran guys in front of me.”
Now Wright tries to pump up his buddy’s confidence, though that might have its limits if they’re ever across the line from each other during practice.
‘‘I’m letting him know that it’s a grind at this level,” Wright said. “And don’t get down on yourself. No matter how your day was, just come back and have a better day tomorrow.”
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