Alex Smith is known to his coaches, teammates and even his fans as your prototypical "nice guy". It had been that way since the 49ers selected Smith with the first choice in the 2005 NFL draft. He was so interested in doing the right thing that he became an easy mark for club officials, marketing reps, the media, teammates, fans. If a hand needed to be shook, an appearance needed to be made, a baby needed to be held, he was the guy.
It was the same thing in March when the 49ers began their offseason workouts. Smith felt the need to set a good example again, so he showed up at 5:40 a.m., Monday through Friday, for six consecutive weeks. And he continued making sponsorship and marketing appearances. Back-up Trent Dilfer offered Smith some words of advice about his hectic schedule, telling him to take some down time. Instead of showing up every day or getting away for a week at a time, he would sneak off for two days here, three days there, joining his family at a house he rented in Tahoe, flying home to San Diego to take in a Padres game, or driving to Yosemite.
By the time training camp rolled around in July, he looked and moved as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The 49ers hope that change will lead to a breakout season for Smith, who will lead the club in its exhibition finale tomorrow night against the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. He struggled as a rookie, showed signs of promise last season and now is looking to lift the franchise to its first winning season since 2002. There was a calmness in Smith's tone recently when he spoke about the upcoming season. For the first time since he was drafted, he wasn't asked to learn a new offensive system in the offseason, despite coordinator Norv Turner leaving to become coach of the Chargers. The team maintained the same terminology and general philosophy under new coordinator Jim Hostler, who served as quarterbacks coach last season, and Smith believes that will go a long way toward helping him stack another building block on the foundation he laid the past two years.

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