Wright Won’t Take It on Nose Again : Rams: With the switch to a four-man line, he’ll move from over the center to left tackle spot.

There are giant white rings on the grass at Rams Park, and Alvin Wright is a 300-pound vision as he almost gracefully gallops around them.

Around and around he goes in the coaches’ tricky new agility drill, and where he stops, only Wright knows.

“Reminds me of ballet,” Coach John Robinson said, unable to resist a smile.

Added defensive line coach John Teerlinck: “It is fun to see, isn’t it? Especially when it isn’t like he has to be here. . . . That’s a real start to building the kind of attitude we have to have to get the job done.”

It certainly doesn’t remind anyone at Rams Park of anything that went on last year, when Wright merely was asked to be a thick and sturdy nose tackle and tie up as many blockers as possible.

Now, with the defense changed from a three-man set to a four, Wright is the left tackle and will line up against a guard much of the time. His new job description requires him to push upfield and attack the passer, maybe even get some sacks.

In his three years as the Rams’ starting nose tackle, Wright has six sacks--including only one last year--and this year he might be asked to leap into double digits.

That’s why he has been asked to attend this voluntary camp, why he spins around the field in Teerlinck’s quirky ring drill, why he is standing out in the early show crowd.

Wright will be joined by the rest of his veteran teammates Wednesday when the Rams open training camp at UC Irvine. But until then he is working out with the rookies and new acquisitions, struggling just as they struggle to learn a new system.

Unhappy having to change positions and start from scratch? Not Wright, who maybe could do without the ring drill but otherwise seems to be enjoying himself.

“In fact, it’s going to make things that much easier for me because now I won’t have the responsibility I had on the nose (tackle); so it’ll allow me to shoot the gap and get upfield,” Wright said.

And get sacks. You can tell Wright likes that.

“That’ll be a change compared to what they’ve been asking me to do,” he said. “I’ve been the one to take the bumps and the bruises and let someone else get the glory. Hopefully I can change some of that and maybe get to the quarterback myself.”

Wright became the Rams’ best hope when defensive tackle Russell Maryland was taken first in this year’s draft and the team settled on cornerback Todd Lyght.

“We expect him to be a dominating tackle inside on the left side,” defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher said. “He’ll play in some of the fronts on the nose, but he’ll be our left tackle.

“From the mental standpoint, he calls a lot of the (signals) up front. That’s a lot of the reason he’s here now--the learning process. He can be a dominating tackle if he stays healthy, and right now we feel he’s on track.”

Being fit, in this defense, means being light enough and in good enough condition to rush the passer 45 or 50 times a game. Wright was much more than 300 for most of last season and currently is listed at 285. He lost more than 15 pounds in the spring, but has apparently regained much of that.

“The last couple years, my understanding is he’s had a history of pulls and things like that as they got him into training camp,” Fisher said. “We wanted him to ease into it with these last three or four days.

“We’re looking at the young guys as opposed to looking at Al. But we just want to bring Al along so he hits the field running when we put the pads on.”

Wright knows he must be quicker, must be ready to be more of an athlete in the middle than he previously has been. Wright needs to be quick off the ball.

“They want Alvin to be able to play. They wouldn’t care if I came in at 400 if I could move,” Wright said. “They want Alvin to be a good player.

“They know to play the position that they want me to play now, I can’t be as heavy as I was. So I’ve tried to drop down in weight and I’ve dropped 20 pounds, but I’m not at the goal I want to be when training camp starts.”

So while youngsters such as draft picks Jeff Fields and Robert Young hustle, trying to convince the coaches they are ready for the NFL, a proven player simply is trying to get into shape to show he can be a dominant defender.

“Do I feel younger around these guys?” Wright, 30, repeats. “No. My age hasn’t start taking a toll on me yet, but I do realize these guys are younger than I am and I have to work that much harder to stay up with them.”