Alex Smith ready to reclaim starting QB job?

SANTA CLARA — Three months before the 49ers play their first meaningful game, the team’s quarterback competition is getting interesting.

Shaun Hill was considered the front-runner to win the starting job when the offseason began. After all, it was his steady play that contributed to the team’s strong finish, guaranteeing Mike Singletary’s promotion to permanent head coach.

But Alex Smith has shown dramatic improvement in offseason practices recently. He has not played since the middle of the 2007 season because of shoulder injuries, but he appears to be throwing without any problems.

General manager Scot McCloughan said Monday he has never seen Smith look better — ever. McCloughan pointed out Smith’s improved accuracy, arm strength and tightness of spiral.

“You see more confidence,” McCloughan said. “The players have to see it, too, to be a leader at that position.”

With Hill at quarterback, the 49ers won five of their last eight games. The common perception is that Smith is the player with greater physical tools, while Hill’s strengths are intangibles, such as leadership and game-management skills.

Smith said he realizes that Singletary will likely consider a lot of factors, aside from passing ability, when deciding the starter. He said it is important that he does not try to be somebody he’s not.

“I think leadership is respect, and I don’t think anybody respects false leadership,” Smith said. “I think you have to earn respect. You have to earn your teammates’ respect. Just because you play quarterback doesn’t mean they’re going to respect you.

“I think guys respect you going about your job the right way — work ethic, attitude toward the game and your commitment level. Those are the things guys look at and see and respect. I think that’s how leadership is formed.”

Smith was a leader on the team in 2006 when he became the first quarterback in 49ers history to take every snap for an entire season. But his career has been derailed by injuries. He underwent surgeries on his throwing shoulder both of the past two seasons. He said this year he feels markedly better than a year ago.

“I didn’t know what it was supposed to feel like,” he said of the discomfort he experienced last offseason. “The soreness I constantly had, the inflammation, the pain ... I didn’t know if that was the norm. Is it scar tissue that I’m breaking it up? I come to find out that, obviously, something was wrong.”

Smith struggled his way through training camp last year, losing the starting job to J.T. O’Sullivan. Smith’s season ended before it began, as a small fracture in his throwing shoulder put him on the shelf two days before the regular-season opener.

In late October, Smith underwent surgery to remove a bone fragment and the wiring that was inserted to repair his separated shoulder from the 2007 season.

“It seems like it’s been awhile since I was just out there playing and not thinking about injuries or anything else,” Smith said. “I feel like I’m in a good place, both physically and mentally.”

NOT INTERESTED IN VICK

McCloughan finally put an end to speculation quarterback Michael Vick might resume his playing career with the 49ers. Appearing on Sirius NFL Radio, McCloughan ruled out the possibility of Vick joining the 49ers — if and when he is cleared to play in the NFL after serving a prison sentence on dog-fighting chargers.

“Coach and I have sat down,” McCloughan said. “We sat down and talked last week. We had an off-week of OTAs and we discussed about Michael Vick, and we’re not going to go that route. We will not do it.”

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