Growing up in Alabama, Ashley Wright could always look forward to two things: painting with his grandmother, Carolyn Wright, in her basement studio and running deep patterns while playing football with his father, Richard.

"There was something about catching long passes that I loved even as a little kid," Wright said.

Ashley Wright is still running deep patterns — these days for Yale — and he’s still painting.

Wright, a senior wide receiver for the Bulldogs, led the Ivy League with 61 catches a year ago, earning All-Ivy and All-New England honors.

He also found time to paint three murals in his Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house.

"When I get into a painting mode, I get into a zone, much like football," said Wright, whose Bulldogs (1-1) play at Lafayette (2-2) Saturday (1 p.m., CSTV). "They are similar because you need to be in a state of mind where all of your focus is put on that."

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Wright has improved vastly since arriving from UMS-Wright Prep.

"I came in thinking that being a wide receiver was all about running fast and straight, and I soon learned that college ball was completely different," Wright said. "In high school corners don’t press and it’s a less physical game than in college. I was under the best wide receiver in Yale history, Ralph Plumb, and watching him play the game helped me immensely."

Wright caught seven passes as a sophomore before his breakout season last year.

"He’s gone from being a skinny fast kid with a lot of potential to a being a really good college football player," Siedlecki said. "His junior

year was definitely his breakout year. He’s just physically so much bigger and stronger than he was. He’s actually faster, too. He’s just put a lot of commitment into becoming a high-end player in our league."

Wright, who is considering law school, has been painting for as long as he can remember.

"It kind of runs in my family," Wright said.

Wright said whenever he would go over to his grandmother’s house he would leave with two or three paintings, many of which still hang in his home, including a Louis Armstrong portrait and bird paintings done with his grandmother for the Audubon Society.

"She is an unbelievable woman and I wish I could paint like her. She is really an incredible artist," Wright said.

The murals last year were his first. He is more accustomed to painting on canvas, be it with watercolors, oil or acrylic.

"They are much different than painting on a canvas and took me quite a while to get used to," Wright said. "The first one took me weeks, but once I got the hang of it, the second and third didn’t take as long."

His uncle, David Tormoen, works in graphic arts and Wright is considering working with him before pursuing law school.

"He’s very talented," senior linebacker Chris Barry said of Wright. "He’s done T-shirts and other stuff for our fraternity."

He’s also designed T-shirts for Yale’s defensive line.

Wright said he paints to relax and tends to paint more when he is happy. He was very happy for most of last season, when his confidence skyrocketed.

"He might have improved over the course of the season more than any player I’ve ever coached from Game 1 to Game 10 last season," Siedlecki said.

"At the beginning of last year I had all the tools to start as a wide receiver except confidence," Wright said. "As the season went by, I gained more and more confidence and I just tried to bring that into this season."

It’s showed.

Wright caught a 43-yard touchdown pass in the opener against San Diego.

"When he caught that takeoff ball (against San Diego) his intent was to take it for a touchdown," Siedlecki said. "He wasn’t satisfied with a 30-yard gain. He stayed on his feet and took it to the end zone. That’s the difference. That’s what makes a great player. His confidence level really surged as the season went on last year. His improvement was phenomenal."

He also threw a block that sprung Mike McLeod for a 14-yard touchdown against Cornell.

"One thing that I was not good at coming in as a freshman was blocking and Ralph was one of the best blockers at Yale," Wright said. "I learned that I had to be a tough blocker as well as a receiver. I hope that I’ve gotten better at that."