CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Seated at a cozy restaurant table with his mother and his mentor, Alex Boone devoured second helpings the way he once went through second chances.

Amy Boone watched with satisfaction as her son and former Pro Bowl offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley helped themselves to another skewer of marinated meats at the downtown Brasa Grill in February.

Alex had played in his first pro game only weeks earlier for the San Francisco 49ers in their 2010 regular-season finale. He had evolved from an undrafted free agent with a history of alcohol-related arrests to a backup left tackle with a future in the NFL.

He owed part of that transformation to the man sitting across the table. His mother cannot recall how many times she had suggested that he reach out to Bentley, who like Boone is a Cleveland native and a former Ohio State Buckeye.

As the two men continued to dine, Amy raised the question again.

"Don't you wish you would have followed my advice years ago?" Amy said to her son. "LeCharles is the voice of reason. Wouldn't it have been nice to have the voice of reason in your head?"

Bentley, 31, turned to Amy and answered the question for Alex.

"The truth is that you have to have the right people in your life at the right time when you really need them," Bentley said. "Alex just wasn't ready to hear the message."

A career in need of salvaging

Boone and the surprising Niners (5-1) face the Browns (3-3) on Sunday in San Francisco. The 6-8, 300-pounder, who's appeared in every game this season, is expected to play in short-yardage and goal-line packages.

While he aspires to become a starter, his position is infinitely improved from his first year in San Francisco when then-coach Mike Singletary vowed to "break him like a wild horse." Boone spent the entire 2009 season on the practice squad, an intriguing prospect plagued with conditioning issues.

Sensing his pro career was in jeopardy, he placed the call that his mother had been urging him to make.

"LeCharles is one of the reasons I'm standing here right now," said Boone, raised in a single-parent household. "He's a person who got me in the right place mentally and physically."

Bentley did not need to hear Boone's back story. He had read it in the papers, heard it on SportsCenter. Four-year Buckeyes starter. Binge drinker. Arrested for a DUI after his freshman season. Arrested again and Tasered by police in California on Feb. 2, 2009 for a drunken tirade in which he allegedly jumped on car hoods and yanked on a tow truck cable.

Projected as a mid-round draft pick following his junior season, Boone's stock plummeted. Just months earlier, Amy had received a chilling phone call from then-OSU coach Jim Tressel who told her: "As far as I'm concerned, Alex should never touch another drop of alcohol as long as he lives."

As Boone's life unraveled in the winter of 2009, Bentley was opening the L. Bentley O-Line Academy, a 6,500-square foot facility in Avon. He began training offensive linemen, helping them improve their strength, technique and diet.

The former New Orleans Saints and Browns center was selective in his clientele. Bentley said he works with about 20 offensive linemen, 15 with NFL connections. In the spring of 2010, he agreed to assist Boone but not before they had what Bentley termed "a come to Jesus meeting." His message focused on self-discipline, dedication and making the right decisions.

Boone informed Bentley that he had joined Alcoholics Anonymous a year earlier. Previous attempts at sobriety had failed, he admitted, but that he was committed again to making changes.

"People see you in one light and it's hard to reverse that image," said Boone, 24. "People see me as the drunk, the crazy dude who always wants to fight. That was cool when I was 20. But I knew I was running out of chances."

Fate had denied Bentley the opportunity to end his career on his terms. He joined the hometown Browns after signing a six-year, $36 million free-agent deal in 2006. He suffered a torn patella tendon in his left knee early in training camp, however, and had to retire due to complications from staph infection.

He sees the academy as "my calling," a chance to give back to the game. Bentley, a St. Ignatius grad was willing to help Boone, a St. Edward's grad, resurrect his career.

"When he came to me [in 2010] he was fat and out of shape," Bentley said. "He was like 325 pounds with a high level of body fat. There was lots of work to be done."

A wholesale life change

Boone trained five days a week under Bentley's watch. He refined his blocking technique, lifted weights, flipped tractor tires and pushed a Hummer H2 around a parking lot with Bentley in tow.

Muscles hardened. Pounds melted away. Bentley made important changes to his charge's diet, even accompanying him to the grocery store to ensure he loaded up on protein and whole grains.

"His philosophies began rubbing off on me about how to conduct my life," Boone said. "It's about trying to be humble and trying to stay quiet -- although I don't really do that one too well."

In the summer of 2010, NFL.com invited the gregarious Boone to participate in a series that involved five players trying to make their team's rosters. "On The Fringe: Fighting for their NFL Lives" featured a blog from Boone and training footage from the academy.

The Niners have witnessed a significant change in their left tackle since aligning himself with Bentley.

"Alex is getting progressively better," offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "He's improving and he's a great guy to have around because of his enthusiasm and grit."

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In May, Boone married Dana Armbruster, whom he met in 2009, and the couple is expecting its first child next week. He's eager for fatherhood and welcomes the responsibility that comes with it.

Boone continues to attend AA meetings and says he's been sober for two years. His history gives doubters reason to remain skeptical, but Bentley believes Boone has conquered his alcohol dependency and predicts he will become a starter in the near future.

"Alex has found his comfort zone in life and rediscovered his love for football," Bentley said. "I love him like a baby brother and I would go to the wall for him."

Better late than never, Alex Boone embraces the message and the messenger.