CAPTAIN SANTA CLARA: During the players’ day off from training camp on Monday, a few assistant coaches from the San Francisco 49ers spoke with media.
Two half-hour sessions were held. First to go were the defensive assistants, who included defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, and defensive assistant Brandon Staley. Next were the offensive assistants, which included wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson, running backs coach Bobby Turner, tight ends coach Brian Fleury, and quarterbacks coach Brian Griese.
Here are some highlights from the sessions:
Kris Kocurek impressed with Leonard Floyd’s resolve
Leonard Floyd went down in a heap and hobbled to the sidelines during the first 11-on-11 snap of training camp last month when a teammate landed onto the back of his leg.
Kocurek surmised that the 31-year-old pass rusher was either done for the day or will be out for an extended period of time.
Nope.
“Shoot, three plays later he was back in there,” Kocurek said. “And I’m asking the trainer, ‘We sure he’s good?’ … He just wants (to get) back in there as fast as he can. And that’s the type of person he is. He goes, he strains, he wants to be out there.”
Just go with the Flo 🔥 @Leonard90Flo
More 🎥 on https://t.co/vpdsX5qsi5 pic.twitter.com/6qMWBQTAs8
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) March 25, 2024
Floyd has picked up other summertime nicks in addition to this one. He appeared to hurt his hand during a drill a few days later. Additionally, Kocurek and other sideline observers believed that Floyd would undoubtedly miss practice on Saturday due to a foot injury sustained during one-on-one drills that again required him to jump cautiously.
That also did not occur. Floyd is one of the few 30-something starters who has participated in every practice since May; linebacker De’Vondre Campbell also falls into this group.
One of Floyd’s most amazing accomplishments—that he has participated in every game since the 2018 season began—begins to make sense.
“It’s just a joy to be around a player like that, that isn’t trying to take advantage of the veteran status and goes out there and puts in the work to be better,” Kocurek said. “He’s a very driven individual.” – Matt Barrows
Adaptable DBs on a Staley-coached defense
Staley’s defenses have flexibility on the back end when he was the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 and the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers for the next three seasons. For the Rams, Jalen Ramsey alternated between inside and outside cornerback. Derwin James Jr. was utilized by the Chargers in a variety of defensive backfield roles in addition to his primary safety position.
Staley is currently the 49ers’ head coach-in-assist role. His closest collaborators on the team are the defensive backs. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir has continued to play outside in base formations and move into the slot in nickel packages thus far in training camp, carrying over his role from the previous campaign. In defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen’s scheme, that meets the 49ers’ need for a speedy, competent nickelback and is reminiscent of Staley’s “Star” position, which Ramsey was assigned in 2020.
Relative safety Malik Mustapha of the 49ers is another defender who might see several uses. He was a roaming player at Wake Forest University known as the “Panther.” Given that Mustapha is 5 feet 10 inches and 206 pounds, bigger than typical safety, should the 49ers start experimenting with him outside of his natural position?
Although Staley did not completely rule it out, he did imply that the process would not start in earnest until the regular season.
“I think he’s proven to be trustworthy,” Staley said of Mustapha. “I think he’s really learned the scheme quickly, which I think gives you a chance to move to another role. You have to know the defense before you can start to move around. I think he’s done a really good job at safety showing he can command the back end of the defense. I think he’s shown that he can play in the deep part of the field, that he’s a good tackler, and now he just needs time on task. As you narrow your roster down, you can really see how you want to use these guys.” — David Lombardi
Renardo Green was selected by the 49ers in the second round of the draft because he was such a “hound” at cornerback.
It turns out that he’s also a bookworm.
It often takes a rookie player two seasons to learn how to play nickel cornerback, according to defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks. In addition to gaining experience fast, Green has been playing a lot of snaps at outside cornerback.
“I take my hat off to him,” Bullocks said. “He’s got a strong work ethic. He keeps his head in the playbook, he’s not making any mistakes out there. He’s always in position. He’s doing a great job.”
The 49ers have used Charvarius Ward, Isaac Yiadom, and Lenoir as their nickel formation cornerbacks for the majority of training camp.
But Bullocks rewarded Green on Sunday by having him play nickel with Ward and Lenoir for a few repetitions. Additionally, veteran Rock Ya-Sin took a few shots with the starting lineup.
“We’re just going to continue to mix it up and see who’s the best three out there,” Bullocks said. — Barrows
Bobby Turner on the 49ers’ impressive RB depth
The 75-year-old Turner, the 49ers’ running backs coach, came up this past weekend. Jordan Mason, a third-year running back, acknowledged that while he and Turner had not always agreed, that is now in the past.
“The bottom line is he grew up and learned how to be a pro,” Turner said.
Mason, the 49ers’ second running back behind Christian McCaffrey, will now split time with Elijah Mitchell due to his strong performance during training camp. What seems to be a deep room is rounded out by veteran Matt Breida, who the 49ers recently re-signed, rookies Isaac Guerendo and Cody Schrader, and Patrick Taylor Jr.
Over the first ten practices of training camp, Schrader has impressed Turner with his dependability and mastery of the playbook while the 49ers wait for Guerendo to return from a hamstring injury.
Schrader, who led the SEC with 1,627 running yards while playing at Missouri last season, has not yet had a full-scale opportunity to show off what may be his best quality: his ability to break tackles. Since the 49ers do not practice tackles to the ground in camp, Schrader will get his first chance to break tackles in an NFL game on Saturday when the 49ers play the Tennessee Titans.
“That’s huge,” Turner said. “Even though we’re practicing fast, putting the pads on and breaking tackles for a running back, that’s a must. That’s going to be huge, not just for Cody but for all our running backs.” — Lombardi
Rookie Tanner Mordecai getting snaps
Tanner Mordecai, an undrafted rookie quarterback, appears to fit in physically. Like Brock Purdy, he is underappreciated as an athlete and has good size (6 foot 2, 210 pounds), a powerful arm, and other attributes.
It’s the mental part of the game that — like any rookie — needs work.
“The biggest hurdle for him is just saying it, the verbiage,” quarterbacks coach Brian Griese said. “It might have 26 words in a play call. And they’re only 40 seconds on the clock.”
Yet, there have been indications of development. The 49ers’ No. 4 quarterback in training camp has not always received 11-on-11 reps from coaches, but it is encouraging that he is received some in recent practices. Mordecai’s preseason opportunity will start with Saturday’s preseason game against the Titans.
Griese pointed out that Mordecai, who played for Oklahoma, SMU, and Wisconsin in college, used a variety of offensive schemes, few of which required him to call plays in the huddle or play under center. The 49ers’ offense is very different from those schemes.
“To be able to do that to a point in a training camp where you can go out and execute — it takes a while,” Griese said. “So he’s getting a lot better.” — Barrows
Due to a hamstring issue, rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was unable to participate in the first training camp session. Since then, he has made a comeback, impressing head coach Kyle Shanahan with a few catches and a strong attempt at run blocking.
The 49ers’ receivers coach, Hankerson, has been assisting Pearsall in his development and system integration. Young players always find that difficult, especially considering how intricate the team’s playbook is. The majority of rookies, who have historically outperformed their opponents at lower levels of competition, also need to get used to the NFL’s more competitive environment.
“Pearsall, he gets very frustrated when he doesn’t win a rep,” Hankerson said. “I told him last night: It’s not about winning that rep. It’s about learning from it. Because us taking that rep is giving us experience to know how to attack it and defeat it. Don’t get frustrated.”
A major concern about Pearsall has probably been his strength, given that he weighs just 192 pounds (Deebo Samuel Sr. is 215 pounds, while Brandon Aiyuk weighs 200 pounds). However, Hankerson feels that Pearsall has enough strength to compete at the NFL level in run blocking and press-man coverage situations.
“Even studying him coming out, he was always a physical, strong receiver,” Hankerson said. “Of course, it’s going to be a lot different at this level than college. But I have no worries that he isn’t strong enough. We have a great strength and conditioning staff that’s going to continue building him up and going in the right direction.” — Lombardi
(Top photo of Leonard Floyd: Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)
