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Isaac Bruce runs during the 49ers mini-camp Friday. Bruce, an offseason acquisition, could serve as a mentor to a young wide receiving corps.
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Offseason catches
Bay Area talent among new faces with 49ers
By Zuri Berry
Sports Writer, zurib@theunion.com
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sports Writer
12:01 a.m. PT May 3, 2008
SANTA CLARA — They scraped, they fought and they tirelessly ran drills. They even did a little getting to know each other.
On Monday, the San Francisco 49ers opened mini-camp at their Santa Clara complex with 17 rookies (11 undrafted) in addition to a swamp of free-agent signings to help bolster last season’s 5-11 team.
Right in the crux of all the hoopla are three Bay Area natives aiming to play or solidify their spots with the home team.
Linebacker Larry Grant, who played for Foothill High School and City College of San Francisco — before going to Ohio State, was drafted by the 49ers in the seventh round. He’s hoping for an oft chance of making the team.
“Speaking for me and the rest of the guys that’s from the Bay Area, it’s a true blessing to be able to come back home and be around family,” Grant said. “The opportunity to not be so far away, to have the opportunity for the family to still be close knit and coming to games and watch you play. I’m pretty sure the other two are happy. With Jason (Hill) being here last here, I’m pretty sure he had a good time. Me and Robert (Jordan) are just gonna follow in his steps.
The same can be said of Jordan, an undrafted rookie who is one of Cal’s three flashy wide receivers that have landed in the NFL. With the addition of Isaac Bruce, Bryant Johnson, sixth round pick Josh Morgan as well as Arnaz Battle, Ashley Lelie and Hill, Jordan’s got an uphill battle to make the team.
“Everybody’s talking about, ‘I wish you went to the Raiders’ and whatever but I don’t want to be under my cousin’s shadow,” said the Oakland native Jordan whose cousin is JaMarcus Russell. “When it boils down to it, this is really where I want to be. Close to home, but on the other side. You know, where I can make a name for myself. Have my own career. Who better to learn the game from than Isaac Bruce? It’s a lot of great players here. I’m just trying to do what I can to help this organization and stay close to home as many years as possible.
“What I’m trying to do right now is not look at the big picture and just tell myself I’m one of the deserving ones to be here just as much as them,” he said. “It comes down to just making plays. If I’m making plays then they can’t deny me. It’s really not about the other guys. It’s really up to me and me doing my part. I’m really just trying to focus and learn this playbook.”
The two, for the most part, held their own in the first practice drills. Jordan, being quick footed, stood out while Grant was coming to grips with how different the pro level is going to be.
“I gotta work pretty hard,” Grant said of his prospects of staying with the team. “I gotta work real hard, actually. I have to do the most I can on these special teams. Every opportunity I get, I have to make the complete best of it.
“It’s pretty intense. I can see that the kind of steps how, like a Patrick Willis, the linebackers changed so much from college. I believe, if I’m gonna stay here, I’ve gotta make the same transition.”
While odds are stacked against the newcomers, they’re equally, if not more, stacked against last year’s third round pick out of Washington State, Hill. The wide receiver was hampered due to a bum hamstring throughout the season. He played sparsely, catching only one pass in five games played. Coach Mike Nolan even said, in so many words, it’s hard to gauge him without him being healthy.
Hill rolled into mini-camp getting extra repetitions in the second string unit because Battle was being held out with an injury precaution.
“It’s just about taking care of your body,” said a tired Hill, whose longtime girlfriend gave birth to his first son last night, keeping the receiver out of bed. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get much sleep which can contribute to getting injured. But I guess that’s part of life, having a little one. Eventually me and his mom will work things out, so I can get that sleep.
“This year, it’s just about competition, studying and showing it out on the field,” Hill said. “I think it’s important I get as many chances I can to learn how Coach (Mike) Martz coaches plays, his different tempo in practice and different tempo of play calling. It’s just something to get used to.”
One thing both Nolan and quarterback Alex Smith noted in their assessment of the wide receiving group, as well the young players: It’s too early to make judgments about any of them and where they’ll end up on the depth chart.
To contact Sports Writer Zuri Berry, e-mail zberry@theunion.com or call 477-4244.
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