49ers’ top pick, other rookies debut at minicamp
SANTA CLARA — Seeing Trey Lance in person, after hearing Bunyan-esque tales of his exploits in the Upper Midwest, brought stark reality to the 49ers' quarterback situation.
Lance looked smooth and laser-accurate in his black No. 5 jersey.
"I've gotten past the point where it's surreal. It's work now," Lance said Friday as rookie minicamp began. "(Wearing a 49ers jersey) was cooler after the draft. Right now it's my job, and I'm excited to get to work."
Drafted No. 3 overall two weeks ago with the 49ers' highly leveraged first-round-draft pick, Lance debuted on the 49ers' practice field Friday, doing so for a rookie minicamp that's a mere prelude to a potentially franchise-altering career.
His onboarding is officially underway and come next week, he will fall in with Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers' veterans as the offseason program ramps up with onfield drills.
Lance was the only quarterback in Friday's session, and he completed his first 12 passes in 7-on-7 action, most of which came on short throws but he did nail a 15-yard dart over the middle in early action.
Lance met Garoppolo earlier this week along with the 49ers' three other quarterbacks — Josh Rosen, Josh Johnson and Nate Sudfeld. Said Lance: "They're awesome, awesome personalities, great guys to hang around and great football players." Garoppolo welcomed Lance on draft night, April 29, with a text referring to their respective Football Championship Subdivision backgrounds at Eastern Illinois and North Dakota State, respectively.
Lance wasn't glaringly rusty as quarterback coach Rich Scangarello talked him through early drills. Lance played only one game last fall for a North Dakota State program he led on an undefeated run in 2019 to the FCS national championship.
He certainly hasn't been sitting idle. Aside from pre-draft preparations that included pro-day audi-
tions, Lance more recently worked out with a private coach in Orange County, and did so last week with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers' leading receiver last season as a rookie.
"It was awesome to get a little work in with him and get to know him a little bit," Lance said.
Friday's practice took place under sunny skies and 70-degree weather that is common in Santa Clara, but quite a contrast to the elements Lance endured first as a high school star in Marshall, Minnesota and then at NDSU in Fargo, North Dakota, where long-sleeved clothing wasn't an option.
"You're not allowed to wear sleeves, no leggings and so you're suffering in blizzards," Lance recalled. "That's the way it is. If you're wearing sleeves, the seniors will rip them off with no hesitation. It's part of the initiation."
He's got some familiar company as he gets initiated into the NFL ranks, aside from training with Aiyuk and Richie James Jr. in Orange County.
Playbook learning — As thick as Kyle Shanahan's offensive playbook can be, neither Lance, running back Trey Sermon (No. 28) nor guard Aaron Banks (No. 62) flinched at their initial impressions of it. Lance wouldn't say what percentage he's learned but that he's getting comfortable with a "chunk" this minicamp.
"Obviously it's an NFL playbook so it's going to be a lot but I've been waiting to learn a new playbook the last seven or eight months," Lance said. "It was a ton of fun to finally be able to get into it."
"We had a pretty big playbook at Notre Dame. They did a great job preparing us for the playbooks to this caliber," Banks said. "I didn't think anything given to me is where I've looked at it and said, 'That's too much and I'd have a hard time learning.' "