San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Rookie impresses: Niners’ running back Trey Sermon opens eyes
With all of the eyes and cameras focused on Trey Lance’s professional debut Saturday night, it wasn’t abundantly obvious that the 49ers have another rookie skill position player who could have an impact this season.
Running back Trey Sermon got the start in the 49ers’ 19-16 exhibition loss to Kansas City at Levi’s Stadium, rushing for 26 yards on nine carries and catching two passes for 14 yards.
Sermon, the thirdround pick who played at Oklahoma before a gradtransfer season at Ohio State, had more touches than anyone but JaMychal Hasty (10 rushes and one catch) and more rushing yards than anyone but Hasty (63) and Nsimba Webster (34).
Maybe more importantly, Sermon held up well in pass protection and appeared confident in Kyle Shanahan’s complicated offense. That fits with the reports out of training camp during the first two weeks, with running backs coach Bobby Turner praising the rookie’s ability to absorb everything.
“He’s comfortable. He’s a sharp young man,” Turner told Niners Nation. “He’s what we thought.”
None of this seems too big for Sermon, who rushed for 2,946 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry in college. He led Ohio State with 870 rushing yards (7.5 yards per carry) last year, including a single-game record 331 yards against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game.
Sermon is just the second running back the 49ers have drafted since Shanahan arrived in 2017, and they parted with two fourth-round picks to move up and nab the 6-foot, 215pounder.
The 49ers had four running backs with at least 200 rushing yards in 2018, three with at least 500 yards in 2019 and three with at least 300 yards last season, so it stands to reason that Sermon will get carries in Shanahan’s productive offense.
Raheem Mostert is still expected to be the featured back, but his career has been punctuated by injuries. Sermon is listed second on the depth chart ahead of Wayne Gallman II, Hasty and fellow rookie Elijah Mitchell, who Shanahan said will miss a couple of weeks with a strained abductor muscle. That should mean more opportunities for Sermon, who stood up to a pounding from the
Chiefs playing behind a starting offensive line that was missing Trent Williams and Alex Mack, then running with the 49ers’ second unit. Sermon did have a welcome-to-the-NFL moment late in the first quarter. On a 3rd-and-1 carry, Sermon broke through the defensive line for a first down, but he got popped by defensive back Mike Hughes and fumbled.
After the play, the 49ers’ training staff checked out the rookie’s upper body, having Sermon rotate both shoulders under his pads. A series later, he returned and promptly stuck his shoulders right back into the fray on consecutive 1-yard runs.
Those moments matched the talent evaluators’ thoughts on Sermon heading into the draft as a back who consistently produced in college.
As a true freshman at Oklahoma, he played in all 14 games and racked up 744 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Splitting carries as a sophomore, Sermon had 947 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
A torn knee ligament cost Sermon five games as a junior, but he graduated from Oklahoma and transferred to Ohio State. He was the Sugar Bowl MVP, rushing for 193 yards and helping the Buckeyes beat Clemson.
After getting knocked out of the national championship game with a dislocated shoulder, Sermon bounced back to run a 4.59-second 40yard dash at pro day and land a chance with the 49ers.
He may even get a regular-season chance before Lance does.