National Guard captain might be hiker
Versatile Garland could start at center during Richburg rehab
Ben Garland’s bio includes an almanac of fun facts.
The 49ers’ center is a United States Air Force Academy graduate who served a twoyear active duty commitment. He’s a captain and base executive in the Colorado Air National Guard in his offseasons.
In addition, the offensive lineman is a converted defensive tackle who has played offense, defense and special teams in the NFL: In January 2017, Garland, then with the Falcons, sacked Seattle’s Russell Wilson for a safety in a divisionalplayoff game before playing seven snaps at center in the next week’s NFC Championship Game.
But here’s the fact that might interest fans the most about the largely anonymous 31yearold: He could be the 49ers’ starting center Sept. 8 when they open the season at Tampa Bay.
Garland has spent offseason practices and training camp with the firstteam
offense while starting center Weston Richburg recovers from offseason surgeries on his knee and quadriceps. Last week, general manager John Lynch said the 49ers were “hopeful, but we’ll see” when discussing Richburg’s chances of playing in Week 1.
With Richburg in the early stages of his extensive rehab, the 49ers signed Garland in late April, based largely on his connection to head coach Kyle Shanahan. They were together in 2015 and ’16 with Atlanta and Shanahan said he’s comfortable rolling with Garland, who has made seven starts at guard, if Richburg initially isn’t ready.
Garland, a 2010 undrafted free agent who signed with the Broncos, acknowledges he didn’t expect to survive so long in the NFL. But he’s not satisfied to just stick around.
“This is more than I ever dreamed,” Garland said. “Now, it’s not even close to what my goals are: Now I want to win a championship. I want to win a starting job, become a Pro Bowler — there are a lot of aspirations and goals I’ve yet to achieve.”
As a junior at Air Force, Garland’s goal was to become a decorated officer after graduation. He’d earned a coveted pilot slot, but NFL scouts began expressing interest in the defensive tackle as a senior.
Garland decided to pursue the pros, which meant changing his career path in the Air Force. He weighed about 300 pounds, too heavy for the training planes Air Force pilots use before they graduate to larger aircraft. “After college, I was initially a pilot slot, but I needed to lose about 120 pounds to maintain that,” Garland said. “And being a defensive lineman in the NFL and being 180 pounds doesn’t really work. So I had to switch career fields or lose a lot of weight.”
Garland was a second lieutenant and served as a publicaffairs officer during his twoyear commitment, which ended in 2012. He was stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Ill., and Fort Meade in Maryland. He wasn’t eligible to play in games, but participated in the Broncos’ offseason program while on the reserve/ military list.
He joined the National Guard after his commitment and has spent about 50 days during each offseason with the 140th Wing at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo.
Garland, who has a long list of relatives who have served in the military, deployed to Jordan in 2014 to work with the country’s military on a coalition trip. He has been on two of the NFL’s USO tours and visited U.S. military bases in Italy, Germany, Iraq and Kuwait.
He often donates tickets to military members, and has worked to raise PTSD awareness. He was the Falcons’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2017. Last year, Garland won the NFL’s Salute to Service award for his military service and support.
On the field, he has carved out a unique career. Garland spent the previous five seasons playing both offense and defense, a dual role that began in 2012 when he was on the Broncos’ practice squad and began halfjokingly offering to fill in when an offensive lineman was injured.
It turned out he was no joke in his new spot. Said Garland: “Eventually, before spring ball one year, they said ‘Hey, grab your offensive playbook. We want you to play both ways.’ ”
Garland’s versatility explains his longevity. He spent two seasons (201213) on Denver’s practice squad, made his NFL debut in 2014 and spent most of 2015 on the Falcons’ practice squad before making his seven career starts with Atlanta over the past two seasons.
Now, with the 49ers, the National Guard captain hopes the best is to come.
“My concept in college was to be the best Air Force officer I could be,” Garland said, “but this came up and I’ve pursued it with everything I have.”