QBs dazzle as camp gets under way
force the issue. And Garoppolo looks determined to force the ultragifted 21yearold to take a redshirt season.
In other words: Get your popcorn ready.
“Jimmy looked great,” Samuel said. “Trey looked great, as well.”
Garoppolo completed 9 of 11 passes in team drills and 7on7 work. Lance was 8for10.
“On Day 1, what kind of stood out to me is they both made offschedule plays,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “And in today’s NFL, in order to be a really elite or successful quarterback, you have to be able to make offschedule plays, and both of them did that.”
As for Shanahan, he poked fun at the media’s instant analysis after one nonpadded practice, saying, “Yeah, we’ll
crown everyone today, before I even see the film and after five reps.” However, he acknowledged his top two QBs had strong summer debuts.
“I was impressed with both of them in OTAs,” Shanahan said. “I’ve only been around them one practice now, but they seemed sharp today and it was good.”
After his good performance, Garoppolo, known as a pleasantly bland interview subject, used some bad language in a relatively loose session with reporters. Discussing last year’s ankle injury, he said all players deal with “s— like that.” Asked for his early impressions of Sanu, he offered, “He’s looking really f—ing good, man,” before adding: “Excuse the language.”
Garoppolo doesn’t just sound different.
“He came back to OTAs looking like a different guy,” Samuel said. “Just really locked in and focused on things that he needs to work on. And he kind of showed today … he’s just more locked in. More focused on details. He has more energy in the huddle.”
Juszczyk noted Garoppolo has never lacked for confidence. And Juszczyk indicated the current situation, with the 49ers investing four draft picks in Lance to eventually
replace Garoppolo, hasn’t appeared to faze the starter.
“That could shake a lot of people,” Juszczyk said. “But if it has, we haven’t noticed it. Jimmy is Jimmy, and he has the same confidence that he’s had since Day 1. And even more so.”
Lance began Wednesday’s session with a high throw — the same accuracy issue he had during spring practices — that Aiyuk couldn’t corral in traffic. But that was Lance’s lone notable blemish. He later found Aiyuk on a deep crossing route with a rocket that best showcased his arm strength.
Juszczyk, 30, an eightyear veteran, counseled Lance in the spring not to worry about being feeling overwhelmed by the amount of X’sandO’s he needed to learn, particularly given Shanahan’s dense playbook. Juszczyk said rookies make a big mental leap in the weeks between the end of OTAs and start of training camp.
“I feel like I saw a little bit of that from him today,” Juszczyk said. “Things start to become a little bit second nature once you can get away from it and come back.”