BIG THINGS AHEAD

PEOPLE HAVE TOLD JERICK MCKINNON HE’S TOO SMALL EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. GOOD THING FOR HIM, AND THE 49ERS, HE WAS NEVER ONE TO LISTEN.

Jerick McKinnon joins the 49ers this season not only as their starting running back but a big-time receiving threat as well. Luckily for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, he also knows how vital pass protection will be in his job description.

After four seasons as mostly a backup with the Minnesota Vikings, McKinnon joined the 49ers, agreeing to a four-year, $30 million contract.

We thought we should sit down and get to know the new guy a bit, so we did.

McKinnon talked about overcoming the perception of being a little guy in a big man’s sport, how the weight room helped eliminate that doubt and his anticipation of a meetup with a 49ers back who did the type of things he does very well himself: Roger Craig.

So you grew up in Marietta, about 15 minutes north of Atlanta. What other sports did you play?

“I ran track in high school. I played baseball a long time. I played shortstop, left field, center field. I hit leadoff. I was stealing bases.”

Did you think you’d become a stolen-base king and become a baseball player instead of football?

“I was real good in baseball. I didn’t really have the love for it like football. Football is a lot of excitement. It’s an adrenaline rush. That’s what kept me drawn to it.” When did you start playing tackle football?

“At 4, in Pop Warner. You’re not really getting hit hard. You’re just tripping over yourself at that point. When does it start getting real? Like 7.” Do you remember the name of your first team? “East Cobb Vikings.”

When you went to middle school, you transferred after sixth grade because you weren’t getting playing time?

“I went to Marietta Middle, and in sixth grade I was on the seventh-grade team. They wouldn’t

let me play running back. They said I was too small. My dad and the coach had a little talk, and it was basically, ‘Well, we have somebody else that plays running back that’s bigger.’ You know how you’ve got those kids that are just way bigger in advance? We had like two or three of them, and I was small so they put me at receiver. Yeah, my dad and the coach had a talk.” Us dads do that for our children.

“Yeah, we were trying to get a scholarship at the time, and that didn’t work out, because he said I was too small and wouldn’t play me because he said I was going to get hurt. Then I moved.”

When you decided to focus solely on football in high school, did you map it out that you’d go to college and NFL teams will come looking?

“It was more, ‘I’m putting all my chips into football. I’m going to find a way to get a scholarship somewhere.’ I really wanted to play big-time football. But then the same thing came up: I was too small. My coach always said, ‘If you play football, they’re going to find you, no matter what level.’ I was fortunate enough to get a full-ride scholarship to prestigious Georgia Southern University, home of me and Matt Breida. I went there for four years and loved it.” How big were you coming out of high school?

“Same height: 5-9. I’ve been the same height for a long time. I’ve never really been tall. I was 5-5 for a good minute. I probably hit 5-9 my junior year.” You’ve worked on your body in other ways.

“Yeah, so after I hurt my hip that (freshman) spring, running sprints, I missed that spring of football so I had to do rehab. After that, that’s when I started falling in love with the weight room. I didn’t have anything else to do. I had a weightlifting class with one of my coaches, and I could only do upper body. I just guess

it was my outlet for frustration. That’s where I’d spend most of my time, in the weight room. Then I started to gain love for it.”

Your weightlifting at the combine (32 reps, a record for runnings backs) was impressive.

“The weight room was a way where I could come alive, where size didn’t always matter. I used it as that. Once I started falling in love with that, I wanted to see how much stronger I could get every year.” Are you the strongest you’ve ever been? “I don’t know. I feel pretty strong.” Are you the strongest running back in the NFL?

“Yeah, I’ll challenge whoever. I’ll take myself over whoever. For me, it’s about being smart, because I did get hurt my first year in the weight room. It’s about smart but at the same time maximizing my reps.” Did you scout out the 49ers by checking with Breida?

“Nah, I just went for it. I knew Coach Shanahan and the offense he was running. That’s all I needed to know. It was a perfect opportunity.” Did you buy a house here or rent?

“I rented one. I’m buying a home in Atlanta, for a lot cheaper.” What about for your parents?

“I paid off their house. That’s the first thing I did, right after the season, actually.”

That’s not the same house you moved to in middle school is it?

“It is. So I did that. Then I got cars. But that’s it. That’s the only thing I’ve spent money on. I don’t have kids or a wife.”

How did that make you feel, paying off your parents’ home? We saw that this summer with Marquise (Goodwin).

“It feels like everything is coming full circle. As a young kid, you talk to your parents about

that stuff. It’s a dream. You don’t really know if it’s going to happen. But you know your vision of that, and only you can control that. For that to come full circle, it’s a lot of right decision-making, and a lot of hard work. For me to do that for my people, it’s definitely something I’ve dreamt about my whole life. I can’t thank God enough for putting me in a position to do that.” What do your parents do? Are they retired?

“My mom (Frances) is a contract administrator, and my dad (Rungie) is an environmental inspector and does architecture on the side.” Do they worry about you being so far from home?

“Probably my mom. My dad, he’s chill and is a cool cat. He speaks some wisdom. I’m a baby boy and have an older brother. She’s like, ‘I’ll move to California if you need me to.’ My dad, that’s my dawg. Me and him talk every day, like text throughout the day and FaceTime him at night.”

I’m guessing you were a pretty easy son to raise. You don’t seem like a guy who got in trouble?

“No, I just wanted to make it to the League. That’s the only dream I had.”

Was your highlight of being in the NFL the Minneapolis Miracle (the Vikings’ playoff-clinching win over New Orleans last season)?

“Yeah, that was a good one. That (stuff) was crazy. Everybody asks me about it, and it’s hard to explain.”

You were in the backfield helping block, right, and knew the ball wasn’t coming to you?

“Yeah. I was just watching once the ball was thrown. I had the best seat in the house. I was thinking maybe we’d catch it, get out of bounds, get a chance at a field goal. We practiced the play every day in walk-through, and the day before the game. There’s rarely times we have to run the play. Then we did the play. He

threw like good it, I catch. saw him But jump, when I (the was defender) missed, and he kept his balance, I was like, ‘Oh (my).’ I saw him running and was, ‘We just won the game. We just won the game.’ It still didn’t hit me until like two days later. That was probably the biggest play of my career, and I didn’t even make the play.” But you had a touchdown in that game, right? “Yeah.” You’re going to have a lot more this year? “A lot more. I’m expecting big things.” Yeah, I’ve been hyping you up too much. “Too much?”

Yeah, I say the way this offense is set up and the way you look, the numbers could be big. Do you know anything about Roger Craig and the numbers he put up? “Yeah. He did 1,000/1,000.”

Correct. So you know. I’m not putting that on you, because…

“Yeah, I’m not a guy that speaks numbers. I don’t want to put a ceiling on what I can do. I just want to do the most I can for the team.” So did you know that (about Craig) before you got here?

“Yeah. That’s old school, though. I’ve been looking at all those backs. Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin. I started looking at a real lot of Marshall Faulk when I came into the league. Roger Craig, my brother told me about him years ago. That’s the type of back I’m looking for, because I like to catch the ball and run the ball. I don’t consider myself just a running back.” And pass protect?

“Yeah, pass protect. That’s the No. 1 (job). That’s what’s going to keep you around. Everyone can run. Some people can catch. But not everyone can pass protect.” Have you met Roger Craig yet? “No, but I know it’s coming.”