Added perks:
NCAA title game in Santa Clara gives Bay Area pro teams an edge.
With the Pac-12 championship, San Francisco Bowl and national championship all slated to be played at Levi’s Stadium this season, many are hoping to prove that the Bay Area will embrace college football.
The three games also could be a boon to the area’s pro teams.
49ers general manager John Lynch said he wasn’t sold on first-round pick Mike McGlinchey until he saw the Notre Dame offensive tackle in person at Stanford.
“I’ll be at the national championship for many reasons. One of them is the story of Mike McGlinchey,” Lynch said at Monday’s Touchdown Tailgate luncheon in Santa Clara. “You saw him on tape over and over and over, but one of the things that sold me was seeing him in person against Stanford.
“I was down on field in the Notre Dame end zone during pregame warm-ups and watched his attention to detail. It was like he played a game before the game. For college football players, sometimes it’s the little things that differentiate them, and those are the things you can see in person.
“I can’t wait for this game to be here.”
Tight End U: After receiving a text from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan about an injured tight end, Lynch joked that he’d just borrow one from Stanford.
The Cardinal, who probably run as many two-tight-end sets as anyone team in the country, are adding 6-foot-4, 230-pound freshman TaeVeon Le to a group that included Kaden Smith, Colby Parkinson and Scooter Harrington. The returners combined for 36 catches, 521 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
“I was going to call my buddy David Shaw, because I know he just stockpiles tight ends up at Stanford,” Lynch joked. “If we could take one on loan, so we don’t have to fly someone out for a couple of days, that would be great.” Just for kicks: Brent Brennan said he learned a ton during his first season as San Jose State’s head coach, namely letting Bryce Crawford attempt field goals from yardage that other coaches wouldn’t even consider.
Crawford had five field goals of at least 50 yards last season. Including those, the school has had 17 such kicks in its history.
“Last year as a first-time head coach, I made a couple of stupid decision to go for it on 4th-and-short from just past the 50,” Brennan said. “I should have just let him bang another 55-yarder. I’m learning as I go.” 3.0 for No. 9: About a year ago, Brennan told Boogie Roberts that he could wear a single-digit jersey number if he maintained a 3.0 or better grade-point average. The senior defensive lineman has gotten at least a 3.4 since then and is listed as No. 9 on the roster.
Lockdown corner? Brennan played receiver at UCLA from 1993 through ’94, and Shaw played receiver at Stanford from 1991 through ’94, so naturally, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox, a defensive back at Oregon from 1996 through ’99, was asked how he would have covered the Bay Area’s other head coaches.
“Probably a lot of double coverage,” joked Wilcox, who didn’t allow a touchdown reception his senior season. “We’d try to make them run the ball. We’d force their hand and make them run it.”