Mostert prepares to carry big load
Running back puts on weight to handle grind
Raheem Mostert is preparing for punishment.
Don’t worry: That’s a good thing.
After rarely touching the ball for most of his NFL career, the 49ers running back is readying to begin a season as his team’s primary ballcarrier for the first time since he was playing Pop Warner.
Last year, Mostert assumed the leadback role in December and finished his breakout season with 190 carries, including the playoffs.
Prior to 2019, Mostert had 177 total carries in his first four NFL seasons and his fouryear career at Purdue, where he began by playing wide receiver, his position in high school.
Mostert, a sculpted 5foot10 and 205 pounds, said he’s adding more mass in anticipation of an increased workload.
“I’m actually gaining some more muscle, which is kind of bizarre,” Mostert said. “I’m just trying to incorporate those things in my daily workouts so I’m able to take those hits and be one of those guys that are
getting 200 carries. I’ve got to get prepared for that. And the only way I know how is to get bulky and stronger.”
Mostert, who had more than seven carries in a game just once in his first four seasons, rushed for 1,108 yards last year (including postseason games) and scored 15 touchdowns. He averaged 5.6 yards a carry, best among NFL running backs, during the regular season.
In 2020, the exwide receiver hopes to have a bigger passcatching role. Last year, he had 14 catches for 180 yards on 22 targets during the regular season.
“I want to be multidimensional and being able to catch the ball out of the backfield is one thing that I really pride myself on,” Mostert said. “Even lining up in the slot position. … Just trying to get back to my wide receiver days.”
Back for more: Tom Compton just joined the 49ers.
But the offensive lineman knows head coach Kyle Shanahan and much of his offensive staff just as well as most of his new teammates do.
Compton, a 2012 sixthround pick, spent his first two seasons in Washington when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. Shanahan was also the Falcons coordinator in 2016 when Compton played for Atlanta.
Compton, 31, signed with the 49ers in April after also mulling an offer to return to the Jets for a second season. He called the decision a “nobrainer.”
“I think the coaching staff is a huge deal,” Compton said when asked why it was an easy choice. “I think I know just about everybody on the offensive staff here. I’d previously worked with them and they’re, I think, the best coaches in the NFL …
“They’re all on the same page. It’s very cohesive. They’re very smart — they’re coming up with new things all the time, innovating. It seems like you want to be a part of that.”
Compton will compete with Daniel Brunskill to serve as the starter at right guard. Compton won’t have offseason practices with his new team, but he does know the foundation of the offense.
“We were going over the plays today and I see how it has evolved,” Compton said. “It’s pretty wild. There are things where they had the fullbacks, the tight ends, the wide receivers in motion. It just adds so much to the playbook.”
Story on background: The 49ers are conducting their meetings online over Zoom, a program that allows participants to use different backgrounds. Free safety Jimmie Ward, for example, recently had the Golden Gate Bridge as his background during a Zoom interview with reporters he conducted from Alabama.
Tight end George Kittle, who wore a Tshirt featuring a shirtless Jimmy Garoppolo after last season’s NFC Championship Game, is taking advantage of the technology to keep needling his quarterback.
“People love throwing up old pictures as their background,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “Kittle is the king of it, as you would imagine, of always keeping things light. (He’s been) putting up pictures of Jimmy from middle school or high school prom.”
Speech, speech: It’s graduation season.
And the 49ers are taking part.
On May 30, Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley, who retired in April, will deliver an online commencement address for students across the country who are a part of the Class of 2020. The ceremony starts at 5 p.m. and will be livestreamed at 49ers.com, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
On Friday, 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers delivered a commencement address for students celebrating at home as part of a program sponsored by Verizon in which other speakers include former President Bill Clinton and NBA AllStar Kevin Love.
Last season, Sowers, the first openly gay coach in the NFL, became the first female to coach in the Super Bowl.