SANTA CLARA – At certain points in this morning’s Rookie Mini Camp, first round draft pick A.J. Jenkins looked like the best receiver on the practice field by far. At other points he got outclassed by undrafted players like Stanford’s Chris Owusu. Here’s what I mean.
All the players raced this morning, but they didn’t run straight. They ran 20-yard figure-eights around giant hoola hoops. This drill tested quickness – the ability to sink your hips and accelerate around tight turns without popping upright or shortening your stride.
A.J. Jenkins raced Chris Owusu at least twice and lost both times. If you didn’t know which guy was the first round pick and which was the undrafted player, you would have thought it was Owusu.
But when the receivers started running routes and catching passes, it was obvious which guy was the first-rounder. A.J. Jenkins caught all but two passes – ones behind him, over his head and below his knees. He even made a diving catch. Owusu, on the other hand, dropped several passes that were right to him.
After these first few drills, both Jenkins and Owusu seemed out of breath, hands on hips. In the locker room, Jenkins appeared to have both his hamstrings heavily taped with ice.
After practice, Jim Harbaugh said many of the players were out of shape, but he’s not worried at this point.
49ers RSS feed
Loading ...
A.J. will find, like most rookies, that there is college football shape, and then there is NFL shape. Running Rice’s hill would be a good start.
Owusu is a good candidate for the practice squad. But no matter how fast you are, you have to catch the ball. Unless you’re Ted Ginn and can make your living returning kicks.
bingo. dropping passes in camp? only a high draft pick can get away with that. you’d better show something amazing to keep you around, because coaches and fans have extremely low tolerance for dropped passes.
Hopefully it was just first day jitters and a young player trying to ‘do too much’… catch the ball first, Chris, *then* show everyone how fast you are!
Unfortunately, Owusu had the same problem at Stanford. Great speed, but he dropped a lot of deep balls that Luck put ruck on his numbers…
Come on AJ!!! I thought you were ready for “The Hill” Jerry in his 40′s is gonna school you son!!! haha It’s early.. not worried here =) TGIF
I’m okay with him getting schooled by Jerry in May. That way he knows how hard he needs to work, to not get schooled by NFL CBs in September.
Amen Brother! This kid is a winner not a whinner! He’ll get in shape over the course of the summer & Rice will help him become more than all he thought he could be!! Better than Army strong if you get my drift? Keep up the intelligent commentary. Enjoyed!
Anthony Davis recommends this message …!!
Here is video of the race. Its was close but at least both guys look super quick:
http://www.tout.com/m/cqg520
not a bad thing to lose to Owusu. He was one – if not the – fastest receiver to come out this year.
“Jim Harbaugh said many of the players were out of shape, but he’s not worried at this point.”
I’m a little concerned if some of the players are out of shape. Especially the rookies. Didn’t they just work out a ton to perform their best at the Combine? It wasn’t all that long ago was it?
As Harbaugh would say, things just got real real for them.
Let’s count.
How many “real” reals are there for an NFL rookie player:
1. Oh my God, I’ve been drafted (or picked up after the draft)!
2. First day of practice at mini camp where you meet some of your future teammates.
3. First day of Training Camp when all but the hold-outs come in.
4. First scrimmage/Exhibition Game, especially at their home stadium.
5. First real game before kickoff and right before you first take the field.
6. If your an offensive playmaker/defensive player, the first time the ball is in the air/ball carrier is coming your way.
7. If you are lucky enough, your first postseason game and if you are really lucky, your first Super Bowl where you get to experience pretty much an accelerated version of this whole list all over again.
Great list.
I recall last year during a Lockout workout Aldon was called out of wind by a few people. I guess its just a wake-up call; welcome to The Bigs! :>)
“out of shape” is relative.
I don’t think he meant they were in worse shape than during the college season. I think he meant that there’s a difference between NFL in shape, and college in shape.
Exactly, when Harbaugh commented further on it, he said…
Were you surprised they were a little out shape?
“Yeah, yeah. Well, yes and no. I knew that these guys weren’t working out as hard as our guys have been working out. Because our guys are just fanatical with the way they work out and the way they approach their cardio. So, I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as our guys, but yeah, we have a ways to go. It’s not a panic button or anything. I knew where it was going to be. And it’s just a process of going from A to Z, and everybody’s at a certain point and we’ll get them there.”
That’s the point bro. They are in combine shape not football shape. Its actually very typical this time of year. The last time any of these guys had a “football” practice was late December. Since then, they have trained exclusively for the combine which is totally different from football shape. It also reminds me of Moss’ quotes after his first 49ers practice. Even he was shocked by the speed of a Harbaugh practice:
Good points Mike.
Grant are you feeling a lit bit better about Jenkins now? So far from the reports from various places Jenkins is looking like a good choice. How did James look?
They both looked very good going against no defense.
The gold standard with Jenkins won’t be his hands or his speed. It will be how he adjusts to the physicality of big NFL corners. He needs to seriously work in the weight room and gain strength to avoid getting jammed at the line in press coverage. That is the number one thing I’d like to see him work on, is upper body strength.
I agree. He looks light right now.
Did anyone else catch your eye?
Jewel Hampton. He held his own with LaMichael James on the figure-eight races, which surprised me.
James has to practice catching kickoffs with his momentum going forward, but he’s a natural at making people miss in the open field. Jenkins not as much.
I’m hoping Hampton sticks on the PS this year – his college career was marred by knee injuries, but when he was healthy he produced. Could be a guy that could play in a rotation with James and Hunter in a season or two.
This happens every year to most rookies. They come in, learn what it actually takes, and then adjust. I remember reading stories from ‘Camp Alex’ that rookies were throwing up trying to keep up with the vets. It happens…if they still have this problem in training camp, then you can worry.
Mindi also posted on twitter a video of both races. I slow mo’d the finishes and AJ Jenkins clearly wins the first race. The second is a virtual tie and if you screen shot when they both cross the finish line you cannot pick a winner. Its dead even. It should be noted that AJ pulled up a few steps early on the 2nd race (and got yelled at). Either way, iron sharpens iron and I’m happy to have both of these speedsters on our roster.
Screen shot of AJ winning race 1: http://pic.twitter.com/IcOhPgDg
Screen shot of the tie in race 2: http://pic.twitter.com/T9KafK1J
Owusu’s knee is across the line in the first screen shot – it only looks like he lost because he’s in the background. It was close, but the coaches announced Owusu as the winner, which ticked off Jenkins a little bit.
Yep. Love the head to head either way. Welcome to the NFL kiddos!
I don’t much care who won the race if it was like how it appeared in the picture.
I want to see how fast they can get 40 yards down field while maneuvering around a DB. Then create some space for the QB to have a decent size window to feel confident to make the attempted throw. And if the ball is remotely catchable, to make the completion.
Grant, when you see that kind or race, be sure to let us know who wins it.
That’s exactly what I want to see as well. I’m on the lookout, and as soon as it happens I’ll describe it.
Thanks.
DS, AJ Jenkins won the race several times today. Just like Grant mentioned, once they got to the receiving drills you could tell Jenkins was the better player right now. He is very quick and smooth in and out of his break and his hands are fantastic.
To Owusu’s credit, he hasn’t played in a long time because of his injuries so I am sure there was some rust there for him today. As a Stanford fan I hope he comes back and acquits himself well even though it is a very long shot he makes the roster.
@DS
So how does a QB ‘make the attempted throw’?
It is completed.
First the pass must be attempted. And you need to get open for that to happen.
That hula hoop drill is one that I used to do with my teams back in the day. That is a great drill for all of those reasons Grant explains. It is one thing to watch a guy sprint 40 yards in a straight line, but much more impressive to see their speed and agility around those tight circles.
A.J. Jenkins the sleeper of the draft, i’ve been saying it since the morning after the 1st rd and hopefully after a yr on the practice squad [hopefully his concussion issues will be cleared up] chris owusu will be the undrafted FA of the yr
Love the optimism old coach!
And after last year, we are not just going by our love of the team, but actual actions by them from last year.
Coach -if you are correct about A J – Balke’s reputation will leap another rung upward ,yet again. Personally I’ve been on the Owusu train from the get go.These two bookends to our draft will be fun to follow in the months to come,let’s hope they both prove to be outstanding additions to our team!
Grant, what will it take from Jenkins for you to change your mind about him as a draft pick. The more I learn about this kid (interviews and film), the more excited he makes me.
I want to see him beat the press and make contested catches down field. He’s fast, but can he beat DBs for jump balls down the sideline? He didn’t do that in college. To become a split end deep threat he’ll have to make those catches. Otherwise he’s a fast slot possession receiver.
I don’t think you will change your mind about Jenkins this season then. I can’t see him being able to regularly beat press until he bulks up a bit, which isn’t likely to happen until he has a full offseason under the 49ers strength and conditioning coaches. And I don’t know if he’ll ever be a great jump ball player – he just doesn’t seem to have that mentality. He appears to be more of a finesse WR.
Thanks for the response. He’s definitely going to have to get stronger to beat the NFL press. However I think his speed will get him open on the sidelines, and his 38.5 inch vert and huge hands should help him on jump balls. You can’t teach speed, you can’t teach hand size (and from film they seem soft), you can get a kid in the weight room.
Grant
Any word on the Niners looking to get Dominique Ziegler back in here? At the time of his injury he was quickly becoming my favorite WR and story. Then he got hurt, and vanished.
I think he’s out.
@DS
I liked him too.
I find it a little surprising that these guys werent in NFL shape already. I would think with so much on the line they would inquire about what is in shape. Not a big deal they just got their first rude of awakening I am sure these guys will get into shape.
You can’t really read too much into how the players look in the skill portion of these practices – as others have noted, catching passes while being defended by only your shadow means nothing. Still, it is encouraging to hear Jenkins (and others) looked decent and displayed his quickness and catching ability.
I did find it interesting to hear that a few of the rookies ended up tweaking their hamstrings. Obviously a lot of guys haven’t been doing enough running in recent months. I think Harbaugh is sending a strong message to these guys about what sort of shape they need to be in come training camp – if you want to be a 49er, you have to be ready for hard work.
Scooter
If our guys had dropped a lot of passes, I would not feel so good. Like I said yesterday, can’t judge what did happen. Only what didn’t.
From Maiocco’s column: Said Harbaugh, “I don’t think it ever hurts to be around Jerry Rice. No, I wouldn’t think that would hurt.”
I’ll rephrase for him: “Ummm… yeah, couldn’t hurt for the kid to stuff everything Rice dishes out in to his brain.”
Actually Adam, I think the proper translation was “as long as he stays away from Crabtree”.
:-D
Harbaugh mentions AS mechanics are improving. I even hate to bring this up due to the in house fighting that goes on in here about AS. But it is worth reading and if some of you are going to make an issue about it dont read it or comment on it.
http://www.csnbayarea.com/football-san-francisco-niners/niners-talk/Harbaugh-sees-dramatic-improvements-in-S?blockID=706364&feedID=5936
I really hope this bears fruit. Even a very marginal improvement in accuracy could make a huge difference when throwing into tight windows on third down.
Yes also in the red-zone where there isnt much room to roam. Ya know Grumpy I am feeling good about this upcoming season. I am trying not to get overly excited but things just seem to be coming togeather nicely. Kind of scares me.
“The bad news is we’ve got to get them in shape. I don’t know exactly what all these guys were doing for the last six months.”
Was just watching NFL32, and they brought this quote up and took it totally out of context by showing Randy Moss running routes in the background. I feel bad for folks that think they are getting good information from that station.
Grant,
Looks like your guy Randle is making a good first impression.
http://mobile.nj.com/advnj/pm_29222/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=xpybMk2Q
Thanks for sharing the link Jack. It wouldn’t surprise me if Randell turns into a solid pro. The Giants do a good job of evaluating and coaching WR’s.
Here’s an interesting quote from that article – with a knock on Manningham:
‘That means he beat the corner to the outside and then worked away from the sideline to give the quarterback an easier throw. That’s a skill Mario Manningham struggled to perfect, even in Super Bowl XLVI.’
Yeah Nick, that’s how the NY media works though. Guy makes a great catch to help you win the Super Bowl, but he a total bum.
Can’t wait to watch Manningham quiet those NY fans in both of the upcoming regular season games.
What’s your take on Reuland vs. Byham?
The New York Giants boasted that Rueben Randle was NFL-ready after taking the LSU receiver in the second round of draft, and the kid didn’t disappoint as the Super Bowl champions opened a rookie minicamp on Friday.
Randle went up high to catch a pass along the sideline and later burned third-round draft choice Jayron Hosley on a ”go” pattern in the morning session of Friday’s camp.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/WR-Rueben-Randle-showing-Giants-hes-NFLready-82533163
Part 2 of Jenkins vs. Owusu went down yesterday afternoon. The event was only a combined five plays, so I don’t want to make too much out of it, but I thought it merited at least a comment, so here goes.
The wide receivers and cornerbacks did 1-on-1 drills, meaning one wide receiver ran routes against one cornerback, and a quarterback tried to complete a pass.
Jenkins went 0-3 in this drill. On the first play, he telegraphed the comeback route and the CB broke on the ball and swatted it away. On the second play, Jenkins telegraphed an out cut and the DB broke on the ball, swatted it away. On the third play, Jenkins easily beat his man deep but he decided to make an in cut, which he telegraphed, and the CB broke on the pass and swatted it.
Owusu caught his first pass on an out route. On his second route, he made the cornerback fall down on a slant. Wide receivers coach Johnnie Morton yelled “that’s how you run!” loud, for everyone to hear.
I’m not saying Owusu’s a better receiver than Jenkins, just that he outperformed him in yesterday’s afternoon practice.
More notes:
RB Jewel Hampton threw up at 4:15 p.m. Maybe he ate too much at lunch.
WR Nathan Palmer (#89) looks small, but he’s good. He had the best afternoon practice of all the wide receivers – he constantly got open in seven-on-seven drills. He may be the quickest receiver out of breaks in camp. He doesn’t gear down one bit.
Well…I guess thats what coaching is for!
hm..
Owusu and Napalm might surprise some folks.
When I looked at Jenkins in some clips what I saw was that he was fantastic when there were no DBs anywhere within 10 yards of him. Many of his big play highlights seemed to show him out there all alone. He’s not going to have that in the NFL.
Owusu should have a bit of an advantage with this because he knows what kind of shape he needs to be in with Harbaugh. The other guys will be doubling over and collapsing and the Stanford guys will just keep cruising. Just a guess.
Good deal, I got my eye on Owusu, Jenkins sounds like you got some work to do, Palmer I have seen a couple good reports on you. Whats James upto? These young bucks better start to toughen up or you dont have a prayer of making the practice squad let alone the team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eBrb00pdGw
Not surprised that Jenkins is having difficulty beating man coverage. Watch any of his games against good competition while at Illinois and that should jump out at you.
Here’s to hoping the 49ers have gotten some real steals in the undrafted FAs. I already liked Owusu and Hampton – definitely hoping those guys show something in training camp – and if Palmer can show he’s a keeper as well that would be a great haul.
It’s a pity the next two days of the rookie camp aren’t open to the media.
maybe rice can let chris tag along imagine if they both learn from him i would hate to try to stop them to recievers and davis in the middle with james in the back field that would be to much speed to handle