Davis replaces Plummer in booth; Harbaugh in Iowa

The Niners’ new look will extend to the broadcast booth in 2011.

The team announced today that Eric Davis will replace his former 49ers teammate, Gary Plummer, as the radio color analyst for Niners games on KNBR. Davis has served as a color analyst for preseason games on CBS 5 for the past three seasons and has been a 49ers analyst for CSN Bay Area the past two years. Ted Robinson will retain his play-by-play duties.

Davis, 43, spent the first six seasons of his 13-year career with San Francisco. A cornerback, Davis earned All-Pro honors in 1995 and was part the Niners’ 1994 Super Bowl team with Plummer, his teammate for two seasons.

“I had the experience of having a front row seat to the gloried past of this team, and it was an honor to be a part of those great teams,” Davis said in a press release. “And now, to be a part of the official broadcast team, with a front row seat to the future and the rebuilding of the franchise, I don’t think I could ask for anything better than that.”

Plummer, 50, the team’s color analyst since 1998, was not mentioned in the press release. A team spokesman noted that Davis lives in the Bay Area and will be available to assist at team functions, including those related to the building of a new stadium in Santa Clara. Plummer lives in San Diego.

• The Jim Harbaugh Quarterback Evaluation Tour stopped in Iowa City today to attend former Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s workout, according to National Football Post.

Harbaugh, who was in attendance for the pro days of TCU quarterback Andy Dalton and Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, got an up-close look at the 6-foot-4, 223-pounder who was a three-year starter in the Hawkeyes’ pro-style offense. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was an NFL assistant for six seasons before taking over the Hawkeyes in 1999.

Stanzi, a pocket passer who is expected to be a mid-round selection, said he felt comfortable talking shop with NFL teams at the scouting combine after starting 35 games in Ferentz’s system.

“The way he has his offense set up is very similar to how some other (NFL) teams do it,” Stanzi said. “We’re under center a lot. It’s a lot of two-back sets. A tight end. A lot of traditional pro-style stuff that we do at Iowa. All that definitely gets you more familiar than a spread quarterback would be or someone who hasn’t had that … I do feel comfortable talking football with NFL people because of how much I’ve had to learn at Iowa, how much responsibility is put on us in the check game.”

Stanzi, a team captain, made a huge statistical jump as a senior, dramatically improving his completion percentage (56.3 to 64.1) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (17-15 to 25-6) from his junior season.

Stanzi spent time prior to combine working in California with Tom Martinez, Tom Brady’s personal coach. Brady didn’t join them, “He’s got better things to do,” Stanzi said.

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