Day 1, practice 1: Goldson shows his stuff

Here’s a rundown of the action during Saturday’s morning practice at 49ers training camp:

The practice opened with the “Nutcracker.” There were seven stations of hitting going on while the quarterbacks worked on fundamentals on another field. It was difficult to keep track of everything going on, but . . .

–The most compelling matchup was Patrick Willis vs. Michael Robinson. Willis started against Brit Miller, who did OK. Then, he and Robinson teamed against each other. It was too close to call a decisive winner, but Robinson more than held his own.

“Mike is one of those guys you know every time you go against him he is going to give you his best,” Willis said. “That’s what you want if you want to get better.”

–Vernon Davis obviously felt as if he defeated Parys Haralson in one battle. I did not see that one, but Davis drew so much attention to that side of the field I watched the next time they went after it. Haralson clearly won that one, and the crowd all the way across the field let him hear about it.

–Frank Gore vs. Dashon Goldson was a good battle. They locked it up pretty good.

–Receiver Dominique Zeigler, a stringy 6-3, 185, handled rookie cornerback Terrail Lambert (5-11, 195).

–Rookie safety Curtis Taylor threw down rookie Dobson Collins.

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In 11-on-11 practice, Dashon Goldson showed why he’s been anointed the starting free safety on the first three days of the summer. He broke up Shaun Hill’s first pass, intended for Davis. On the next play, Goldson made a big hit on Brandon Jones after a completion. Then, he nearly picked off a pass that was intended for Delanie Walker.

Hill completed his first set of four plays with a completion down the field to Davis.

On the first play after Smith took over, he threw it away, drawing boos from the stands. But Smith went on to complete his next five passes in 11-on-11, including passes to Jones over the middle and a comeback to Arnaz Battle.

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The position groups split up into more one-on-one matchups. Smith heard more groans when his pass ended up nowhere near a receiver. (Obviously, a miscommunication.)

Following Smith, rookie Nate Davis took over to cheers from the fans. He completed a pass to Sheets in the flat, and then sent a wobbler downfield that was caught by tight end J.J. Finley.

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Back to 11-on-11 action . . .

Hill took over for six snaps, which included four run plays. Isaac Sopoaga batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage, and Hill threw away another pass to avoid a “sack.”

Third-string quarterback Damon Huard had three plays. He tossed a short pass to Michael Robinson, then threw incomplete to Josh Morgan.

Smith had his six snaps. He completed a pass to Dominique Zeigler, who might have the best set of hands on the team. Gore got the call on a run play, and rookie OLB Diyral Briggs fended off a Joe Staley block to knock Gore off his feet. On the next play, Justin Smith worked over J.J. Finley to get his hands on Glen Coffee in the backfield.

Rookie Nate Davis, who rarely stepped on the practice field during the offseason, finished practice with three snaps. His first pass, intended for Maurice Price, was intercepted by rookie safety Curtis Taylor (a good first day for Mr. Taylor). After a Kory Sheets run, Davis‘ pass intended for Brandon Jones was broken up by safety Reggie Smith.

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All in all, the day consisted of three Singletary in-practice pep talks. He had the team conclude with five up-and-backs, running the width of the field.

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The 49ers return to the practice field at 4:20 p.m. You can continue to follow my live “tweets” from the practice field at http://twitter.com/MattMaiocco.

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