A former Badger
Rookie minicamp is underway for the San Francisco 49ers, and the draftees spoke at the podium Thursday. Let’s start with running back Isaac Guerendo, who spoke about his path to the NFL.
Guerendo was exclusively a wide receiver in high school. That could help him get onto the field, perhaps in situations with Christian McCaffrey. Here’s the Niners rookie running back speaking on his wide receiver background:
“It definitely helps me a lot. I think being able to put that on tape is important. Obviously, at Wisconsin, it was more limited. But with the new offense going to [Jeff] Brohm’s offense at Louisville, it definitely helped me be able to showcase that more and continue to show more value. That’s what’s important at this position.”
Guerendo was a 3-star recruit who initially committed to the Wisconsin Badgers out of high school. He spent four seasons with the Badgers before transferring to Louisville this past year. Despite being a fifth-year senior, Guerendo only had one game of 20+ carries, so there’s not a lot of wear and tear on his tires.
The coach who recruited Guerendo to Wisconsin compared him to another former Badger back: Jonathan Taylor. Taylor, at 226 pounds, ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and was uber-productive in his first two seasons in the NFL. If Guerendo sniffs Taylor’s production, the 49ers got themselves the steal of the draft.
Guerendo started one game in college, where I’m not sure if Taylor ever game off the field. He’s walking into a similar situation with the Niners where there are multiple players ahead of him on the depth chart. Here’s Guerendo speaking about why he didn’t play as much at Wisconsin, a question he undoubtedly was asked at the NFL Combine:
“I think it was more of an overlooked type of thing. I think there was always a lot of people put in front of me. One thing I pride myslef on is if someobdy is better than me at something, it’s perfectly fine. I just continue to pride myself at getting better at something.
But there were times where it felt like I was doing everything I was supposed to, working hard, performing well, and I’m still being put behind people who might not have been. But continuing to be patient, continuing to wait for my time, that’s one thing I’ve always done and one thing I’ll continue to do. And that’s something I’ll continue to do.
I’ve played with a lot of great backs. Played in a lot of great rooms. At the same time, going to this level, making this transition, that’s something that helps me. A lot of these guys have been the feature guy since they were young. For me, it kind of gives me a leg up. What are these guys going to do when they aren’t the starter? How are they going to move forward with that? How are they going to handle that? Given that I’ve been through it plenty of times. Obviously, it’s not going to change my mindset. I’m going to embrace that.”
Guerendo acknowledged that he was frustrated that he was never a starter. Guerendo believes not having a 250-300 carry season is a good thing. He doesn’t believe he’s played his best ball due to the lack of opportunities.
The 49ers rookie running back has yet to meet McCaffrey or see him at the team facility yet. He plans on asking CMC about the transition to the NFL and how to preserve your body and maintain health.
About the Author: Insidethe49
