49ers Quarterbacks

I'm intrigued by the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks. I'm more intrigued by the quarterbacks not expected to start. Alex Smith is expected to be the starter and likely will be. I just wouldn't be too surprised if he isn't. The 49ers drafted Colin Kaepernick in the second round last year. Just before Smith was re-signed they added former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Josh Johnson. I wouldn't be surprised if either Kaepernick or Johnson takes the job away from Smith. I really liked both coming out of college. Johnson had the nice advantage of being coached by current 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego. He put up insane numbers there, especially in terms of passing efficiency. I liked him for the Minnesota Vikings in the draft but Tampa Bay got him. Kaepernick had an even more outrageous college career at Nevada. I watched him simply take apart Cal. It was a really sad day but a really great day for Kaepernick. Now they are together in San Francisco with one likely being the future of the 49ers, if not the present.

While I've followed both quarterbacks through their college days, I was surprised to learn that both have been tutored by former Cal head coach Roger Theder. The first Cal head coach of which I was aware was Theder in the late 70s. I knew what Mike White's incredible offenses did on the field in the mid-70s but I knew little of what took place on the sideline. I didn't know much at all about White until a few years later. I was aware of Theder because I was more aware of football in general. While Theder may not have had much success at Cal, no coach did back then, he's long had an excellent reputation as a teacher of offensive football. In retirement Theder has clearly become a quarterback guru for promising young throwers. Former Sacramento St and current Vikings quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is another of Theder's pupils. He was also recruited Harbaugh while he was at San Diego. Small world. Theder began training all of them while they were in high school. He's helped when needed on several occasions since.

Theder thinks that both Kaepernick and Johnson could beat out Alex Smith. He could be a bit biased but I agree with him. With four years under his belt and some experience with Harbaugh, Johnson is likely the more ready of the two. Kaepernick may have more talent enhanced by an incredible work ethic. Both have a brighter San Francisco future than Alex Smith.