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VIDEO: Garoppolo says he will work with famed throwing coach Tom House
SANTA CLARA — Jimmy Garoppolo told reporters to have a good summer — or “H.A.G.S.” in school-yearbook parlance — after the 49ers went through their final offseason practice Wednesday.
And now we know what Garoppolo will do with his summer: work in Southern California with famed throwing coach Tom House.
Pleased with how his comeback from knee reconstruction has gone in limited work the past nine weeks with the 49ers, Garoppolo wants to fine tune his body mechanics over the next 40 days, so he’ll be at full strength for full-team drills come training camp.
“These next 40 days will be big getting with him and everything,” Garoppolo said of House. “He knows the offense pretty well and it’ll really help us going forward.”
Before the 49ers offseason program began in April, Garoppolo worked with House and his staff, based at the University of Southern California. House’s acclaimed work with baseball pitchers and quarterbacks is nothing new. Alex Smith worked with him before the 2012 season on the 49ers, and Garoppolo’s former New England Patriots teammate, Tom Brady.
What’s at the top of Garoppolo’s to-do list over these next few weeks before training camp officially starts July 26?
“During these 40 days, you do so many different things physical and mental. You’re trying to recover at the same time while getting ready for training camp,” Garoppolo said. “But I think just having the timing of the offense down, being in rhythm with receivers and getting comfortable. I mean it’s been awhile since I’ve been in 11-on-11 football, so just getting as comfortable as I can as quickly as I can.”
Garoppolo actually took an 11-on-11 snap, accidentally, at the start of a two-minute drill in Wednesday’s final minicamp practice. Coach Kyle Shanahan ordered defensive linemen not to pursue the $137.5 million quarterback, and when they kind of did, the play got scrubbed and Garoppolo finished off things in an 11-on-7 format.
“I told the D-Line, ‘Just stand there and put your hands up, no one’s allowed to rush,’ ” Shanahan said. “And the animals that they are, why we love them, they couldn’t help it. I saw it so I stopped it.
Earlier in practice, Garoppolo attempted more deep passes than he has in any previous session this offseason, and his rebuilt left knee did not seem to hinder him as he stepped into such throws, some of which were on target and some of which were not.
“I’m very confident in it. It’s been coming off the hand very well, I thought,” Garoppolo said of his deep ball. “The receivers make my job so easy, with the speed like ‘Quise and Dante and those guys, and their ability to separate from the defense, makes it easy. Just put it out there and don’t underthrow them.”
He did underthrow RIchie James on a 40-yard bomb, and upstart safety Tarvarius Moore defended a throw (ill-advised, Shanahan said) toward Marquise Goodwin. Earlier deep throws, however, were on target to Kendrick Bourne, Dante Pettis, James and tight end Ross Dwelley.
The final official play of the offseason resulted in Garoppolo throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis, and that is a connection the 49ers are counting on as they seek to end a five-year playoff drought this year.
NOTES
— Defensive end Nick Bosa, who strained a hamstring last month, plans to rehabilitate with other rookies for the next week at the 49ers facility before meeting up with his brother, Joey, in their native Florida to “get that hammy completely right, because I’m almost there.”
Bosa, the No. 2 overall draft pick, has yet to sign his rookie contract, nor has second-round pick Deebo Samuel, who’s missed the past two weeks with a hip injury. Bosa said of his contract, which is virtually pre-determined by the NFL’s rookie wage scale: “I don’t really deal with that. I let my agent do that. I’ve probably asked him about it once throughout this process, but I know it takes a little bit for that to happen for a lot of guys. I’m just patient and I’ll see what happens.”
— Tight end George Kittle left Tuesday’s practice with hip tightness and did not practice because of it, allowing Ross Dwelley to take first-time reps.
— Cornerback Richard Sherman was excused from Wednesday’s practice for a non-injury-related issue.
— Linebacker Fred Warner (knee) and cornerback Jason Verrett (Achilles) both expect to be cleared for the start of training camp, and Shanahan said that is also the case for Garoppolo and running back Jerick McKinnon, among others.
— The 49ers are planning to stay on the East Coast and practice between their season opener at Tampa Bay and their ensuing game at Cincinnati. Shanahan would prefer an indoor facility in Florida for that layover, and he noted that another option is Youngstown, Ohio, where the 49ers had layovers early in the 2011 and ’12 seasons. They stayed in Orlando between late-season games in 2016.
— Cornerback Quinten Rollins impressed at minicamp during as he auditioned along with cornerback Jordan Holland, running back L.J. Scott and offensive linemen Gino Gradkowski and Dillon Day.
