49ers camp takeaways: Sharp offense; Odum makes the most of opportunities originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers opened their third block of training camp practices Friday with a packed house of fans.
Brock Purdy had a second consecutive training no interception during the session, which Kyle Shanahan considered a bit shorter than what’s to come. The plan is to have a higher count of team reps on Saturday as they slowly move toward the regular season.
Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey took veteran rest days and were not seen on the field. Jauan Jennings participated in individual workouts, but the head coach shared that the wideout was dealing with a minor ankle injury and should return soon. Logan Thomas has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Jon Feliciano returned to the offensive line, but only played in a few series of offensive plays. Aaron Banks was sidelined with back spasms, while Spencer Burford remained sidelined with a broken hand. Shanahan reported that Burford will not require surgery, but will still be out for a few weeks with the injury.
Here are five updates from Day 8 of 49ers training camp.
Initial returns will be interesting
The 49ers had everyone from Kyle Juszczyk to Deebo Samuel to Danny Gray trying to return the kickoff on Friday. Even Terique Owens tried to receive kicker Jake Moody’s line kick.
Shanahan, who watched some replays of Thursday night’s Hall of Fame game, believes it will be a work in progress throughout the preseason and perhaps even into Week 1.
“We’re all trying to learn,” Shanahan said. “That was the first time everyone got to see it. I think I saw three out of eight. It was complicated, but I’m sure they will get through the pre-season. We’ll get as much information as we can about this and adjust throughout the year.
Pearsall continues to progress and impress
The rookie wide receiver did not catch a pass during team practice but consistently showed follow through during running plays. With the importance of side blocking in Shanahan’s offensive scheme, the head coach is grateful for Pearsall’s commitment to the game.
“I’m really happy with his progress so far,” Shanahan said. “It was cool to see him in the running game. He understands our standards. He’s not someone we should call and say, ‘We need more.’ He understands and is doing everything he can and continues to get more reps.”
Odum seizing opportunities
The special teams ace Could be the player who gets the call to start on defense alongside second-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown if Talanoa Hufanga isn’t ready to play in Week 1. Odum took the majority of snaps with the first-team defense while making plays prominent.
The undrafted free agent out of Central Arkansas had a number of pass breakups as well as one of Purdy’s four interceptions during Tuesday’s practice.
The attack almost had a day without turnovers
During team practice in the second half of Friday’s session, a handoff from Purdy to Jordan Mason went wrong. It was unclear on the other side of the field whether the mistake was the fault of the quarterback or the ball carrier.
Blame for the fumble didn’t concern Javon Hargrave, who picked up the ball and ran it back for a defensive score.
Moody a little out of the game
The second-year kicker was exceptionally accurate throughout training camp, missing just one previous kick. Maybe it was the myriad line drive throws Moody had practiced before, but after making two field goal attempts before, the Michigan product wasn’t as accurate.
Just before practice ended, Moody missed two attempts from 46 and 53 yards out.
The club will meet again on Saturday for a longer session with extended team training.
