Rookie wide receiver Trent Taylor is just one of the many San Francisco 49ers players reaping the benefits of having Jimmy Garoppolo as his quarterback. In Garoppolo's three starts for the 49ers, Taylor has caught 12 passes from his new quarterback for 143 yards. That includes a six-catch, 92-yard performance against the Chicago Bears on December 3 where Taylor spent the majority of the night leading up to the game throwing up.
It was while he still felt ill that Taylor started to believe that Garoppolo might be the real deal. Prior to the road game in Chicago, which was Gaoppolo's first start with the 49ers, the quarterback gave a pre-game speech that made Taylor a believer.
Taylor shared the story during a KNBR interview on Wednesday.
"I would just say before the Chicago game," Taylor said on the "Fitz & Brooks" show when asked when that realization hit him. "We were all -- Coach [Kyle] Shanahan called it up. He was done talking to us. Somebody usually goes in and breaks it down, and then Jimmy just takes over and gets crunk as I've ever seen him. Everybody was just like, 'Oh my gosh, this guy is for real.'
"There was nothing fake about it. He got everybody ready at that point. Once he did that, I was like, 'Oh yeah, it's go time. This is about to get real.'"
"Once you saw that intensity that he had and the passion that he has for the game, that's when you knew something good was about to come out of him for sure," Taylor continued.
The 49ers receiver went on to share what makes Garoppolo so special on the football field.
"He can get it out as quick as I've seen anybody get the ball out," Taylor said. "He can let it go off his back foot, off his front foot, going side-to-side, whatever it is. He can get it out of his hands quick and, man, he's been hitting everybody on time, and it's been a beautiful thing to see."
You can listen to the entire interview with Taylor below.