Jimmy Garoppolo's impressive performance to end the 2017 season thrust him into the spotlight. If it were up to the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, that attention would be focused elsewhere.
Garoppolo having a low-key persona isn't news to the Niner Faithful. Despite appearing comfortable in front of the camera and media, the quarterback never seems to be one to seek out attention. If it were up to him, he'd prefer to be left alone so he can focus on football.
Staying out of the spotlight isn't always possible in today's NFL. It's never possible if you are a quarterback who is considered to be the face of the franchise.
Robbie Gould joked on KNBR Thursday morning that Garoppolo would much rather be a kicker like him.
"No hair, 35, married with kids," he said. "I get it, yeah. I feel so bad for him."
All joking aside, Gould acknowledged what fans already knew about Garoppolo's personality.
"He hates the attention, absolutely hates it," he continued. "It's funny; I think the 49ers are probably one of the best organizations for creating content for social, digital media and showing fans what it's like behind the scenes. And there's always a camera usually in his face, and he absolutely hates it. He's like, 'Hey, I'm just trying to get better here. Can we do this later?'
"So we'll end up taking the camera and putting it with the kickers (and) punters. We always tease him, but that's just him, though. That's how humble he is. That's the type of human being he is. I think you're going to see that kid do special things in the NFL for years to come.
"He wants to win. It's all about ball. He couldn't care less about the other stuff that comes with it, right? So photoshoots and things like that, yeah he enjoys doing it, but all he wants to do is win."
Garoppolo's work ethic has never come into question. From the moment he arrived in San Francisco, the quarterback worked tirelessly to get up to speed and learn the playbook. Weeks later, he was thrust into the starting role and flourished despite never fully grasping the reasoning behind the play calls.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is excited to finally have a full offseason with his new quarterback to make sure Garoppolo absorbs that information.
"It's nice to start from scratch, to go at a slower process," Shanahan said in February. "He got a crash course, and he did a hell of a job picking it up. But sometimes he's out there, and he's just going, but he doesn't truly understand why and things like that. But he did a great job of getting through the week to where he had a chance to do it on Sunday.
"And now, the rush isn't quite the same. You start from the beginning. Start on the first page, not the 50th page. You get a better foundation, and when you have a better foundation of where you're coming from when you're learning, I think it gives you a chance to play at a higher level."
You can listen to the entire KNBR interview with Gould below.
