When he arrived as a free agent in San Francisco last year, fullback Kyle Juszczyk knew that he was going to be part of something special. The 49ers culture was changing for the better under new head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Juszczyk embodied the type of player Shanahan and Lynch wanted on their team.
Juszczyk joined 95.7 The Game on Wednesday to share what he learned during his time with the Baltimore Ravens and what he feels he brings to a young 49ers squad.
"Baltimore is definitely known for being a blue-collar team that grinds it out, works their tails off, just has a good work ethic," Juszczyk said. "I feel like that's something I've been able to bring to San Francisco. You know, we've got a team full of young guys. You need people to kind of show them the way, show them what it means to be a pro, and what it's like to put that work in every day.
"I do my best to lead by example and take those things that I've learned from my career in Baltimore and bring it here."
Juszczyk finished last season with 31 rushing yards on seven carries — both career highs. He also had 33 receptions for a career-high 315 yards with 17 of those catches for 195 yards coming during quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's five starts.
The 49ers are preparing for their regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. Juszczyk and the offense will face a Vikings defense that ranked No. 1 overall in the league last year and No. 2 both against the pass and the run.
"It's definitely going to be a good challenge, one that we're going to embrace," Juszczyk said. "But that's what you need. You need to play against good teams, a good defense to measure where you're at. Really, if we go out there and have success against a good defense like this, that's only going to build our confidence and build our momentum going forward."
Click here to listen to the entire interview with Juszczyk.