When the San Francisco 49ers lost two guards this past weekend against the Minnesota Vikings, the coaches asked rookie right tackle Mike McGlinchey to move inside one spot and fill in.
"Ask" may not be the right word. While it may have seemed like a request, desperate times were calling for desperate measures. McGlinchey, who joined 95.7 The Game on Friday, was likely going to play right guard regardless of whether or not he wanted to.
"It was kind of an ask, but I feel like it wasn't really an ask," McGlinchey told Damon Bruce. "I went over to the sideline and [offensive line coach John Benton] was waiting there for me and asked me if I wanted to play some guard. I'm not sure if I was allowed to say no, but I didn't, so I guess we'll never know on that one."
McGlinchey never took a snap at guard during his college career at Notre Dame. The 49ers didn't give him any reps at the position during the offseason. Sunday was the first time he played guard since maybe fifth or sixth grade, the rookie revealed.
While McGlinchey is always willing to do what is needed to help his team, it sounds like he would prefer not to be faced with a situation like the one that presented itself in Minnesota.
"I definitely don't want to have to do it again but I definitely could do it again," McGlinchey said. "I feel a lot more comfortable with it now that I've felt it out and made some mistakes there and learned from them. But hopefully we never get into that situation again, and I can stay outside where I want to.
"It's pretty different inside. The techniques are all different, and protections and assignments are as well."
How much of a team player is McGlinchey? The 49ers should try asking him to play slot receiver and see what happens.
"I think that would actually be more fun than trying to switch positions on the O-line," McGlinchey joked (maybe). "At least I'd get to catch a ball or two, you know?"
While his play may not have been perfect, the 49ers were impressed with his willingness to step outside his comfort zone.
"It was his first NFL game," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday. "He's never played guard, and you could see that there was nothing about him that was scared to go try it. He knew he had to do it and he didn't flinch at all. He went in there, competed, did the best he could, and did a pretty good job. I know there were a couple of mistakes, as expected, but it was not too big for him."