The 21-year-old Trey Lance continues to earn praise from his teammates. The San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback is preparing to enter his first NFL training camp and hopes to show off how his hard work in the past month has led to improvement. During the players' time off, several videos surfaced of Lance taking part in throwing sessions, taking what he learned from the offseason program to sharpen his skills.
One of the players Lance threw to last month is teammate Mohamed Sanu. The two also worked out together in Southern California. The wide receiver hopes to make his way up the depth chart in training camp and make an impact in 2021.
Sanu joined the DNP-CD Sports Podcast this week (h/t to Pro Football Talk) and was asked about his rookie quarterback. Like others, he had nothing but good things to say about Lance.
"The thing about Trey is he's a very hard-working kid," Sanu said. "He listens, very diligent, and he's the type of kid that puts in the extra work. I just love his energy. You can tell the way he comes in the room and has so much charisma, and he just has that 'it factor.' It's cool to see."
What does "it factor" mean to Sanu?
"Just the way he goes out on the field," Sanu explained. "He's confident. The confidence that he has and the throws that he's making. And then when he doesn't get it right, he is eager to learn and fix it immediately, and that's something that's very, very important, especially for the quarterback position."
San Francisco traded up to draft Lance with the No. 3 overall pick. The North Dakota State product doesn't have much experience, but analysts praise his high potential. Lance's versatility gives head coach Kyle Shanahan a unique weapon for his already well-respected offensive scheme.
"Such a young kid, but still he has a special talent," Sanu continued. "It's just up to him to keep working every day, do his thing, and his opportunity will come when it comes."
Lance will get his shot at some point. The 49ers enter the 2021 season with Jimmy Garoppolo slated to be the Week 1 starter. The quarterback room appears to have more depth than in previous seasons. The lack of talent behind Garoppolo led to struggles when the veteran was sidelined.
Of course, nothing is a lock in the NFL. There is a chance that Lance proves in training camp that he is capable of leading Shanahan's offense sooner rather than later. The progress of Garoppolo and Lance will be a big training camp storyline.
"I'm comfortable with both of them," Sanu shared. They're both really, really good quarterbacks. They're both going to make us win games, whoever wins the job. I'm confident in both of them. I know the team is all about us working together, working toward that one common goal, coming each day, stacking those days."