Good read and explains a lot.
Talking Tartt: Ex-NFL safety discusses 49ers' second-round pick
Posted on May 7, 2015 at 4:02 pm by Eric Branch in 49ers
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At the University of Alabama, Sam Shade played with safety George Teague, a first-round pick in 1993 who had a nine-year NFL career.
As a rookie with the Bengals in 1995, Shade played with safety Darryl Williams, a former first-round pick who spent 10 years in the NFL. Then, in 2000 with Washington, Shade was teammates with safety Mark Carrier, a former first-round pick and 11-year veteran.
For the past four years, Shade, 41, a safety in his eight-year NFL career, has helped mentor safety Jasquiski Tartt in his role as secondary coach at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
The 49ers, of course, drafted the huge-hitting Tartt in the second round last week and the pick inspired a popular question: How will the small-school standout fare against, say, the Seahawks after playing in the Southern Conference.
Shade's thoughts? He says Tartt compares favorably with Teague, Williams and Carrier – a trio that combined to start 402 NFL games – in one key area.
"Jasquiski is just as athletic, if not more athletic, than all of those guys," Shade said in a phone interview. "I'm not saying he's a better football player than any of them because, at this point, he's not. I'm just saying as far as ability, there's a lot there. He's got a chance — if he works hard enough and can stay healthy — he's got a chance to be really good in the NFL."
Tartt's blend of size (6-1, 221) and athleticism (4.55-second 40, 37-inch vertical jump) allowed him to become a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in FCS (formerly Division I-AA).
And he didn't just stand out against Stillman and The Citadel. Last year, for example, Tartt had a game-high 11 tackles in a 48-14 loss to TCU, which finished 12-1 and ranked third in the AP poll.
As with many of the 49ers' draft picks, though, Tartt enters the NFL unpolished.
In fact, he's still playing catch-up: He's a former prep basketball player who played just one season of football at Davidson (Ala.) High and Shade says his inexperience was evident as a redshirt freshman in 2010.
"When we first got him, he really didn't understand what it would take to be a good college football player," Shade said. "What I mean by that is he really didn't understand the work required. The weight room. The running and conditioning part. And becoming a student of the game – getting your mind in the right place when watching film and knowing what to look for when you're studying opponents."
"… His football IQ jumped a lot when he was at Samford, but he still has a long way to go as far as continuing to be a student of the game and just getting more experience playing."
With that in mind, Shade feels Tartt landed in a good spot. The 49ers have two established starters in Antoine Bethea, 30, and Eric Reid. They also have cornerback/safety Jimmie Ward, a 2014 first-round pick who was Tartt's high school teammate and is his best friend.
"It's an ideal situation for him," Shade said. "I've watched (Bethea) play and he's a hell of a player with a great football mind. Then you've got the young guy in Reid. If those two stay healthy, Jaquiski gets to learn from two pretty good ones."
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So how did a second-round NFL talent such as Tartt end up at Samford?
For starters, of course, his inexperience played a role.
But Shade suggested Division I programs would have offered him scholarships based on his eye-popping athleticism … if they had much a chance to check out his senior-season game tape.
They didn't, however, because Tartt committed to Samford early in the recruiting process, during his senior season, and his head coach, Fred Riley, wanted to him to honor that commitment.
"Once he committed, the coach would not let anyone else see his video," Shade said. "Would not send it out. Would not let anyone else talk to him.
"He just believed once a school offers you a scholarship, they make a commitment to you. And if you say 'I'm coming to your school,' well, that's a gentleman's agreement, both parties are committed to each other and that's a wrap."
Samford offered Tartt a scholarship after seeing video of him playing against Murphy High wide receiver Solomon Patton in October 2009. Patton, who played at Florida, is now with the Buccaneers.
"Everyone knew who (Patton) was," Shade said. "We were sitting there watching the film of Jasquiski playing him and Jaquiski is running him down. He's tackling him in space. We were like – 'This kid is raw, but he has ability. And a lot of it.' So once we made the decision to offer him, he committed and I'm not sure how many people even saw that film."
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Tartt is known for his big-hitting ability, but Shade says he won't have to alter his technique to avoid penalties in the NFL.
"He did a great job in college," Shade said. "I can't remember a play where it was even questionable whether he was going to be penalized for a hit. He had some really big hits on people, but they were all legal, clean hits and a lot of them were in the run game."
A possible NFC West head-to-head matchup to monitor in the future: Tartt coming up in run support against a 2015 first-round pick, Rams running back Todd Gurley (6-1, 222).
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Tartt could make his first contributions on special teams, where his size and speed will likely be utilized in kick coverage. In that regard, Shade says Tartt is similar to Cowboys cornerback Corey White (6-1, 205), who played at Samford and has made 19 NFL starts after he was a fifth-round pick of the Saints in 2012.
"The thing I recognized with both Jaquiski and Corey kind of early was that they could play special teams in the NFL,' Shade said. "And I'm not saying just play it – both of them were our top special-teams guys. They have really good size and they can run. From my time in the NFL, that's the one thing I knew could help a guy make it with a team."
Tartt had a more limited role on special teams in his final two years, partly because of injury issues. He played most of 2013 with a torn labrum.
http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2015/05/07/talking-tartt-ex-nfl-safety-discusses-49ers-second-round-pick/
Sad but true!
