Lemonier Hoping to Bounce Back for 49ers

When the 49ers selected Auburn defensive end Corey Lemonier in the third round of the 2013 draft, they were excited about his pass-rush skills.At Auburn, where he started 26 of the 39 games he played, Lemonier had 17 sacks and 24 tackles for loss, plus seven forced fumbles. They envisioned the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder as being an outside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme, capable of putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.Yet through his first two seasons with the 49ers, Lemonier has just one sack. And, after getting plenty of playing time in 2013 – when he had 23 quarterback pressures -- he lost ground in 2014 as rookie outside linebacker Aaron Lynch came on strong.It was a big fall-off after a promising first season, when one national-website story about his strong play was headlined, "Is Corey Lemonier the next pass-rushing phenom in the making?"Now, with the start of training camp in late July approaching, Lemonier will find himself in tough competition for playing time with Lynch and rookie Eli Harold.But Lemonier had a good spring with the 49ers in organized team activities (OTAs) and the recent full-squad minicamp and improved his play thanks in part to a recommendation...