49ers rookie Upton Stout's diligent offseason work paying off in training camp

SANTA CLARA — Upton Stout isn’t the biggest player on the 49ers’ defense, but the rookie already is showing how large he can play&period; The Western Kentucky cornerback, quickly in training camp, has been worked in as the nickel with the first-team defense, a position held down in 2024 by Deommodore Lenoir&period;Stout spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area on the latest “49ers Talk” about his adjustment to the NFL&period;“It’s been good,” Stout said&period; “Just relying on my training, relying on everyone around me and trying to pick everybody’s brain&period; Going into the meeting room, trying to get coached up the best I can so every time I go out onto the field, I can go out there and execute the play called&period;”Stout’s full participation in OTAs, minicamp and now training camp has allowed him to get a lot of reps&period; He has been receiving advice from both Lenoir and linebacker Fred Warner to help improve his skillset&period;“Obviously DeMo because he played the position at a high level,” Stout said of who has been a resource&period; “But honestly, the whole back end has been feeding into me, and Fred being able to talk to me throughout the play and telling me where I should be when things come&period; Really, everybody being able to pour into me and bringing out the best in me&period;”Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has been impressed enough with Stout to give him opportunities with the first team&period; The rookie has flashed in coverage, run stops and even an occasional blitz&period;“He’s done a great job with it,” Saleh said after the first block of practices&period; “He’s a cool little player and I’m excited for him to get pads on&period; Again, with all these rookies and all these new guys, I’m trying to reserve true judgment until we get pads on, it’s easy to go in there when you know you’re not going to get blown up&period;“It’s been pretty impressive with what he’s been able to handle through OTAs and the first couple days here&period;”At 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, Stout is one of the smaller players on the defense, but he still packs a punch, already “thudding up” running backs at practice&period; Still, the “little” description from Saleh does not go unheard&period;“I don’t take it too personally,” Stout said&period; “I just keep it in the back of my head, it’s always another chip on my shoulder, just adding more chips on my shoulder so I can go out there and play with more fire&period; But it gets me sometimes, but sometimes it doesn’t, but it is what it is&period;”Putting Stout under too much pressure could be detrimental to a player’s development, of which Saleh is well aware&period; While the young defensive back is capable of taking on the responsibility of the nickel position, the coordinator doesn’t want to overload the rookie either&period;“He’s a sharp kid, it’s definitely not too big for him,” Saleh said&period; “We’ve got to be careful as a coaching staff, you know, you’ve still got to slow play it&period; Regardless of how smart you feel like they are, there are still a lot of things that they’re still learning, so you just want to, we’ll push the envelope, but never too far to where he can’t execute his job&period;”Stout’s early success is partly because of his diligence during the offseason&period; The 2025 third-round draft pick, who has been playing football since he was five years old, not only watched his own film from OTAs to fix the mistakes he made, but also quite a bit of his predecessor’s&period;“I watched a lot of [Lenoir’s] film,” Stout said&period; “I’m trying to be my own player but also trying to see what the standard was, and pass that standard&period; I watch a lot film&period; I watched every game he played in last year&period;”Lenoir already is a fan of Stout and the two frequently talk technique during practice&period; The two met up during the offseason and worked on the playbook together&period;“He hit me up, came to my house and we got on the board and were going over the defenses,” Lenoir said&period; “After that, the game slowed down for him&period; I’ve seen the plays he’s making, the stuff he’s reacting to and it’s slowly coming together&period;”While it’s still early in the process, even coach Kyle Shanahan has been impressed with Stout’s ability to pick up the defense quickly, learning the calls, and communicating while on the field&period;“We were hoping he would be capable of that when we took him,” Shanahan said on Thursday&period; “We knew that was a position that was open for us&period; He looked really good in OTAs and he has looked the same here in these first two weeks&period; Not crowning him yet, but so far he has been doing a hell of a job and hopefully he can keep getting better at it&period;”Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

49ers rookie Upton Stout’s diligent offseason work paying off in training camp

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