San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak spoke with reporters after Monday's training camp practice as the team gears up for its preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. Here's everything he had to say.

Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.


As far as the left guard competition, when camp started, it seemed as if OL Connor Colby was comfortably in that spot, but obviously, OL Robert Jones has been playing more. Is that still an open competition? And how will you divide their reps on Thursday?

"First, definitely still an open competition. Those guys are going to compete all camp. I know Connor was in there initially and then Jones is now in there playing a little bit more with the ones, but those guys are going to keep battling, keep competing. I don't think we ever set out to say, 'Hey, whoever's in there the first day is going to take it all the way.' Those guys are going to compete. They're both going to play in the preseason a lot. That's just got to play itself out. They're both doing a good job. No slight on Connor or anything like that. They're just competing, and we're going to keep rotating those guys through and see where it comes out."

We've seen a lot of receivers step up recently with people moving around and being injured. What have you seen from some of the guys that are getting more reps?

"These guys are all doing a good job. Yeah, we've had to bring in some new guys with some of the injuries, but I think collectively that group's done a good job. They're working. We've challenged those guys to step up and try to make more plays given the people that are out. Just challenging those guys every day to look around, there's some guys missing. People got to step up and make plays. People got to step up and own the playbook. The continued challenge every day for those guys is, we get to unscripted periods, how well they know the offense, how fast can they play without having a script and knowing what's coming. But I like where that group's at. They're working. It's going to be fun battle in preseason to see kind of where that thing shakes out."

What have you seen from guys like WR Will Pauling and WR Wesley Grimes?


"Those guys are doing a good job. Both undrafted guys who we're really pleased with where they're at. They're both totally different guys in terms of their size and bodies, but they're tough, they're physical, they compete. They got a long way to go too, just like most of our rookies, but I'm happy with where they're at. I like how they compete every day."

How is this camp different for RB Christian McCaffrey than any others besides him being out today?

"I wouldn't say much. Christian always kind of has his rep count in any camp. You guys are aware of the adjustments we've made to our schedule to kind of keep them from having too many off days. In terms of his rep load, we're right on track where we want to be. He's a veteran player, so you got to monitor him and get him ready for the first week."

Any concern with him not being out there today or is it just managing?

"No, just managing. A little sore, but he's doing fine. So, just kind of managing him as we go."


How is the running back situation? Your top four guys are all dealing with something, including today. What has that been like just trying to cycle through and figure out what you want to do?

"Yeah. I mean, it's twofold. It sucks because you want those young guys out there who we drafted and who we want to see compete and want to see get better. Those guys will get back out there. They're not far away. But it's giving guys opportunities to get better too. You can talk about guys like [RB] Patrick Taylor [Jr.], [RB] Sincere McCormick and [RB] Khalil [Herbert], who we brought in. It gives us a chance to get [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] in there a little bit and get him some touches. Anytime guys are out, it lets guys step up and gives them opportunities, but we're looking forward to having those guys back too. We want to get them out there and keep getting them better. That's why they're here."

Have you gotten a sense of Deebo at 30? What he could do, the touch count he could have? Have you gotten a better sense of what his workload could be since he got here?

"Deebo's in great shape. First of all, he looks really good to me in terms of where his body's at. He can run all day.So, no issues there. Deebo still looks like Deebo to me. When he has the ball in his hand, there's nobody more explosive, more dynamic on the field. In terms of managing his load, Deebo's got to be able to affect the game in a lot of ways. That's our plan with him. Being out a year, there's things he's still catching up on in the offense a little bit, but we're going to keep getting him the reps he needs and getting him ready to play a multitude of spots and being a versatile player. I just feel really good about where he's at physically. He's out there every day working and getting better, so it's all we can ask for."

When you guys have a joint practice like this, coming up tomorrow, what type of guy are you looking to see? A rookie, a second-year guy, who do you have your eye on?


"I'm not going to single out anybody and say, 'This guy.' There's a lot of young players on our team. A lot of offensive young players who we need to see where they're at. It's always good to go against a different opponent. You don't really know the style of play they're going to have. It's an adjustment and you're going to see different defenses and different techniques. You just want to see those guys go out there and play confident, play fast and do their assignment. It's a good test to kind of see where we're at. All positions have guys we're evaluating closely. It's going to be a fun day. I'm looking forward to it. I love these days. I love going against somebody else.It should be fun."

Even when QB Brock Purdy was a rookie, guys would talk about how he'd snap at guys in the huddle. Even though he has this nice guy persona, everyone realizes, and has realized for a long time, that he has this other part to him. The other day, he snapped at WR Jordan Watkins for doing something wrong. Given his stereotypical reputation, do you ever find this humorous? Or is it just like, 'No, that's cool, that's what we need from our leader?'

"No, I don't find it humorous. I appreciate who Brock is as a leader and as a guy. He's not a rah-rah guy in terms of, he's not bringing a lot of vocal energy every day, but he quietly goes about his business, and he tries to hold people accountable. And yeah, Brock, he'll snap, he'll get on people. He'll get on himself probably more than anyone. If you guys hear some things being said out there, it's probably him talking to himself a lot of the time, too, which you love that – a guy who's holding himself accountable. That's who he is. It's who he's always been, you mentioned it. From the day he got here, he kind of had that personality and that edge to him and we love it. It's what makes him a great competitor, so not taking that away from him. I love that he's himself every day."

You have younger guys that are missing some time. How much harder is it for a guy like RB Kaelon Black to catch up to the system, catch up to the style of play? How hard is it for them to catch up with this time missed?

"It's a setback. An injury is a setback, no matter who it is. Especially when you're a rookie, and you're still learning the ropes, and you're still going through everything the first time, you want to be out there, and you want to be getting those reps. So yeah, it's a setback. But Kaelon specifically, he's the right kind of guy. He's made of the right stuff. He prepares the right way. He's taking care of his body. He's out there at the walkthroughs, he's in the meetings, he's locked in. He's doing everything he can do to keep himself ready to go when he's healthy, and he will be. We've got full confidence he'll be ready. I'm not going to lie and say it's not a problem. It's always a setback, but the good ones and pros will overcome that and they'll get themselves ready to go. So, that's what we're looking for."


With WR De'Zhaun Stribling, I know you like to work those guys at all the positions, maybe it's too early, but has it kind of revealed itself yet where you'd like to use him early on?

"Definitely still something that we're trying to see out there. We've only had him back out there for a couple days, so we're moving him around. We're putting him outside, putting him inside, doing different things with him, giving him touches in different ways. It's a lot of evaluation still to go. The preseason is going to tell us a lot too about where he's at. The thing is challenging him every day, putting him in new spots and see how he handles it."

Is he a little advanced in terms of his ability to handle everything that you're asking of him?

"I think so. I think that's one of the reasons why we really loved him coming out is he's a very intelligent guy. Football smart. Just absorbs football naturally. That's why we love him. That's one of the reasons why we love him. So again, we're going to challenge him every day and see what he can handle. Hopefully that reveals itself down the line about exactly where we want to put him."

You mentioned Deebo has to learn what he missed last year. Is that just every year in this offense or was there more installed last year?


"You tweak things year-to-year. You might change how you call a certain motion, you might change how you call formations, you might change how you call protections. There's always little things that are changing and evolving. When you're gone, when you miss a year, that stuff you got to relearn. That's all I'm saying. It's just little things. His foundational understanding is really good, but there's little things that just you're relearning and are maybe a little bit new this year."

Assistant head coach/offensive line Chris Foerster said a couple weeks ago he thought you were the most prepared of the guys that have been in your role. I think what he was saying was that you came at a time when head coach Kyle Shanahan is delegating a little bit more, so you're getting more opportunities than maybe the guy in your role would have five years ago. Do you feel like you're getting more prepared as you get this version of Kyle in his 10th year here?

"I try to prepare the same way all the time, to be honest with you. Yeah, I think what Kyle's gone through has presented some new challenges and some new areas where I've had to step up and be ready in certain areas. But to be honest with you, my mindset has never changed in terms of how I prepare, what I'm putting my brain through every day to be ready to call plays, to install the offense, to communicate with players. That's my job every day. Whether Kyle does it on the field or he doesn't, I put myself through those stresses too, just so I'm ready for it. I'm grateful for all the opportunities that Kyle's given me and just being ready in these moments when he hasn't been around as much, but my mindset is really focused on the same thing every day."

On Hard Knocks, they showed the Seahawks Super Bowl rings, which are fairly obnoxious. Have you seen your brother's?

"I've seen a picture of it and it's really big, but, yeah, good for them. That's a cool ring. Hopefully we can get one of those here pretty soon."

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