Bruce Ellington eyes bigger role this year with 49ers
Despite not growing up to play professional basketball as he had always dreamed, San Francisco 49ers receiver Bruce Ellington can’t help but to stop often and marvel at how his life has panned out.
“I think about it almost every day,” he said. “It runs through my mind like, I know I played two sports, but I was shooting for the dream for one of them and now I’m in the NFL. I still love basketball, but football is what my path is so I’m taking it in full stride.”
The former two-sport star at South Carolina is set to begin his second season with the 49ers after an up-and-down rookie campaign.
Just making it to the NFL is quite an accomplishment after not playing football as a freshman for the Gamecocks, but Ellington is working to become a key piece of San Francisco’s offense.
The 2014 fourth-round pick caught six passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns last year while contributing heavily on special teams as a punt returner and kickoff returner.
He was behind Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd at receiver but should get more opportunities this season as only Boldin is still in San Francisco. The 49ers did sign Torrey Smith this offseason, but Ellington has a strong chance to be the 49ers’ No. 3 receiver this year.
“Kind of the first year having veteran guys like Anquan Boldin, (Brandon) Lloyd, Stevie (Johnson) and (Michael Crabtree), that helped me out a lot. I was comfortable last year just having those guys around me helped me learn. I learned a lot from them,” Ellington said. “This year I feel like it’s a lot different because after that first year everything’s kind of slowing down. I know my playbook now, so I can line up and read coverages and stuff so I’ve just learned the league more going into my second year.”
Ellington was hampered by a hamstring injury early on this preseason but bounced back with a couple of nice games. In his first action of the year he caught three passes for 29 yards in the third preseason game at Denver. He followed that up with three catches for 86 yards and a touchdown Thursday night against San Diego.
Now healthy, Ellington is excited to get the regular season started.
“It was a little frustrating about the whole injury thing and the hamstring I was going through but now I’m feeling good,” he said. “I’m hoping to get some more playing time this year. In order to be able to do that I’ve got to do the little things like at practice catch every ball, make sure the coaches see me doing something good at practice because then they know they can trust me in the game.”
In addition to Ellington’s strong outing Thursday night, several of his former Carolina teammates also performed well for the 49ers.
Former Gamecock quarterback Dylan Thompson played the entire game, completing 17-of-25 passes for 225 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. In addition to his touchdown pass to Ellington, Thompson also threw one to former Gamecock tight end Busta Anderson.
Former USC running back Mike Davis also had a strong game with seven carries for 33 yards. Ellington said he’s enjoying playing alongside so many former college teammates.
“It’s comfortable having guys you’ve played with, of course,” he said. “I’ve told them just to learn the playbook and make sure you pay attention in meetings. Make sure you come to everything on time because coaches look at the little stuff. Make sure you know your assignment and the rest is just playing football.”