Thoughts of the Day: April 23, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:

WOULD THE 49ERS TAKE KYLE PITTS AT NO. 3?

That is a question being raised by Rob Schuch of Sports Illustrated. Logically, the answer is no based on the fact San Francisco already traded up from the 12th to the third pick and head coach Kyle Shanahan has had extra pro day workouts to get a second look at Alabama quarterback Mac Jones and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. A case could be made that (a) both quarterbacks make sense for a coach who obviously doesn’t have a lot of confidence that incumbent veteran Jimmy Garopolo can get the job done and (b) it’s unheard of to trade up to draft a tight end that high.

But this isn’t just any tight end. This is a tight end that many longtime observers and experts say is a generational talent. Kyle Pitts is not your traditional tight end just as he’s not your traditional wide receiver either. So what is he?

Well, he’s got tight end size (6-6, 250), an NBA wingspan (83-5/8 inches), enormous hands (10-5/8 inches), wide receiver speed (4.4) and the ability to be a mismatch wherever you play him. Put him outside and he is as fast as most corners and able to catch the ball over them. Put him in the slot and there isn’t a safety in the league big enough or fast enough to play him straight up. Put him as a motion guy or traditional tight end and linebackers will get burned consistently.

In other words, he’s going to command a double team from the day he plays his first down in the No Fun League.

So which do the Niners need more: A quarterback who can make all the throws or a receiver like no other in the draft?

Garopolo has played only one complete season (2019) in which he threw for 3,978 yards (8.4 per attempt) and 27 touchdowns (13 picks). He played only six games in 2020 before suffering a season-ending injury before the injury he was less than spectacular. Nick Mullens threw 12 TDPs and 12 INTs as Garopolo’s replacement so he’s definitely not the answer.

There are five quarterbacks who are consensus first round material for next week: Trevor Lawrence (to Jacksonville) and Zach Wilson (to New York Jets) are already spoken for, then there are Jones, Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. Jones throws the best deep ball; Fields has a big arm and great wheels; Lance is thought to have the most upside of the three. Nobody would fault Shanahan taking Jones, Fields or Lance, but as we saw in 1983 when six quarterbacks were taken in the first round, three wound up in the Hall of Fame (John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly), one ended up pretty good (Ken O’Brien) and two were categorical busts (Todd Blackledge and Tony Eason). The lesson: Typically, there are as many busts as first round successes when it comes to drafting quarterbacks in the first round. Tom Brady, you might recall, was a sixth rounder and Drew Brees was taken in the second.

So, that brings us back to Kyle Pitts. Last year the 49ers had a very pedestrian group of receivers. Leading receiver Brandon Aiyuk averaged only 12.5 yards per catch. Kendrick Burns was slightly better at 13.6. Tight end George Kittle averaged 13.5. The three of them combined for 157 catches and five touchdowns. None of them had a catch for more than 50 yards.

Pitts caught 43 passes for 770 yards (17.91 per catch) and 12 touchdowns in only eight games. A very large percentage of the defensive backs he burned on a regular basis will be the same ones he will be facing in the NFL. There is a big difference between college and the pros, but in the right system Pitts could be that guy who is even better playing for money on Sundays than he was playing for free on Saturdays.

As we approach next week’s draft, everything logical says the 49ers will take either Jones or Fields with the third selection. The book on these guys is they are can’t miss prospects but nobody is calling them generational talents. You will find very few pro scouts or coaches who think Kyle Pitts isn’t a generational receiver.

Here is one off the wall thought. San Francisco general manager John Lynch is a Stanford guy who is close to Stanford coach Willie Shaw? Does Lynch go with Pitts and then take Stanford QB Davis Mills, whose draft stock has been rising steadily the last couple of weeks, with the 43rd overall selection in the second round?

Crazier things have happened.

GATORS REACH SEC TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Blaise Bicknell scored a 3-set victory (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) over Noah Schachtner to secure a 4-3 won for No. 1 Florida (20-1) over Texas A&M (16-8) in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Championships in Fayetteville. The Aggies won the doubles point but Florida got singles wins from Sam Riffice, Ben Shelton, Josh Goodger and Bicknell to score the win.

The Gators will face Tennessee (23-3), a 4-0 winner over South Carolina (15-9), in the championship match today.

CRITICAL ROAD SERIES AT AUBURN FOR UF BASEBALL Based solely on records, the 15th-ranked Gators (26-11, 9-6 SEC East) should have few problems with SEC bottom feeder Auburn (16-18, 2-13 SEC West) this weekend but Florida can’t afford a letdown as the second half of the SEC portion of the schedule gets under way. The Gators are two games behind SEC East leader and 2nd-ranked Vanderbilt (29-6, 11-4 SEC East) and one behind 6th-ranked Tennessee (30-8, 10-5 SEC East) and a half-game behind 11th-ranked South Carolina (24-11, 10-6 SEC East).

Vanderbilt is at home this weekend against 4th-ranked Mississippi State (28-8, 10-5 SEC West) for perhaps the best matchup in all of college baseball. Tennessee is on the road at Texas A&M (22-17, 4-11 SEC West), a series the Vols figure to sweep. South Carolina dropped the first game of its 3-game series with No. 1 Arkansas (31-6, 12-4 SEC) Thursday night.

Florida will once again go with its revamped weekend rotation, starting Franco Aleman (1-1, 4.06 ERA) tonight with Tommy Mace (4-0, 3.78 ERA) going Saturday and Hunter Barco (5-2, 4.70 ERA) getting the Sunday start.

Other UF spring sports:

Softball: The 3rd-ranked Gators (33-6, 12-3 SEC) hope to stay within striking distance of SEC leader Arkansas (37-5, 16-2 SEC) when South Carolina (23-18, 2-13 SEC) comes to Gainesville for a 3-game series starting tonight at 6 p.m. It will be Senior Day at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on Saturday when the Gators honor Katie Chronister, Kendyl Lindaman, Jaimie Hoover and Jordan Matthews along with Jordan Roberts, Sophia Reynoso and Jade Caraway who didn’t get a Senior Day last year.

Lacrosse: The 9th-ranked Gators (11-2, 8-0 AAC) need only one win in their two weekend matches against Old Dominion (3-12, 1-7 AAC) to clinch the outright American Athletic Conference championship. The Gators and Monarchs square off at 3 p.m. today and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Men’s golf: The Gators remained tied for 9th in the SEC Championships at St. Simon’s Island after posting a 9-over par 289 Thursday for a two-day total of 575, 15-over par. Alabama holds the lead at one-over par 561. The Gators need to finish among the top eight teams to advance to match play starting on Saturday.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: On ESPN’s First Take radio show, running back Najee Harris said the reason so many Alabama players get drafted is because the “competition level in practice was almost greater than the game because you go against all these guys who are future 1st-rounders, future Hall of Famers, future all-pro, all this talent that’s coming there. Just me being at practice would be almost as hard as the games.”

Arkansas: Arkansas will be turning the keys to the offense over to K.J. Jefferson, who is a career 47.2 percent passer with 492 yards and three touchdown passes.

Auburn: Trey Alexander (6-4, 190), a 4-star shooting guard recruit out of Oklahoma, has asked to be released from his signed national letter of intent.

Georgia: Defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is interviewing to become the next head coach at Kansas … Hines Ward, a former Georgia quarterback signee who developed into an All-Pro wide receiver who caught 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns during his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be coaching wide receivers for Willie Taggart at Florida Atlantic.

Kentucky: Terrence Clarke, who recently declared for the NBA Draft after a single season at UK, was killed in an automobile accident in Los Angeles Thursday. Clarke averaged 9.6 points in an injury-shortened freshman year. Teammate BJ Boston was in the car with Clarke but reports say he is okay.

LSU: In addition to a Title IX lawsuit against the LSU football program, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating the sexual misconduct scandal to see if the school engaged in race and gender discrimination as well as equal pay issues. LSU associate athletics director for recruiting is behind the $50 million Title IX lawsuit.

Mississippi State: Mike Leach is going to hire former Utah offensive analyst Ryan Lindley to his staff.

Missouri: Missouri’s wrestling program will compete next year in the Big 12. Mizzou is the only SEC school with a wrestling program. The Tigers competed in the MAC prior to this move to the Big 12.

South Carolina: Due to expected weather issues, South Carolina is moving its Garnet and Black game from Saturday afternoon to Sunday.

Tennessee: Former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton says he hasn’t made a final decision to transfer to Tennessee. He says he will announce Sunday, choosing between UT and Washington State.

Texas A&M: Defensive coordinator Mike Elko will be interviewing for the vacant Kansas HBC job.

GENO HAYES IN HOSPICE CARE

Say a prayer for former Florida State linebacker Geno Hayes tonight. Hayes, who was a 220-pounder in his college days at FSU and a 7-year NFL career that included stops at Tampa Bay, Chicago and Jacksonville, suffers from chronic liver disease that has dropped his weight down to 150 pounds. Hayes has been moved into hospice at his parents’ home in Georgia.

Despite the dismal outlook for his future, Hayes says his “main goal is to just inspire, to inspire the next person, no matter what they’re going through, no matter who talks bad about them – family, friends, social media, all of that crap – it don’t matter. You take care of you. Make sure that you’re straight. That’s all I want to do.”

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In case you missed it, Southern Cal basketball was put on probation by the NCAA a few days ago because former assistant coach Tony Bland took a $4,100 bribe and was caught on FBI wiretaps bragging about the things he could do for recruits. Bland was fired and got a three-year show cause. The penalties were light – two years probation but no post season ban, a $5,000 fine and a 1 percent loss of the basketball budget for two years. Southern Cal got off light, according to the NCAA, because it cooperated during the investigation. I don’t doubt that USC cooperated, but still the process took way too long. Kansas, Arizona and LSU are now in their fourth years of dealing with this same scandal and they haven’t had their day in court. I have no doubt they’ll get hammered when the time comes, but it’s ridiculous to think that by the time justice is served we’ll be five years beyond the infractions.