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Rookie wideout Cowing offers 49ers ‘explosive’ punt-return option originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — It has been over a decade since the 49ers had a punt returner capable of striking fear into opposing teams, but that could change with rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing now in the mix.
The speedy wideout quickly is earning a reputation as an electric playmaker, showing off the blazing speed that turned heads when he clocked a 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and likely strengthening San Francisco’s desire to get the ball in Cowing’s hands by any means necessary.
Special-teams duty beckons as a golden opportunity to manufacture more touches for the talented rookie, especially given the lack of another dynamic return man on the 49ers’ roster — and for a player like Cowing, who enthusiastically embraces the challenges offered by the crucial role.
“Punt return is fun,” Cowing said after Monday’s practice. “I first got introduced to it my junior year of college. Really honed in on it my senior year of college, got really good at fielding the ball. And then also here too, just kind of getting real comfortable seeing the ball off the kicker’s foot and being able to track it, run to my spot, gather my feet a little bit. Then at that point just playing fast, seeing the kind of alley’s they create, hitting it fast and trying to score touchdowns.”
The rookie wide receiver also revealed the importance of recognizing key signs that put him in position to reel off an explosive run back once the ball is in his hands.
“The main thing that I really got taught was, the way the nose of the ball is when it comes off the foot of the punter, it tells you what direction it’s going to go,” Cowing explained. “So once I see the nose of the ball, if it’s going to be pointing up, if it’s pointing down, then I kind of know where that ball is going to end up, so I can sprint to that spot, get set, get comfortable, and after that be able to gather my feet,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rookie-wideout-cowing-offers-49ers-224014123.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-08-26 23:42:13
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