Colin Kaepernick has taken the NFL by storm. The 25-year-old's dual-threat ability is causing nightmares for opposing defenses, and his confidence is through the roof.
But his college coach says if he had had his way with a young Kaepernick, San Francisco's Super Bowl starter may have been converted to a defensive back.
In an interview on Fox Sports Radio, former Nevada coach and pioneer of the Pistol offense Chris Ault said that when Kaepernick was a redshirt freshman, he and his staff had their doubts about the rail-thin 19-year-old.
"There was nothing that told us he was a special athlete," Ault said in the interview, which was transcribed by Deadspin. "He threw sidearm a little bit."
Because Kaepernick's throwing motion needed work, Ault considered other spots for him on the field. Ault thought free safety, where the speedy, 6-foot-4 Kaepernick could roam the defensive backfield, would be a perfect fit.
"I thought to myself, ‘If he can't play quarterback, he looks like he's a good enough athlete that he could play free safety or wide receiver," Ault said. "At that time, Kaep was maybe 6-foot-4, about 183 pounds, built like a fork."
Luckily for Ault, Kaepernick and 49ers fans everywhere, no position switch was made. Kaepernick went on to have a stellar career at Nevada, throwing for at least 2,000 yards in each of his four years under center and rushing for at least 1,000 yards as a sophomore, junior and senior.
And the rest is history.
(H/T to Deadspin)
