Stout ready to back up draft night promises for 49ers at nickel originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Now that he has stepped on the field for the first time as a member of the 49ers, former Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout can back up his draft night promises.
“I know I got to come in and take care of business and just figure out what I can do every day, and come in with a pro mentality every day and not expect things to be handed to me,” Stout said after arriving in Santa Clara last week for the team’s rookie camp.
Stout made a memorable first impression after general manager John Lynch, coach Kyle Shanahan and CEO Jed York got on the phone with him upon his selection in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Stout repeated, “Let’s do it” more than a dozen times during the brief exchange. He assured Shanahan, “You got a dog.”
At 5-foot-8 1/2, 181 pounds, Stout is confident he has what it takes to make a big impression.
“I have a chip on my shoulder from always hearing somebody tell me what I couldn’t do,” he said. “There’s no point in me taking that chip off my shoulder right now.”
Stout played five seasons of college football. He appeared in 12 games over two seasons at North Texas before transferring to Western Kentucky.
After going into the transfer portal following the 2023 season, he opted to return to Western Kentucky for his third season. He turned down a potentially larger NIL offer from Michigan.
“My people always told me, ‘If you’re moving for the money, you’re not moving for the right things,’ ” he said.
Stout had a career-best 52 tackles, including 7.5 for losses, in his final college season. He was a first-team All-Conference USA selection.
He found his niche with a move to nickel back, where he could fill an immediate need with the 49ers.
He topped all defensive backs at the NFL Scouting Combine with his time in the gauntlet, as well as with 21 bench-presses of 225 pounds.
“I wasn’t always the biggest person,” he said. “So if I wasn’t going to be the biggest, I was for sure at least going to be one of the strongest. I didn’t want to be small and small.”
In the nickel back position, Stout said he was, in essence, another linebacker. His coaches emphasized that he had to get stronger and more physical, so he did most of his weight room workouts with the linemen.
The 49ers have not added a high-caliber nickel back to replace K’Waun Williams, who left as a free agent following the 2021 season. Stout accepts the challenge of stepping into a role that plays approximately two-thirds of the 49ers’ defensive snaps.
“It’s a lot of work, a lot of film study,” Stout said. “But I feel that’s the best part about the nickel because you’re the most versatile player on the field. The receiver can go in any direction and you have to go with him, and you’re an extra hat in the run fits.
“I just feel like you always got to be on your P’s and Q’s. And always got to be on your A game. I feel that’s the best part about the nickel position.”
Stout said he felt a connection with the 49ers when he took a pre-draft visit to Santa Clara. He said he urged the 49ers to draft him. Now that it happened, the real work begins.
“Not being at one of the power-five places, it always seemed so far out of sight,” Stout said of his dream of playing in the NFL. “But standing here now, it’s a blessing from God.
“But it still doesn’t feel real because my mindset is not to be thinking that I did it and it’s time to celebrate. What’s the next step? Now it’s time to get to work and go earn a position. It’s time to show them why you’re in the building.”
In other words, it’s time for Stout to prove to the 49ers that he can, in fact, do it.
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/OVn6br3
0 Comments