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Stockpiling arms 49ers draft QBs to cover for Young's potential retirement
Posted: Monday April 17, 2000 02:00 AM
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- The San Francisco 49ers don't know yet whether Steve Young will be back for another season. That didn't stop them from preparing to go on without him, coming out of the draft with two quarterbacks even as they loaded up on players to address their defensive shortcomings. Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay became the second rookie quarterback to join the 49ers in the last two days when San Francisco selected him Sunday with the first of two picks in the seventh round. The day before, the 49ers drafted Hofstra quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi in the third round, making him the second quarterback drafted behind Marshall's Chad Pennington. The addition of the two sets up the unlikely scenario of five quarterbacks in the 49ers summer training camp should Young, who hasn't played since going down with a concussion Sept. 27 at Arizona, resume his career. San Francisco is expected to sign free agent Rick Mirer after June 1 and still has Jeff Garcia, who filled in for the injured Young last season. Coach Steve Mariucci, who along with general manager Bill Walsh plans to meet with Young in early May to discuss his future with the team, said the 49ers had to address the team's quarterback depth. Mariucci said no matter what the 38-year-old Young decides, the two-time league MVP is nearing the end of his career. "We're covering ourselves. We're preparing ourselves for eventually not having Steve Young, whenever that is," Mariucci said. "We all know Steve is not going to play forever, if at all. We're trying to shore up that position and we'll have to deal with the Steve Young thing when it comes." Young, who was married March 14 and is still on an around-the-world honeymoon trip, has said through his agent that he's leaning toward playing another season. However, Young, who has had at least four concussions in three years, still has not received medical clearance to play, though his most recent examinations have been encouraging. Walsh has said the organization also will have a say in whether Young takes the field again as a member of the 49ers. In addition, there is no certainty that Jerry Rice, who has balked at the 49ers' demand that he take a pay cut, will be back with San Francisco. Walsh is expected to meet with Rice in the next few days. Director of player personnel Terry Donahue denied that the organization's drafting decisions were part of a message to Young that the 49ers, coming off a 4-12 campaign, don't see him fitting in with a club now in a rebuilding mode. "I think the message is the organization has to prepare for the inevitable future that at some point, Steve Young won't be back," Donahue said. "But it's not a message at all that this organization is not interested in having Steve Young back." Rattay, second in NCAA history with 12,746 yards passing, was among five players drafted by San Francisco on the draft's last day. The others were Furman safety John Keith (fourth round), Texas-El Paso running back Paul Smith (fifth round) and defensive end John Millem of Lenoir-Rhyne (fifth-round) and Arizona State tight end Brian Jennings (seventh round), who was taken more for his long-snapping skills. Donahue said the addition of Smith was especially important because of a setback in the rehabilitation of running back Garrison Hearst, who hasn't played since breaking his left ankle in a January 1999 playoff game. Hearst, who has battled circulatory complications that have stalled his recovery, faces additional surgery if he is to keep his comeback hopes alive, the team said Sunday. There's still no timetable for his return. "We have some real concerns about Garrison, his future health and how soon he'll be back," Donahue said. "At some juncture in the draft we had to take a look at running back." In all, San Francisco came out of the draft with 11 players, including two first-round picks for the first time in six years: Michigan State linebacker Julian Peterson and Ohio State cornerback Ahmed Plummer. Defensive end John Engelberger of Virginia Tech and Texas A&M cornerback Jason Webster were selected in the second round and Carmazzi and Hawaii linebacker Jeff Ulbrich were chosen in the third. The 49ers, whose defense allowed a league-high 36 touchdown passes and 453 points, expect Peterson and Plummer to come in and start for them and Engelberger and Webster both will be competing for starting jobs. However, San Francisco did not draft an offensive tackle as it had hoped or a speed receiver. "We just didn't have enough picks to solve all the issues," Donahue said. "You only have so many shots." Nevertheless, the 49ers will be counting on their latest draft class to help them start a turnaround. "We'd be very disappointed if we don't get a lot of impact from this draft," Donahue said. "The opportunity is there. The players just need to take advantage of it."
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