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Trey Sermon appeared destined for a starring role in the 49ers’ backfield when the team traded a pair of fourth-round picks to the Rams to climb up to No. 88 overall selection to take the Ohio State running back in this year’s draft. Not only has he not taken on a starring role, he’s struggling to carve out any role at this point with a couple of health scratches and just 31 carries on his resumé through eight games.
49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk knows about struggling to find a role on offense as a rookie. Juszczyk, who this holiday season is partnering with the Sports Matter Giving Truck to travel the country and hand out sports equipment to different organizations, is also handing out advice to the rookie running back.
“Man my rookie year I played four snaps on offense. I was strictly a special teams guy,” Juszczyk said on the Candlestick Chronicles podcast. “And that wasn’t the end of my story. I was a fourth-round pick, not too far off from him. And sometimes it takes a year to figure things out.
“I always stress to him, you have to put everything into the role you are given. So if that is just special teams, you’ve gotta go absolutely 100 miles per hour on special teams every single play and make that the most important thing in the world to you. And once you show that you can do that, eventually you continue to be given more. They keep giving you more responsibility. Eventually you build a role that you can be happy with, and I feel like that’s how my career panned out, and I don’t see why he can’t do the same thing.”
Sermon starred at Oklahoma and Ohio State during his four-year college career. In 45 games he racked up 2,946 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns on 455 carries. That same usage hasn’t been there in the NFL with just 31 carries in six games, including just one since Week 5. He was productive in the limited attempts though, rushing for 135 yards and a touchdown.
With fellow rookie running back Elijah Mitchell earning the role atop the depth chart and veteran Jeff Wilson Jr. returning from a meniscus injury, special teams may be where Sermon can get his chance to at least suit up. He’s been a healthy scratch twice this year, including in Week 9 against Arizona. More production on special teams may give him an opportunity to get up over JaMycal Hasty or Trenton Cannon.
Juszczyk said ultimately for Sermon, getting on the field will come down to one key factor that isn’t exclusive to him.
“The biggest thing for Trey is just gonna be consistency and just earning that trust,” Juszczyk said. “All rookies have to go through that.”