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It didn’t take rookie running back Elijah Mitchell very long to make an impression on the field. It also hasn’t taken him very long to win over fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Juszczyk joined the Candlestick Chronicles podcast and talked about his partnership with the DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation to support its Sports Matter Giving Truck. The Sports Matter Giving Truck will travel the country in November and December to give out 10,000 gifts of sports equipment to youth sports organizations.
He also discussed Mitchell’s rapid emergence as the team’s star running back. In six games he’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry on 89 attempts. While the on-field production certainly helps, it’s Mitchell’s approach to the game that’s winning over the veteran fullback.
“Elijah’s quickly become one of my favorite teammates,” Juszczyk said. “Just the way he goes about his business. He’s very humble, just puts his nose down, grinds, works his tail off – doesn’t matter if he’s injured or just the woes of being a rookie are going on, he always puts things on his shoulders. He never blames anybody else, he’s always very accountable and just works really hard.”
Mitchell, a sixth-round pick from Louisiana-Lafayette, burst onto the scene with 104 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries after Raheem Mostert went down three plays into the season opener. He’s continued to churn out big-time production with more than 100 yards in three of his six games.
While he may not have seen this level of output coming, Juszczyk saw glimpses of potential brilliance when the two first got on the field together.
“There’s a lot of moments in training camp that we saw these splash plays from him and his ability to just accelerate so quickly, and he does things so efficiently. He moves so efficiently. He’s never really out of control and he’s very solid,” Juszcyzk said.
Mitchell has taken that skill set and parlayed it into the lead role in a typically crowded 49ers backfield. His 89 carries are by far the most on the team and there doesn’t appear to be anyone on the roster in danger of heavily cutting into his carries.
There’s a real chance Mitchell develops into a star, and there may not be many people happier about it than his fullback.
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