Tag: Talanoa Hufanga

WATCH: Tashaun Gipson grabs INT off tip by Talanoa Huffanga

Tashaun Gipson hauled in an interception vs. the Seahawks off a tipped throw by Talanoa Hufanga.

Another game, another interception for the 49ers. Last week strong safety Talanoa Hufanga hauled in the pick. This week he undercut a throw and tipped it into the air where free safety Tashaun Gipson could fly in and snag it. San Francisco generated a ton of takeaways in the preseason, and they’re around the football enough to have two picks to start the regular season.

49ers highlights: Talanoa Hufanga intercepts Justin Fields

WATCH: 49ers S Talanoa Hufanga notches first career interception.

The 49ers got a turnover back after Deebo Samuel fumbled the ball to the Bears. On a third-and-7, Bears QB Justin Fields let a throw rip to the middle of the field and 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga was lingering for the first interception of his career.

Talanoa Hufanga taking early control in strong safety battle

The #49ers have a frontrunner in the strong safety battle.

The 49ers officially have a frontrunner in their battle for the starting strong safety job. Although through a couple days of training camp it hasn’t been much of a competition. Second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga has been getting the first-team strong safety reps and acquitting himself well in that role.

Hufanga figured to be in a battle with veteran defensive back Tarvarius Moore, a converted free safety who missed all of last year with an Achilles tear he sustained in OTAs. Perhaps the team is just easing him back in from the Achilles tear, but defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans made it sound as though Hufanga is putting a stranglehold on the job.

“Yeah, Huf is doing a great job,” Ryans told reporters Thursday in a press conference. “He’s being more vocal, which is what I asked of him. Be more vocal, be more in that leadership role. At the safety position, we ask a lot of those guys. We ask them to communicate a lot, so Huf, he’s picking that up and he’s doing a much better job of it. And he’s always been a playmaker and an exciting guy to watch, so he’s doing that and communicating. So he’s headed in the right direction for us.”

This makes it pretty clear the gig is Hufanga’s to lose, which isn’t a huge surprise.

He was a playmaker at USC who was consistently around the football despite not bringing the athletic measurables of a player like Moore. In limited action last year Hufanga had ups and downs, but clearly got more comfortable in a third safety role as the year progressed.

Pro Football Focus graded him out as an average player in Year 1 with a 63.1 grade, which is a win for a fifth-round rookie who played in 399 defensive snaps after it wasn’t expected he’d play much defensively right away. He allowed 11 catches on 17 targets with two touchdowns and two pass breakups, and missed just three tackles all year.

San Francisco made it clear early they were comfortable with what they had in-house to replace free agent Jaquiski Tartt. They never made an attempt to bring back the veteran safety who exited to Philadelphia this offseason.

Things can change quickly when the pads come on and the action gets live, but Hufanga’s early performance and the praise he’s receiving from his coaches make it clear he’s the frontrunner to be the 49ers’ starting strong safety come Week 1.

49ers offseason roster: Safety group seems set ahead of camp

The #49ers safety group seems set going into training camp. A look at that group:

There are a handful of positions on the 49ers’ roster with massive question marks going into the year. Safety is not one of those positions.

While there are some kinks to iron out with starting jobs and whether defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans might deploy a third safety, it’s not a chore to discern which players from the offseason roster are looking at spots on the 53-man come September.

Let’s run through what that group will look like in the preseason and check for potential surprises:

49ers defense has high praise for QB Trey Lance

Trey Lance impressing #49ers defense early.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxacb60r3mr0ac player_id=none image=https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

While vague reports over the offseason have indicated the 49ers aren’t happy with what they’ve seen from quarterback Trey Lance, San Francisco’s defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga had effusive praise for the team’s signal caller after Wednesday’s practice.

Ryans talked to reporters about Lance’s physical talent, but he also offered some insight into the QB’s growth as a leader in practice.

“I think Trey has done a great job,” Ryans said. “Yeah, it is good to see him with his command and him running the offense and he’s zipping it past us a lot. He’s making it tough on us. Trey has done a great job. It’s good to see him just coming into his own role as a leader and being able to take control of the team. We’re fired up for Trey and what he can do for us.”

That last bit is perhaps the most crucial. While it’s impossible to take much away from the offseason program, Lance’s practice habits and where he stands with his teammates will play a bigger role for him this year than his physical talents.

Size, speed and a big arm aren’t necessarily unique. How teammates respond to Lance and how he’s able to establish himself in the wake of a well-liked QB like Jimmy Garoppolo will be paramount to his individual success and the team’s return to Super Bowl contention.

Hufanga, a fifth-round pick last year, also added some insight into the young QB’s on-field exploits.

“Man, that dude can sling the rock, I’ll tell you that,” Hufanga said via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan. “Trey has been tremendous. Being a rookie with him was awesome. Getting to see his insight as a quarterback, And what he can do on the field is outstanding. Love to go against that competition.”

It’s still very early in the offseason, and we can’t draw any conclusions about Lance’s performance at this point. However, the praise from the defensive side of the ball is at the very least a good sign for Lance’s growth and maturity.

If Ryans is correct and Lance is truly taking command of the offense and growing as a leader, that will check off a pretty significant box for the 22-year-old. He’ll still need to continue playing well in camp once the pads come on, and then translate that to the regular season. At this point of the year though these are all good signs for Lance and the 49ers as it looks more and more certain that he’ll start in 2022.

Talanoa Hufanga made 49ers history with touchdown vs. Packers

Talanoa Hufanga made #49ers history with his touchdown vs. the Packers.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxacb60r3mr0ac player_id=none image=https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

49ers rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga didn’t reach his stated goal of making the Pro Bowl as a special teams player his rookie year. He did come through with perhaps the play of the year in punt coverage though and ran his way into the 49ers history books.

With just under 5:00 left in the divisional playoffs and the 49ers trailing 10-3, Green Bay lined up to punt to a struggling San Francisco offense. Defensive lineman Jordan Willis broke through the line though and got a hand on the kick. It careened into the air before falling to the snow-dusted turf at the 6. That’s where Hufanga picked it up and ran into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown.

The score was the first of his career, and the first punt block for a touchdown in 49ers playoff history. It turns out that was San Francisco’s lone touchdown of the night in a 13-10 win.

San Francisco special teams deliver two huge plays for the 49ers

Jordan Willis, Jimmie Ward and Talanoa Hufanga have delivered a pair of critical special teams plays for the 49ers.

Offense, defense and special teams.

Good teams find ways to make plays in all three phases of the game, and for the San Francisco 49ers on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, special teams are coming through in a huge way as the visitors try and upset the Green Bay Packers.

The first big special teams play came right before halftime. After Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception near the end zone, Aaron Rodgers put the Packers in position for points before the halftime break. A Nick Bosa sack forced the Packers to settle for the field goal attempt, and that is when safety Jimmie Ward delivered the first big moment:

Still, the home team maintained their lead into the fourth quarter, using this critical stop of the 49ers offense on a short fourth down attempt to help preserve their lead:

This play was very similar to a short-yardage conversion earlier in the game, that saw the 49ers run to the edge on a toss play behind left tackle Trent Williams, who was sent in motion on the play as a lead blocker. On this snap, Garoppolo hands the football off, and while the right edge looks to be secured behind Williams, the running back is stuffed and the Packers defense kept the home team in front.

However, Rodgers and the Green Bay offenses stalled on their ensuing possession, and a third-down sack of the quarterback brought the Packers punt team onto the field.

Enter Talanoa Hufanga and the San Francisco punt block team:

Jordan Willis got to the spot to block the punt, and Hufanga returned it to knot the game at ten. As Joe Buck pointed out on the call from the broadcast booth, the Packers special teams have been brutal this season. According to Football Outsiders, the Green Bay special teams units turned in a DVOA of just -5.2% this season, placing them dead last in the league.

Compounding matters for the Packers, Green Bay was forced to punt on their subsequent possession, and the 49ers offense has a chance to win the game with under three minutes to go.

49ers tie Packers on touchdown off blocked punt

A TD off a blocked punt has pushed the 49ers into a tie with the Packers

The San Francisco 49ers’ special teams are doing what the offense can’t Saturday in Green Bay: Putting points on the scoreboard.

A blocked punt in the fourth quarter by Jordan Willis was recovered by Talanoa Hufang, who took the ball into the end zone, and suddenly the NFC Divisional Round game was tied 10-10 deep in the fourth quarter.

The punt by Corey Bojorquez was coming on a fourth-and-19.

The play was the second huge one by the Niners’ special teams. Jimmie Ward blocked a Mason Crosby field-goal attempt at the end of the first half that would have given Green Bay a 10-0 lead.

49ers injury update: S Talanoa Hufanga questionable to return vs. Falcons

#49ers injury update: S Talanoa Hufanga (knee) questionable to return vs. Falcons.

The 49ers’ first injury of Week 15 cropped up late in the second quarter when it was announced rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga is questionable to return with a knee injury.

Hufanga, a fifth-round pick from USC, has seen his role expanded as the season has progressed. He contributes on special teams and in three-safety looks.

Starting strong safety Jaquiski Tartt was questionable to play this week with a glute injury. He started, but losing depth at safety could be an issue for San Francisco. Jarrod Wilson is up off the practice squad in the event Tartt also goes down and Hufanga can’t return.

Midseason grades for 49ers 2021 rookie class

Grading this #49ers rookie class through the first half of the year is kind of impossible, so we tweaked it a little.

The 49ers’ 2021 rookie class hasn’t contributed much as the team scuffled through the first half of its season. A 3-5 record falls well short of the expectations San Francisco had entering the year, but not a lot of the slow start can be attributed to anything this year’s draft class is doing on the field.

Part of the reason that group hasn’t contributed much to losing is because most of them haven’t been on the field enough to make an impact in any facet.

Of the 49ers’ eight draft picks – only one is a regular starter, and none of their first six selections see the field with any regularity. Because of the sporadic or minimal playing time, it’s hard to grade the picks through the first eight games.

We went through and issued grades less as a referendum on the player, and more as a way to assess how head coach Kyle Shanahan and the front office did in getting its roster ready to compete for a Super Bowl this year. That was their stated goal. It’s the reason Jimmy Garoppolo has been the starting quarterback since Week 1, and it’s the reason the lack of production from their rookie class has been so minimal.

Here are their grades based on what we know through eight games: