Where will Colin Kaepernick end up in 2016?
Besides the Warriors’ amazing win streak, that might be the biggest news in the Bay Area these days.
If Kaepernick, the former University of Nevada star, is on the roster in April, the 49ers would have to pay him $12 million. I just don’t see that happening. His play doesn’t warrant that kind of money. I certainly wish it did, because it’s always nice to see an area kid play well for the area professional team.
If you look around the NFL, there are certainly some teams who could use an upgrade at the position. I could see the Eagles, Browns, Texans, Rams and Jets as possible destinations if he leaves the Bay Area, though if Kaepernick didn’t do well with media in San Francisco, he would have a lot of trouble with the vultures in New York.
A lot hinges, however, on the torn labrum in his left shoulder and how it heals.
Another key is Kaepernick himself. Simply put, he’s gone Hollywood. He needs to surround himself with the right people, and thus far he hasn’t done that.
Maybe Kaepernick was this way all the time, and people in Reno didn’t see it. I did several feature stories on him, and he always seemed to be a stand-up guy. Maybe he pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes at Nevada. Maybe he had too much fame too soon and couldn’t handle it. I sense it may have been a combination of all of the above. Another factor is dealing with the media. Reno is such a small market. I think he was ill prepared to deal with the constant attention being given to a starting quarterback in the NFL. That’s where Nevada officials missed the boat in terms of access. They limit access in almost all sports, and that’s a disservice to the athletes and the school itself. I also think public speaking should be a required course for athletes. They need to be comfortable talking to groups and/or the media.
Kaepernick is an amazing athlete; big, strong and fast. I admitted I was a tad surprised he went in the second round of the draft because I thought he was a “system” quarterback. I felt he excelled at Nevada mostly because of his running ability in the read option. He averaged around seven yards an attempt. Anybody who knows football knows when you have a QB who can run it forces you to bring extra people in the box.
Kaepernick’s passing percentage in college was 53.8 as a freshman, 54.3 as a sophomore, 58.9 as a junior and 64.9 as a senior. Those were OK numbers, but I think 65 percent is where a good college or NFL quarterback needs to be. In his first three full seasons, Kaepernick was at 62.4, 58.4 and 60.5, respectively. At the time of his injury, he was at 59 percent completion rate with six TDs and five interceptions.
Nobody is doubting the strength of Kaepernick’s arm. His consistency is another story, however.
He doesn’t throw with the accuracy of Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young, two of the most precise passers in the game. Both could fit the ball into the smallest of openings, something Kaepernick hasn’t been able to do with consistency.
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Numbers continue to be a problem for Dayton High School.
For the second consecutive season, the Dust Devils haven’t been able to field a freshman girls basketball team. The school also is failing to field a freshman boys team this winter. The school hasn’t fielded a freshman team since I came to Nevada in 2003.
It’s pretty shocking in a school with approximately 650 students you can’t find 20 freshman boys and girls out there interested in basketball. What’s in the water out there?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Dust Devils need to seriously look at attempting to move down to Division III in all sports. On Tuesday night, both Dayton varsity boys and girls lost to Lovelock, a school with about 200 students. If that isn’t a good indication that a move is justified, I don’t know what is.
