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OL Alex Boone (Official Thread)

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Boone Back at Practice

Undrafted free agent Alex Boone returned to practice Wednesday after finishing his school work back at Ohio State. Boone has one quarter of school left, but couldn?t participate in minicamp or the OTAs while he was taking history, physics and comparative studies classes.

?It?s good to get away from the books and be with my teammates,? he said with a smile.

Boone said he worked out every day for hours with the trainers at Ohio State when he wasn't in class.

?They pushed me as hard as they could and it was fun.?
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Official Site of the San Francisco 49ers - PR News
 
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Mark Purdy: Alex Boone trying to stay on course with 49ers
By Mark Purdy
Mercury News Columnist
Posted: 06/15/2009

Just one minute into my interview with Alex Boone, and I can easily see why he is popular with his new 49ers teammates.

We are sitting on a bench outside the team's practice facility. And as Boone's fellow offensive linemen keep walking past us on the way to lunch, they exchange wicked and funny verbal jabs. Boone is a rookie. But he cheerfully gives as well as takes, even to veterans. Already this summer, he has earned some respect.

Now, if Boone can just figure out how to stay around beyond this summer ? and to stay away from doing something stupid after drinking too much.

That's not what I say. That's what Boone says.

Ever since he arrived in Santa Clara for the latest mini-camp and organized team activity sessions, Boone has bunked out at a nearby hotel. And followed one rule.

"I just don't go out," Boone says. "That limits the opportunity to be around alcohol. When I met with somebody about all this, they were like, 'You're a smart kid. So you know what to do.' "

Every NFL team has little dramas going on within its locker-room walls, dramas that involve risk and inspiration and the unknown. Boone, an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State, falls in all of those categories for the 49ers.

With the Buckeyes, Boone was an all-conference tackle who before his senior season was projected to go in the top three rounds of the draft. And then, four months ago after attending a Super Bowl party, Boone got very drunk and went haywire.
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But that, says Boone, is exactly why he is here. He knows this could be his only chance to make an NFL team. He doesn't want to blow it.

"The 49ers were really the first team that approached us after the draft was over," Boone says. "My agent told me, 'Coach Singletary will be the best fit for you. He will keep you in line ? all the time. He's a no-nonsense kind of guy.'
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http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_12597930
 
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Niners offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye has a little rule about his playbook. Basically, the book is not allowed to leave the building at 4949 Centennial Boulevard - for fear it might fall into the wrong hands.

So while undrafted rookie offensive tackle Alex Boone was ineligible to take part in the 49ers' offseason program for most of the spring because Ohio State had not yet held its graduation ceremonies, there was not much Boone could do to remain in the loop.

It was OK for Boone to attend the post-draft minicamp in early May. He learned a little at that time and took some notes. But when he was finally able to rejoin his new 49ers teammates last week, he was far behind.

"We're not allowed to take our playbooks home with us," Boone said. "I wanted to do that so badly because I knew I'd be behind. I tried to write down as much as I could. When I got back out here, they had installed another 200 plays. I'm like, 'What's going on?'"

Boone (6-foot-7, 328 pounds) and running back Kory Sheets were the team's top signings among the players who went undrafted. He was a left tackle at Ohio State his final three seasons of school, but he is moving to the right side with the 49ers.

With a solid showing in training camp, Boone has a legitimate chance to earn a roster spot. He plans to remain in the South Bay and work at the 49ers' practice facility for most of the time before training camp. That should enable him to catch up on everything he has missed, he believes.

"I'll be here all of July," he said. "That will help. I'll catch up. Talking to coaches and players every day is really going to help me out."

In addition to learning the offense, Boone is also re-learning to play right tackle. He played the past left tackle for the Buckeyes the past three seasons.

"I feel I'm a natural lefty, kicking to the left side," Boone said. "But I'm working on right tackle. It's coming back to me. It's going to take some work."

At the same time, Boone said he completely understands why he is lining up on the right side.

"I was talking to coach, he likes that I'm physical and I'm good with the run game," Boone said. "I understand that. The truth is, as long as I'm playing, I'll be happy. If they need a right tackle, I'll play right tackle. If they need a wide receiver, I'll play flanker."

The 49ers wrapped up organized team activities on Tuesday. Boone saw his most extensive time in 11-on-11 drills, as he worked with the second unit at right tackle. (Adam Snyder lined up with the first team all offseason, as the 49ers have held out Marvel Smith from 11-on-11 action. Smith and Snyder are expected to compete for the starting job in training camp.)

Q: Did you ever question going to Ohio State because of the late start you'd be getting with your professional career?

Boone: "No, you can't do that. If you're not going to go to a school because you get out late, that would be kind of weird. That's one of the disadvantages that we have. Coaches have always told me that. I really didn't think much about it, but then I got out here and I was like, 'Oh, I'm way behind.' It's kind of different catching up, but at the same time it's coming along smoothly."

Q: How did you cope when you got back here?

Boone: "The whole offense is pretty much installed. I get out there and I listen to the calls. I know most of the calls. Once I hear the call, I can figure out what's going on. It's not that bad, but sometimes you have to know whether it's zone or gap or 3-step or 5-step (quarterback drops). It's kind of tedious to catch up on it.

"It felt good to get out there. I had to ask the guard what kind of play this is. There are so many that sound alike that I get a little confused. I'd look over at Jacob Bender and ask, 'Is this a 3-step or 5-step?' That was about. I made it hard on him because he has to listen to the center call and help me a lot. I appreciate all the help he gave me."

Q: Could they send you video of installation or the practices that you missed?

Boone: "No, because what if somebody gets his hands on that - if somebody takes it from the mail or whatever."

Q: Don't you trust your postman?

Boone: "(Laughing) My postman is cool. We talk every day."
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Matt Maiocco's Instant 49ers
 
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A Look at Alex Boone

I dug up a tape from this year's Fiesta Bowl to take a look at the 49ers most intriguing rookie free agent, gargantuan tackle Alex Boone. He played left tackle at Ohio State in the Buckeyes' last minute 24-21 Fiesta Bowl defeat to Texas and experienced a mixed night.
Boone looked dominate at times, particularly with his run blocking in the first half. Before running back Beanie Wells went out with a concussion, he romped for 102 yards in the first half and many of those runs came behind Boone. Not only can he drive block at 6-8, 320 pounds, but he showed the ability to find a linebacker in space and wall him off, which might have been the most impressive aspect of his game.
Boone will switch to right tackle with the 49ers, an area of ardent need, particularly with Marvel Smith's balky back and Adam Snyder's and Barry Sims's sketchy pass protection, which will also be Boone's most formidable challenge. Against the Longhorns, he pass blocked fairly well, but at times, he flat out got beat. Eventual first-round choice Brian Orakpo got two steps on Boone before he could even get out of his stance. Orakpo, who went with the no. 13 overall choice to Washington, smashed into quarterback Terrelle Pryor two seconds after the snap to force an incompletion.
However, Boone held up well the rest of the game forcing Orakpo to rush mainly from the right side in the second half. The end of the game is where Boone seemed to struggle. It looked like he wore down. The Ohio State offensive line ran wild on the Longhorns, who came into the game ranked second in the country to run defense. Those numbers might be skewed because so many Big-12 teams pass nearly every down out of the spread formation. Nevertheless, Texas didn't get to number two without stopping somebody.

Cont...
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boonekidscampsub.jpg

On the second day of camp, Boone spoke to the campers about the importance of education.

?My emphasis in my speech was about getting good grades,? he said. ?Growing up I had great grades and all of a sudden I started playing football and my grades started to slip.?

But with the guidance of family, coaches and teammates, Boone began to turn his academics around and is now a couple of classes away from earning a college degree from Ohio State University.

?It's a lot of fun to be out here and talk to the kids, especially when they're having a good time,? Boone added.

To finish each day, the campers participated in relay races and obstacle courses before they headed home.

They even were fortunate enough to run up and down the 49ers training hill some people around team headquarters have referred to as ?Mt. Singletary.?

While most would dread having to run up the hill, the kids were having the time of their lives. They even requested that Boone run up the hill once he concluded his speech.

?I?m too tired from working out,? Boone said with a smile.

Instead of watching the 6-7, 328-pound get an extra workout in, all the campers had the opportunity to have Boone sign them an autograph.
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Official Site of the San Francisco 49ers - PR News
 
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I spent part of the afternoon watching pass-rush drills, which pit a defensive lineman or linebacker against an offensive lineman. I was especially interested in watching 6-7, 328-pound tackle Alex Boone because my first impression of him was that he wasn't nimble and might struggle with speedy pass rushers. Well, the former Buckeye looked good at that today. He was matched up against Briggs (6-4, 230) on two plays. On the first, Briggs made the mistake of going right at Boone and was engulfed. On the second, he tried to get around the tackle, but Boone slid over and stonewalled him. Later in the drill, Boone gave an off-balance Brooks a shot that sent him to the grass. ... During team drills, however, Kentwan Balmer got such a strong push on Boone on one play that he went hurtling backward and nearly toppled onto Hill, who somehow managed to sidestep the avalanche - collective gasp by the organization - and flushed from the pocket.
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49ers Blog and Q&A: Niners go off-tackle on Day 2
 
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49ers Right Tackle options
by Fooch on Aug 31, 2009

The retirement of Marvel Smith naturally brought a lot of consternation as to what the 49ers might do to shore up the now thin offensive line. The team has their 5 starters, but there are big questions at the backup offensive tackle position. Adam Snyder missed Saturday's game due to a knee injury, but is expected to be fine coming opening day. However, he has yet to prove himself as a consistent force at the right tackle position, so depth is certainly a necessity.

The 49ers currently sit with Barry Sims and Alex Boone as their primary offensive tackle backups. Beyond that they have guys like Jacob Bender, Joe Toledo and Matt Spanos. A week ago they had no prayer of making the roster. Today they've certainly got a chance, although I still don't see them making the roster. I'd imagine we've heard all we need to hear about Barry Sims. He's old and lost many steps in his game. He was pretty atrocious last year, but one has to wonder how much of that was due to his aging and how much was due to the Martz offense. Any thoughts on that?

The other man is of course fan favorite Alex Boone. Boone has shown some skills and could very well end up being a player in this league. One would imagine the retirement of Smith has come pretty close to locking up a spot on the roster for Boone. Many would argue that it's way too soon to expect much out of him other than as an emergency fill-in. I would tend to agree with that, although we all have heard his draft story. He has talent and would have been drafted if not for his off the field problems.
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49ers Right Tackle?options - Niners Nation
 
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