SANTA CLARA -- It has been over a decade since the 49ers had a punt returner capable of striking fear into opposing teams, but that could change with rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing now in the mix.
The speedy wideout quickly is earning a reputation as an electric playmaker, showing off the blazing speed that turned heads when he clocked a 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and likely strengthening San Francisco's desire to get the ball in Cowing's hands by any means necessary.
Special-teams duty beckons as a golden opportunity to manufacture more touches for the talented rookie, especially given the lack of another dynamic return man on the 49ers' roster -- and for a player like Cowing, who enthusiastically embraces the challenges offered by the crucial role.
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"Punt return is fun," Cowing said after Monday's practice. "I first got introduced to it my junior year of college. Really honed in on it my senior year of college, got really good at fielding the ball. And then also here too, just kind of getting real comfortable seeing the ball off the kicker's foot and being able to track it, run to my spot, gather my feet a little bit. Then at that point just playing fast, seeing the kind of alley's they create, hitting it fast and trying to score touchdowns."
The rookie wide receiver also revealed the importance of recognizing key signs that put him in position to reel off an explosive run back once the ball is in his hands.
"The main thing that I really got taught was, the way the nose of the ball is when it comes off the foot of the punter, it tells you what direction it's going to go," Cowing explained. "So once I see the nose of the ball, if it's going to be pointing up, if it's pointing down, then I kind of know where that ball is going to end up, so I can sprint to that spot, get set, get comfortable, and after that be able to gather my feet, see the coverage out there, just going out there and trying to make an explosive play."
San Francisco selected Cowing No. 135 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft after he shone at the University of Arizona, pulling double duty as the Wildcats' primary return man while finishing his 2023 campaign with a team-high 13 receiving touchdowns.
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While Cowing never returned a punt for a touchdown during his college career, the NFL game offers a special-teams change that could create the opportunity for Cowing to diagnose potential running lanes as a return man.
"I have a lot more time," Cowing said regarding the biggest difference between college and the NFL. "There's a lot more space between the coverage and when I catch the ball between college and here. The punters here, they kick it a lot farther than some punters in college, so I would say the time."
Cowing followed up his impressive preseason showing against the Las Vegas Raiders with a strong practice Monday, scoring two long touchdowns during team period on plays where he got the ball at or behind the line of scrimmage, flashing the game-breaking ability that makes him an extremely appealing option to begin his NFL career as the 49ers' primary return man.
San Francisco hasn't had a player register a punt-return touchdown since Ted Ginn Jr. did it in Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season.
With San Francisco's 2024 NFL regular-season opener against the New York Jets exactly two weeks away, Cowing could be in position to create some Week 1 magic of his own, although the rookie hasn't spent much time thinking about the possibility of returning punts in front of a national television audience.
"I'm the kind of person that I don't really think about the future too much. I'm more like a 'stay in the present' kind of guy, so I haven't really thought about that yet, not really," Cowing said.
It might be time for Cowing to start thinking about the future, because he very well could be the first man up on punt-return duty for the 49ers when the bright lights of "Monday Night Football" grace Levi's Stadium on Sep. 9.
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