49ers rookie impresses coaches with improbable debut

After the rookie running back suffered a hamstring injury at the start of training camp, the San Francisco 49ers have been without their 2024 fourth-round pick for most most of camp and the first two preseason games. Yet, after returning to practice earlier in the week, Isaac Guerendo made his highly-anticipated preseason debut on Friday night against the Las Vegas Raiders.

In his first preseason game in the NFL, it didn’t take long for the former Louisville Cardinal to make an impression. In the second quarter, Guerendo took back a kickoff return for a 93-yard touchdown. Along with a blazing run to the end zone on kickoff, Guerendo added 32 yards on 11 carries and two catches for three yards.

On Sunday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to members of the media on a conference call where he praised Guerendo’s performance on Friday against the Raiders. When talking about the rookie running back, Shanahan noted the lack of padded practices Guerendo has had since suiting up for the Senior Bowl in February.

I thought he did a real good job, especially since it was the first day he had shoulder pads on since the Senior Bowl. He got hurt our first day of practice and then the two practices we had before the Raiders week were unpadded practices. So for him to go that long without putting pads on, I really liked how he ran. He tried to break tackles, never eased up on contact, tried to run through it, hit the holes well and had a real good first game.

After spending five seasons at Wisconsin, Guerendo transferred to Louisville for his final season. With the Cardinals. Guerendo rushed for 810 yards on 132 carries with 11 touchdowns. Guerendo added 22 receptions for 234 yards.

Guerendo’s standout performance should likely bounce him up the depth chart and into the conversation for Christian McCaffrey’s backup alongside Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell.