San Francisco 49ers

49ers GM Trent Baalke loves South Carolina players

Published May. 8, 2015 3:57 p.m. ET

foxsports

San Francisco 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke has a thing for players at the University of South Carolina. This is the third straight year and fourth out of five years Baalke has selected a player from South Carolina.

Baalke used to be a scout with the Washington Redskins from 2001 through 2004. It is there he met Steve Spurrier who was head coach of Washington in 2002 and 2003. Spurrier then went on to coach at South Carolina where he still is today.

Baalke had this to say to ESPN when asked about South Carolina players.

“Well, you know they’re going to be well-coached, they're going to come into the league, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and that’s nothing against the defense, but on the offensive side of the ball you know they're going to come into the league well-versed. They're going to be able to pick up the information.

“They're going to usually, almost always, be able to on play three downs, if it's a (running) back. And they're prepared.”

Baalke took two South Carolina players in this years draft when he selected running back Mike Davis in the fourth round and tight end Busta Anderson in the seventh round.

“We got a little bit of information, a little inside information,” Baalke said, referring to his South Carolina connections.

When talking about Davis, Baalke was very pleased with his selection and what he expects out of him in the NFL.

"Obviously, (Spurrier) throws the ball all over the place,” Baalke said. “So, if you're a running back in that system, you’ve got to be able to catch the ball and you’ve got to be able to pass (block).

“(Davis has) shown the ability to do that. He's a three-down back in the National Football League. That was what we were looking for.”

The 49ers also signed undrafted quarterback Dylan Thompson out of South Carolina.

(h/t ESPN)