Renardo Green hasn’t wasted a second of his first 49ers training camp.
The rookie cornerback has performed well so far and has a good chance to play important minutes in San Francisco’s game against the New York Jets in Week 1. The 49ers selected Green at number 64 in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Nick Sorensen, Florida State’s new defensive coordinator, admires the junior’s development. This summer, Sorensen challenged Green to see what he was capable of, and he was happy to speak to reporters Wednesday about the freshman’s travel schedule.
“Both positions,” Sorensen said of Green playing inside or outside. “That was pretty much the plan. I wanted to give him the harder stuff right from the start because he hadn’t played there before. I think it’s always easier to go back to what you’re used to than to try something really new.”
“If we had done it later, it would have been like, ‘Oh my God,’ that blew your mind. We gave him the tough stuff early, then he mastered it while also playing corner. So now you focus on playing outside and see if it clears your head … just play. Now he just has to be able to do both.”
Green is coming off a productive preseason and is surviving the development challenge of his new coordinator.
The rookie limited Chris Olave to a single 19-yard pass in 32 snaps, all at cornerback, in San Francisco’s season-ending loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Sorensen acknowledged that Green’s “challenge” was difficult and required on-the-fly thinking, and that the young man was certainly not the first player to be deliberately put to the test.
“It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s like moving an O-lineman to a different position,” Sorensen added of Green. “Any time you do something like that, it’s harder than you think.”
“It might not sound that hard on paper just talking about it, but it is. It’s a big difference. So yeah, it definitely gave him the freedom to play faster and it was nice to see.”
There is already a living blueprint for Sorensen and Green within the 49ers organization.
Deommodore Lenoir, San Francisco’s veteran fourth-year cornerback, was put to the test by his coaches.
Lenoir has been used all over the court, even though he prefers to defend inside, where he is most comfortable. He is someone Sorensen referenced when talking about Green.
“Just like (Lenoir) does,” Sorensen said. “We like to challenge our guys and see what they can handle. And when you see that they can handle it, it’s great. It gives you that flexibility. And (Green) is just a competitive kid who is smart and wants to do it right.”
Recently, Green has been playing more freely on the outside – that’s intentional.
After watching Green’s progress in camp, Sorensen told him to focus on his game and block out distracting mental deterrents.
And it works well.
“Yeah, whenever you can, we told him on that block, it was like just focus on blocking that block,” Sorensen concluded. “So yeah, that’s going to free everybody up.”
Green is in a great position to start his NFL career with the 49ers challenging him and taking care of him, and the real games haven’t even started yet.
Now the rookie must prove that he can excel in the real 2024 NFL season.
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