49ers fans, meet your new quarterback
Blaine Gabbert talks to reporters in the 49ers locker room
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KTVU) - On Sunday Blaine Gabbert will become the new starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, so KTVU wanted to find out everything we could about the 26-year-old.
Turns out there’s not much... Not because Gabbert hasn't done anything significant, but because he’s still really young.
“He’s really an unknown,” said KTVU Sports Anchor Joe Fonzi.
Gabbert just celebrated his 26th birthday in October. According to ESPN, the average age of a starting quarterback in the NFL right now is 28.3.
This is not the first time Gabbert’s had a starting position. He was drafted 10th overall in 2011 and was supposed to be the Jacksonville Jaguar’s backup quarterback. But he quickly got the starting position and in 2011 he became the youngest player in league history to start 14 games in a season. He was just 22 years old.
The next season he got injured, and the season after that he was benched. In 2014 he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers.
At the time, Coach Jim Harbaugh told csnbayarea.com Gabbert was a very talented player:
KTVU’s Joe Fonzi tends to agree. “He didn't get a fair shake. I wouldn't write him off just yet.”
Gabbert is from the Midwest, born and raised in Missouri. He even went to the University of Missouri before skipping his senior year to enter the draft.
He also fits that Midwest football player mold, right down to the long blonde hair. His hair is short now but do a quick Google search and you can find those long locks. Apparently so many people have searched for them Google has an entire category under images dedicated to Blaine Gabbert Hair.
He’s fairly quiet on his social media pages and hasn't tweeted in more than a year. But a quick search and you'll find someone who's proud of his country and those who fight to protect it:
In March, the 49ers resigned Gabbert to a new two-year, $2 million dollar deal. Whether Gabbert thrives in this new role remains to be seen, but San Francisco will be watching. And hoping. Because there's still six more weeks of football.
Read more about the decision to bench Colin Kaepernick here.