49ers wide receiver Jacobs has a sense of perspective

TDJets72027 · Aug 9, 2007

Taylor Jacobs looked at the photograph attached to the inside of his locker. It showed a baby girl with dark hair, perched on her father's back. Jacobs touched it lightly, almost caressing the picture.

"My daughter," he said. "I'll never get over it. I'll get through it. But I'll never get over it."

Jacobs is fighting to earn a spot on the 49ers' roster at wide receiver - a position the team dramatically upgraded in the off-season. As a fifth-year player who hasn't done all that much in his NFL career, Jacobs knows this is a make-or-break training camp. And receivers coach Jerry Sullivan said he has been impressive so far.

But if everything he has done turns out to be not quite good enough? Then, Jacobs said, at least he'll know he gave it his best shot. Besides, there are worse things. Much worse. That's how he came to be placing his fingertips on the picture.

Taryn Jacobs died in October, at just 10 weeks old, of sudden infant death syndrome. Jacobs said he and his wife, Christine, were able to endure a parent's worst nightmare because of their deep spiritual beliefs.

So while he dearly wants to make the 49ers, and finally realize the potential that had made him a second-round draft pick out of Florida, Jacobs also has a sense of perspective. It's one that allows him to say something rarely spoken in an NFL locker room.

"Football is only my job," said Jacobs, 26, in a soft voice. He looked up at the nameplates above other wide
Advertisement
Click Here!
receivers' lockers near his. "I do want to succeed. I don't know how I'm going to make this team. But every day I have to do my best and then have faith."

That's something he knows all about: faith.

He arrived last August from Washington, in an exchange of highly drafted disappointments. The 49ers unloaded cornerback bust Mike Rumph while Washington shipped out Jacobs.

Projected as one of the top receivers in the 2003 draft, Jacobs unexpectedly slipped to the second round and former Redskins coach Steve Spurrier - who had recruited Jacobs while he was at Florida - selected him. But Jacobs never fulfilled his promise.

His track sprinter's speed didn't translate to the NFL for some reason. He suffered a litany of injuries: strained abdominal muscle, sprained big toe, pulled groin muscle, even a bruised pancreas. He totaled just 30 catches and one touchdown in three seasons. But it was a testament to Jacobs' attitude that Joe Gibbs, who had replaced Spurrier, sounded almost apologetic when he traded him.

"I wished it had worked out better for him here," Gibbs said.

Jacobs didn't do much for the 49ers last season, either, catching just four passes for 29 yards.

"Coming out of college, he was a guy I really liked," Sullivan said. "I think he got lost in the shuffle in Washington. When he got to us, he looked a little beat up to me. I think he had lost his confidence. The emotion was missing."

Jacobs also was distracted.

On Oct. 12, Taryn never awoke from her sleep. She had tragically become one of the estimated 2,500 infants who die annually in the United States from the unexplained and heartbreaking condition known as SIDS.

"A parent losing a kid . . . I don't know what I would have done without my faith," Jacobs said. "People ask: `How do you go through that? And if there is a God, why does he do stuff like that?' Sometimes you don't know how you're going to get through the day. All I can say is that I believe it's God's will."

Then he added: "And I got to have an angel for 2 1/2 months."

Jacobs said he and his wife supported each other as they relied on their shared beliefs. He can tell you the exact day he became a Christian: Dec. 16, 2004. Jacobs said he was driving home after a late night of partying when the thought suddenly hit him that he needed to change his ways.

The guy who stands in the 49ers locker room is quiet and pleasant. That wasn't always the case, he said. A good friend of his recently was shot and killed outside a nightclub back home in Tallahassee. Jacobs said a similar fate could have been in his future if he hadn't re-evaluated his life.

"I've totally done a 180," Jacobs said of his direction. "I used to be a tough customer. I was hard on people, insensitive, and would do bad things. I always had a good heart, but I could be hotheaded if I got rubbed wrong. But not anymore."

Something else that has changed is the 49ers' talent level at wide receiver. They traded for former Seattle Pro Bowl player Darrell Jackson, who is expected to be paired with the emerging Arnaz Battle in the starting lineup. Other new arrivals include free-agent pickup Ashley Lelie and third-round draft pick Jason Hill.

In all, there are 10 receivers in camp angling for five or six positions.

"To make the team this year, you're going to have to be better than we've been," Sullivan said. "I told Taylor, `I brought a lot of guys along as a coach, but first you've got to want it. It's got to be at a gut level.' You can see that in him now - the hunger. I'm thrilled at how he's playing."

Still, Sullivan added, it's a long preseason and the competition is tough.

Nobody needs to remind Jacobs. But already his life has turned for the better. Christine is expecting a baby boy in a few weeks. (He has another daughter, Grace, from a previous relationship. Her photo hangs in his locker, too.)

"Maybe there has to be a storm before the blessing," Jacobs said. "We're thankful we get another chance to be parents."

Maybe he'll get another chance on the field, too.

"But whatever happens out here, it's not going to be the end of the world," he said. "Once, I used to think that football meant everything."

He knows better now.
Click to expand...

http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_6580132?nclick_check=1

misfitz · Aug 9, 2007

Then he added: "And I got to have an angel for 2 1/2 months."

this line seriously made me tear up such a sad thing to happen

im hoping he makes the team hes sounding really good in camp

BarlOwens · Aug 9, 2007

man..that has to be brutal on him daily...my heart goes out to the guy..losing a child like that has got to be a pain I can't even fathom right now...

As for him making the team..the guy is tearing it up in camp...he completely torched Clements ALL DAY yesterday....made him look sad...I can easily see him being the #4 guy on this squad after yesterday...with Hill being their 5th and final receiver...

Litez0ut · Aug 9, 2007

BarlOwens said: ↑

man..that has to be brutal on him daily...my heart goes out to the guy..losing a child like that has got to be a pain I can't even fathom right now...

As for him making the team..the guy is tearing it up in camp...he completely torched Clements ALL DAY yesterday....made him look sad...I can easily see him being the #4 guy on this squad after yesterday...with Hill being their 5th and final receiver...
Click to expand...

He has the tools that was never really the question about him. He just never stays on the field throughout the whole season because he's injured alot.

49ers121 · Aug 9, 2007

I heard the knock on him is he looks really good in practice, but once game time is upon him he doesnt play so well. He will make the team I dont see Maxwell and Williams being threats.

Digitool · Aug 10, 2007

Thats just one of those stories you just can't look away from until you finnish it. Makes Larry Allen type guys tear up. Touches the toughest of men. You should never have to go through losing a child in your life. I cannot immagine the pain, and with football consuming so much of ones life, he deals with both. I hope he succeeds and can take what he's done in practice into the season. I'd love to see him stay on our roster and get some oppertunity to make some plays with us this year.

Chrisbob · Aug 12, 2007

BarlOwens said: ↑

man..that has to be brutal on him daily...my heart goes out to the guy..losing a child like that has got to be a pain I can't even fathom right now...

As for him making the team..the guy is tearing it up in camp...he completely torched Clements ALL DAY yesterday....made him look sad...I can easily see him being the #4 guy on this squad after yesterday...with Hill being their 5th and final receiver...
Click to expand...

My heart goes out to the guy and his wife, football is a very distance second in any situation like this.

With regards to his actual play, I am not surprised he is doing well in camp, but this seemed to be the story with him as a Redskins, he'd look great in camp and come gameday - nothing.

Log in or Sign up

49ers wide receiver Jacobs has a sense of perspective

TDJets72027 Rex Ryan baby

misfitz Dropping Twitter Bombs

BarlOwens Rubicon Runner

Litez0ut Litez0ut Sucka

49ers121 Portugal Mike

Digitool Graphic Artist

Chrisbob Fuck Dallas

Log in or Sign up

49ers wide receiver Jacobs has a sense of perspective

TDJets72027 Rex Ryan baby

misfitz Dropping Twitter Bombs

BarlOwens Rubicon Runner

Litez0ut Litez0ut Sucka

49ers121 Portugal Mike

Digitool Graphic Artist

Chrisbob Fuck Dallas

Useful Searches