Chris Foerster Says the 49ers Have to be Careful with Isaac Guerendo

Isaac Guerendo has started just one game at running back since he was in the fourth grade. Now the 49ers need him to start the final five games of the season.

Dec 1, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Isaac Guerendo (31) runs with the ball for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Isaac Guerendo has started just one game at running back since he was in the fourth grade. Now the 49ers need him to start the final five games of the season.

Guerendo was a wide receiver in middle school and high school. Then in college, he was a backup running back -- he started just one game. And so far this season, he has played just 109 snaps.

This week, running game coordinator Chris Foerster was asked about Guerendo's readiness to carry the load. Here's what Foerster said, courtesy of the 49ers' p.r. department.

Q: I bet you’re excited about RB Isaac Guerendo’s potential, obviously a bigger opportunity coming from here. What would you say is his state of readiness?

FOERSTER: “Oh, he is more than ready. That's been the good thing. Not having to jump in right away. You guys heard that, I liked him from the beginning. The kid had that burst, that quickness and he's been able to be eased into it, not easing right now. So you still have to be careful, he hasn't played a full load in an NFL game up to this point. Now is he going to be able carry the load for all four quarters like Christian McCaffrey has done in the past or not? I don't know that we'll have to see as we go. And the other guys, Patrick Taylor Jr. has been here for a good while. Obviously, we're excited for Isaac and we'll see how it plays out. But it's definitely going to be a challenge for us and challenge for him because he's going to have to tote the mail for us and he's going to have to do a lot of things over a longer period of time than he's done it up to this point.”

Q: You guys value speed in this offense at running back. Is that safe to say that Head Coach Kyle Shanahan likes fast running backs?

FOERSTER: “Well, you kind of are what you are. Speed is nice. If you can get it, it's important. Being a good back and having a good feel for the running game, hitting the right lanes, doing things like that. He set all sorts of records in Washington with [Former RB] Alfred Morris and Alfred we all know is not a speed demon. So there's that balance between a good runner that understands it. It took [Miami Dolphins RB] Raheem [Mostert] a while to get going in this offense before the speed really showed up. It is nice to have that home run threat. It is nice, as you saw, when Isaac has broken some runs – the end of the Dallas game, the end of the Seattle game, where all of a sudden we talked about it, we called it the ‘angle assassin.’ You think that you're on the right angle, but with that speed you're able to get that burst and get further and more yards than most people would. So, it is nice to have speed.”

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