2012-GameRelease-Divisional

Player Feature Story
Cinderella Celek: The story of the 49ers’ long-shot tight end
By Eric Branch, San Francisco Chronicle
Garrett Celek was a left tackle in high school, a blocking tight end in college and a bit of a disaster when it
came to catching passes during his first NFL practices.
Recalling his initial impressions of Celek, Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis said the undrafted rookie with
14 catches in his career at Michigan State “couldn’t catch a fly.”
Now, actually, flies are hard to catch, but you get Davis’ drift: Celek had some serious iron hands.
“I didn’t know anything about him, had no idea who he was,” Davis said. “I just said to myself he’s got
some work to do because he was really struggling.”
Davis said that in a nearly deserted locker room Saturday afternoon and Celek, a few lockers away,
laughed at his teammates’ assessment. Of course, he could afford to chuckle at his early struggles: Less
than 24 hours earlier, Celek had become the only undrafted rookie to make the 53-man roster.
The fact that Celek survived finals cuts was a shocker … to Celek.
“I was surprised myself,” he said. “I really didn’t have certain expectations. I knew that I had to come out,
do my best and forget everything else. When I didn’t get that phone call I was pretty excited.”
Celek may not have great job security. Including versatile defensive tackle Demarcus Dobbs, the 49ers
have four tight ends on the roster and they may not be done shopping for outside linebackers.
Still, Celek’s ability to make it this far makes him the feel-good story of the summer.
At Michigan State, the 6-foot-5, 252-pound Celek missed a combined 14 games as a sophomore and
junior due to shoulder surgeries (he had a dislocation and torn labrum in each shoulder) and he had three
catches as a senior.
His scouting report of his pass-catching skills in college: “I didn’t run that good of routes. And I didn’t
catch every well.”
The younger brother of Eagles tight end Brent Celek, he was recruited by Spartans coach Mark Dantonio,
who coached Brent at the University of Cincinnati. But Garret knew he had no chance to follow in his
brother’s NFL footsteps if he didn’t improve his hands.
He worked out before the draft at API, a training facility in Frisco, Texas, and caught countless balls, from
quarterbacks and a JUGS machine. Still, as Davis can attest, he still had work to do when he arrived in
Santa Clara in May.
On Thursday, however, Celek made an effortless 37-yard, over-the-shoulder catch, added a three-yard
touchdown grab and finished with three receptions for 54 yards in the preseason finale against the
Chargers.
The performance likely earned him a roster spot. And it earned him praise from a teammate who now
knows who he is: Garret Celek has made a name for himself.
“The catch he had the other night surprised me,” Davis said. “I was like ‘Man, this kid came a long way.’ It
shows that if you keep working at something, the better you get. He kept at it and, man, he came around.”