EAGAN, Minn. (AP) – Buses bound for the Twin Cities left southwest Minnesota at 6:30 a.m., carrying the biggest Trey Lance fans the young San Francisco quarterback will ever meet.
Players and staff from the Marshall Tigers football team — the team Lance led as a prep star just five years ago — attended the 49ers-Vikings joint practice Thursday, with more than 100 guests from his hometown on the side of the practice fields in orange and black jerseys.
“The kids are all wearing Marshall today, but they all have their Trey Lance jerseys in their bag ready to go,” said Tigers head coach Terry Bahlmann, whose son played baseball with Lance in backyard, the two families who lived a block apart.
The Vikings covered the team’s 150-mile drive from the prairie town of 13,000 to the team’s sprawling suburban headquarters, where Lance and the 49ers practiced against the Vikings for the second straight day. The third overall pick in the 2021 draft picked up the tab for all their meals.
Bahlmann also wanted to make sure his team didn’t miss a practice, so the Vikings helped get the Tigers use of the fields at nearby Eagan High School before returning home.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance participates in joint drills with the Minnesota Vikings at NFL football training camp in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Abbie Parr
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell talks with his team while participating in joint drills with the San Francisco 49ers at NFL football training camp in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/ Abbie Parr)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Abbie Parr
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas, right, breaks up a pass intended for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson during a joint practice at NFL football training camp in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, Aug. 18 2022. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Abbie Parr
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Lance became a quarterback in eighth grade when the Tigers needed a backup, and that’s where this journey began in earnest.
“When Trey wants to do something, he puts his mind to it,” Bahlmann said.
After leading Marshall to the Class 4A state tournament, Lance had FBS schools considering him at safety or linebacker. Determined to remain a quarterback, he chose FCS power North Dakota State. Lance only had one full season as a starter there because the pandemic wiped out the 2020 schedule, but his big arm and quick feet were too enticing for the 49ers to pass on.
Lance’s rise to second-year starter on a confident and talented 49ers team that finished a few points short of the Super Bowl last season came full circle this week with his old high school looked to throw passes across the field for his current NFL team.
“This was always the dream, but it happened quickly,” Lance said.
After Jimmy Garoppolo helped lead the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, where they led the Super Bowl champion Rams midway through the fourth quarter, the decision was made to move on from the nine-year veteran and hand the offense over to Lance.
In the preseason opener against Green Bay, Lance completed one of his two drives with a 76-yard touchdown pass. He is not expected to play Saturday against the Vikings.
“Things have slowed down a lot, both mentally and physically,” Lance said. “I feel like I’m in a much better place on both sides.”
The 49ers have consistently expressed confidence in his ability to handle the job despite his limited experience.
“I’ve seen him make consistent strides every day,” Trent Williams said. “I’ve seen him set in the pocket, going through his reads, not talking and just looking for somewhere to run. That’s all we can ask for. He will continue to improve and we have a lot of faith in the kid.”
The Vikings gave Lance and his offensive line plenty of valuable practice, especially against outside linebackers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. Williams has been an offseason training partner with Hunter for several years, and the nine-time Pro Bowl pick shared with reporters an amusing perspective on their relationship.
In head-to-head games in 2016 and 2017 while Williams played for Washington, Hunter used some of Williams’ advice against him.
“We’d get together after practice, and I’d go through what we think on this side and what he should be thinking, and he gave me the same kind of jewelry,” Williams said with a smile. “I regret doing this sometimes, but he is a great friend of mine. He is an outstanding player. He definitely makes us better.”
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