There aren't too many people left on the Moran Norris bandwagon. Even after last season, it's quite possible that Norris' number one fan Frank Gore could have trailed off in his support of the aging fullback.
Back in the 1980's, when Tom Rathman was the fullback for the 49ers, the fullback was used as more than just a blocker in the West-Coast offense. He was used in pass protection, blocking, receiving, and even running the ball. He was considered another threat to opposing defenses. Not just a one-dimensional piece to the puzzle.
There's no better running back's coach to have and understand the concepts that were put in place by Bill Walsh than the current running back's coach and former player Tom Rathman.
It is going to take the right player to fit the system and scheme that the new Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh will be putting in to effect.
A lot of folks (including myself) had a bunch of faith in the undrafted free-agent Brit Miller who later in the season last year was picked up by the St. Louis Rams. It will now be the Rams who benefit from this hard-working excellent athlete.
However, there are a few good candidates that the 49ers will be looking at to at the very least give Norris some heated competition for the spot.
With that, I'd like to present the 16th player in this 50 in 50, Stanley Havili out of the University of Southern California...
As seen in the video, Havili seems to present a lot of possibility out of the backfield. His greatest attribute happens to be catching passes on swing routes in to the flat. There is not much here to illustrate his blocking ability, but he is very good at picking up pass rushers as they come in for the quarterback on pass plays.
Here are his stats:
Stats Overview
Rushing
Receiving
Fumbles
YEAR
ATT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
REC
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
FUM
LST
2006
0
0
0.0
0
0
4
24
6.0
8
0
0
0
2007
21
134
6.4
50
2
34
248
7.3
35
5
0
0
2008
13
71
5.5
11
0
24
324
13.5
50
3
0
0
2009
21
138
6.6
38
0
22
298
13.5
56
2
0
0
2010
26
166
6.4
59
1
32
396
12.4
58
2
0
0
2010 Regular Season Game Log
Rushing
Receiving
Fumbles
DATE
OPP
RESULT
ATT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
REC
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
FUM
LST
9/2
@Hawaii
W 49-36
1
7
7.0
7
0
1
49
49.0
49
0
0
0
9/11
Virginia
W 17-14
0
0
0.0
0
0
3
22
7.3
14
0
0
0
9/18
@Minnesota
W 32-21
0
0
0.0
0
0
1
10
10.0
10
0
0
0
9/25
@Washington State
W 50-16
4
80
20.0
59
1
5
107
21.4
58
1
0
0
10/2
Washington
L 32-31
0
0
0.0
0
0
2
10
5.0
8
0
0
0
10/9
@Stanford
L 37-35
1
4
4.0
4
0
2
22
11.0
15
0
0
0
10/16
California
W 48-14
0
0
0.0
0
0
5
36
7.2
12
0
0
0
10/30
Oregon
L 53-32
10
38
3.8
12
0
4
27
6.8
14
0
0
0
11/6
Arizona State
W 34-33
4
12
3.0
5
0
3
43
14.3
22
1
0
0
11/13
@Arizona
W 24-21
3
21
7.0
14
0
1
13
13.0
13
0
0
0
11/20
@Oregon State
L 36-7
1
2
2.0
2
0
2
21
10.5
19
0
0
0
11/27
Notre Dame
L 20-16
2
2
1.0
3
0
2
22
11.0
19
0
0
0
12/4
@UCLA
W 28-14
0
0
0.0
0
0
1
14
14.0
14
0
0
0
Summary: Havili is a bit on the small side for an NFL fullback so he will need to add a few pounds of muscle. The things he was good at doing in college will translate well to the next level. But in order to be a well-rounded player at the fullback position, the weight will needed to be added and he will have to become a better blocker in the run game. We have seen players like William Floyd do that very well. With the possibility he presents in catching passes out of the back field, it would be very difficult to key on two running backs in at the same time with those sort of hands in Frank Gore and Havili. As mentioned at the very top, there will be other options to bring in as rookie's at the fullback position, but Havili is certainly one to consider.
PREDICTION: 5th - 6th Round