Earlier today I posted that the NFL has begun Pro Bowl balloting. One of the 49ers players who could prove to be an incredibly worthy candidate is right guard Alex Boone. The 49ers converted Boone to right guard after developing him as a tackle, and he has been quite strong in the role. Pro Football Focus ranks him as their second best guard behind only Marshall Yanda, and one spot ahead of left guard Mike Iupati.
As the Pro Bowl campaigning heats up, Alex Boone is most definitely worthy of consideration. In a fitting bit of timing, the folks at CSN Bay Area put together a brief feature video on Boone's growth since college. The story has been told over and over again, but in the Mindi Bach video (embedded at the top) and the accompanying written feature by Matt Maiocco, we get a few more details about the story.
I could have just front-page FanShot'd this video, but I wanted to really draw it out for people. Boone has grown as much as any player in the NFL from his first days in the league. I found it particularly interesting that he is only the third member of the 49ers over the last two decades to spend their rookie seasons on the practice squad and eventually develop into a starter (DT Junior Bryant and S Ronnie Heard).
Give the video a watch, and check out Matt's accompanying article. As bad a tactical and strategic coach as Mike Singletary might have been, he certainly deserves some credit for whipping Alex Boone into shape. That and his handling of Vernon Davis were probably the two most important things he did for the 49ers.