San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde was in the Bay Area recently to do some charity work with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and FedEx, and he did some promotion of that work in recent radio interviews. On Thursday, appeared on 95.7 The Game, and we’ve transcribed the interview below.
Hyde spoke about his injury last season, and said he was at 100 percent right now. He talked about learning a new offense, and getting physically prepared for Chip Kelly’s offense. He also talked briefly about quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who he said has been at the 49ers facility recently working in the weight room.
On health:
The health is 100 percent. I’m good to go. I had a good offseason workout program with the team. No setbacks, and everything’s good to go.
On difficulty of missing the games last season:
It was tough sitting out those games, not being able to help my team out. I just want to make sure when I came back I was all the way healthy, so I didn’t have any setbacks, so I could play the whole season. I made a decision to sit out and take care of my foot, and get everything back together. And I’m good to go now.
On having 3 offensive coordinators in three seasons:
My first couple years at Ohio State I had Coach Tressell, then I had Coach Fickell, then Coach Meyer came in. To me it’s just another opportunity to prove yourself to your coaches, so you can build that trust and relationship between you and the coach, so they can count on you. When the game’s come down, when the game’s on the line, they can count on you and know that you’re bought into the system. To me, you just gotta buy into the system. I’m really looking forward to working with Coach Kelly. It’s been a very exciting this offseason. He’s a great coach, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.
On getting used to Kelly’s up-tempo offense:
I mean I love Coach Kelly. I used to hear all the bad things people would say about him, but I don’t see that at all. He’s one of the greatest, coolest coaches out there. I’m very happy he’s a part of our organization. He’s our head coach, I’m definitely looking forward to this year, and he's definitely brought the up-tempo to practice. A fast, fast, no-huddle practice. At first it was tiring, but we got the hang of it, and now to me, things are slowing down, and it’s easy to go out there and run a certain amount of plays in a certain amount of minutes pretty fast. And then that's it. You just looking at the end of practice, like 'Dang, that's it?' You're expecting more. But we actually did a lot. It’s been fun though. I’m looking forward to this year.
On if it impacts how he approaches offseason:
I mean to me, personally, not really. You just know you have to be in shape. You can't just come in here slacking, can't come in here a pound or two overweight or anything like that. You just gotta really hone into it and take it seriously. Get into the best shape you can so you can go into this year, with a great year. No injuries or anything like that. Just expect a great year.
On ownership/GM questions and if they affect him:
I don’t really think about those things. The 49ers drafted me to come here to play running back, and I don’t think about what the GM and the owner of the team are doing. That’s not my responsibility. My thing is to be the best running back I can, and help my team win games.
On learning curve in new system:
Well, I mean we've put in 10 installs. I feel like I know the whole playbook. At first, when we first started, yeah, it was a learning curve. Everything was new to everybody. Now that we've been into it, been into it this whole offseason, been into it, looked over it, practiced it, everyday, to me it's the easiest thing ever. Maybe the game will be slowing down for me because I know exactly what I have to do. I know my reads, and I know exactly what I have to do.
On if Colin Kaepernick will be back with team this season:
I mean he's there every day with us. I definitely expect him to be with us this year. He's there grinding every day. I mean, I'm here now working out in the offseason, I see him in the weight room, he's working out. To me, he's just a focused guy right now, trying to get himself right so he can show people what he's capable of.
On teaming up with Denny Hamlin for FedEx Cares program this weekend in Sonoma:
I really wish I could make it to the race. I’m going back home so I can get ready for the season. I grew up a big Dale Earnhardt fan. My oldest brother was a diehard fan, and being around my oldest brother, seeing all the pictures of Dale Earnhardt, and seeing the NASCAR jacket, I became a fan of Dale Earnhardt also. So I’ve always been familiar with NASCAR. When Dale Earnhardt passed away, I became a Jeff Gordon fan. And now that I’ve met Denny Hamlin, I’m definitely about to become a fan of his. I’ve met one NASCAR driver so far, and he definitely made me into a fan, so I’m looking forward to watching him race.
On landscaping/maintenance project:
I’m down on my knees pulling weeds. Me and Denny are down on our knees pulling weeds, planting plants. It’s definitely for a good cause, though. Definitely having a good time out here.
On tweets about Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony:
I think Melo and DRose, they gonna work together, and they gonna make things happen in New York. I think it’s gonna be exciting. I definitely think it was a great move for New York to get DRose and Melo. I believe DRose gonna bounce back, and be that DRose everyone’s used to. With him and Melo, those two superstars right there, it’s gonna be exciting.