The Jim Harbaugh world tour has taken him to Alabama, where he his involved in a satellite camp at South Alabama University. While working at the camp, he was spotted in a Julio Jones Atlanta Falcons jersey.
Jim Harbaugh & South Alabama @CoachJoeyJones at South Alabama camp. pic.twitter.com/lPeYi12n8b
— Creg Stephenson (@CregStephenson) June 7, 2016
Harbaugh met with the media during the camp, and it turns out there was a specific reason Harbaugh was wearing the jersey of the former Alabama star. He told Scout.com (via ESPN, video unavailable) that the 49ers wanted to draft Jones back in 2011.
"I've always had a ton of respect for Julio Jones," Harbaugh said in this video on Scout.com. "When I was with the San Francisco 49ers, we were hoping to draft Julio. Always have had tremendous respect for him, competed against him. ... I'm just a big fan of a lot of people. And I'm a jersey guy. I like jerseys."
The 49ers held the seventh pick of the draft that year, and Jones almost slipped to them. The Atlanta Falcons traded up to the Cleveland Browns pick at No. 6 to select Jones. The 49ers ended up selecting Aldon Smith at No. 7. There was an oral history of that draft earlier this offseason, and there was talk then about how the 49ers would have passed on Patrick Peterson if he slipped to No. 7. All of this is woulda, coulda, shoulda, but it is interesting to considering the many different scenarios that could have been.