David Shaw: No question Joshua Garnett is the ‘fight starter,’ in a good way

The San Francisco 49ers start up training camp this weekend, but we are also approaching the beginning of college football season. Pac-12 coaches had media sessions recently, and Stanford head coach David Shaw got a chance to speak to 49ers.com team reporter Joe Fann about new guard Joshua Garnett.

The 49ers have not yet signed Garnett to his rookie deal, but the expectation is that deal will get done shortly. Once he gets into camp, Garnett will be competing for the right guard job. Brandon Thomas got a lot of first team right guard work in the offseason workout program. Garnett did not get in until minicamp, as he was finishing up his final exams at Stanford. We don’t know how quickly he will move into the starting lineup, but I have to think it will be sooner rather than later.

Shaw spoke about what he will miss most about Garnett. The fight and passion is certainly something that will be a welcome addition to the offensive line. We don’t need him getting penalties for this stuff, but getting fired up is a good thing:

Shaw also discussed what Garnett brings to the 49ers offense, and why he could be a good fit in Chip Kelly’s scheme. Shaw acknowledged a lot of differences, but pointed to some similarities, as well as the comparable basic skills: