Live Oak graduate expecting second child before start of NFL
season
SANTA CLARA – Jeff Ulbrich gently fitted his helmet onto his 2-year-old daughter Samantha’s head after the open training session at San Jose State Saturday.
Samantha, decked in her 49er apparel, squinted to see through the massive helmet that her daddy so proudly wears on the football field.
Watching Ulbrich on the sidelines, one would hardly guess the mild mannered 49er linebacker would be capable of posting the impressive numbers that he has during his three-year tenure with the team.
But once Ulbrich gets on the field, he becomes the ultimate Mr. Hyde – brutal, savage and quick. Last year Ulbrich, who played 14 games and started 13 of those, had 84 tackles to finish fourth on the team.
The 49ers 2000 third round draft pick had to miss a couple games last season with a knee injury, and his numbers were down a little bit from the previous year when he was second on the team in tackles.
“I feel good,” Ulbrich said. “Probably a 100 percent. The offseason started with a couple surgeries, but ended real strong.”
Despite undergoing surgeries in the offseason on both his knee and shoulder, Ulbrich can’t wait for the season to begin after training in Santa Clara.
“It turned out to be a great camp,” Ulbrich said. “The heat has never been unbearable at all. We’ve had nice temperatures. So our level of play has been higher because of it. It’s miserable over there (Stockton), and plus we’re away from our families.”
Ulbrich is able to spend more time with his family this year after the team moved from Stockton to the 49er headquarters in Santa Clara. He also sweats a lot less now.
During the offseason, Ulbrich had the chance to train with his fomer Live Oak High football team. It was hard to tell who received the most benefit from the training – Ulbrich or the players.
“It’s been a good offseason,” Ulbrich said. “I had the chance to go back to Live Oak and train with the kids over there, which has been pretty inspirational for me. It was awesome for me just to see their work ethic and the fire in their eyes. It helped push me.”
Ulbrich’s wife is currently expecting their second child – a boy. The birth date is scheduled for Sept. 10. Four days later, the 49ers will be in Saint Louis.
“I get to see my wife and my family a lot more,” Ulbrich said. “When she has the baby I can be a lot closer.”
Ulbrich and the 49ers participated in the first of two open training camps on Saturday at San Jose State.
“It was great,” Ulbrich said. “My family had the chance to come out and see it. It was great for the fans because they haven’t had the chance to see us play like they had at Stockton. It breaks up the monotony of camp a little bit.”
The final open camp is Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
Many people expect the 49ers to be more of a defensive minded team this year under knew head coach Dennis Erickson. But Ulbrich said he hasn’t seen much of a change yet.
“We’ll have to wait and see as far as the game plan goes,” Ulbrich said. “Other than letting us hit a little bit more, it hasn’t been much different. We still have Jim Mora (defensive coordinator) at the helm. Until we see how the games are called, I don’t know what the difference will be.”
Ulbrich has always been versatile, playing several different seasons. And this year is no different.
“I volunteer for everything – from third downs to blitz packages.” Ulbrich said. “You never quite know until the season starts to pan out where they want you.”
Ulbrich, who is listed as the top right inside linebacker in the team’s depth chart, is part of the core group of linebackers that includes Derek Smith and Julian Peterson.
“We have maybe the best chemistry of any position,” Ulbrich said. “We have a bunch of guys that don’t have any egos. We all want to contribute. We are all willing to share time to do what is best for the team. It is a pretty special situation. We are all friends.”
Ulbrich said the team has a good chance for a Super Bowl this year.
“We made it to the second round of the playoffs last year,” Ulbrich said. “They’ve retained the core of the team that went that far. Just being together for another year adds experience and chemistry. I think we will go at least that far if not win it all. I think we have the potential to win it all.”
