While most of the San Francisco 49ers 2024 draft class needed to hop on planes to report to rookie minicamp, all that sixth-round pick Jarrett Kingston needed to do was get in his car and drive roughly three and a half hours south.
Anderson sits on the outskirts of Redding, CA, so it wouldn't be totally off base to think Kingston may have grown up a member of the Faithful. However, that's not exactly the case. He's new to the team and the fandom but quickly embracing all things 49ers.
"My whole family is from LA, so I wasn't forced to be a Rams fan, but I kind of grew up being a Rams fan," Kingston said. "I was also a USC fan growing up, and I followed Clay Matthews his whole college career and followed him to the Packers. So, I was also a Packers fan, but not anymore."
The response to the 49ers selecting Kingston on Day 3 of the draft by his community has been overwhelming positive.
"Pretty much all my high school buddies are 49ers fans," Kingston said."It was cool getting that role with them too because they're huge 49ers fans, and now, I'm a huge 49ers fan."
In his first day at headquarters, Kingston, along with the rest of the rookies, took part in everything from medical exams to facility tours to meeting the media. Friday is when the 2024 draft class is slated to hit the practice field, marking their first time suiting up as 49ers.
"I'm just grateful and excited to get to work," Kingston said. "I'm mainly grateful for the opportunity."
As the offseason program continues to ramp up to the start of training camp in July, expect to see more of the newest members here in The Bay.
"All the rookies are in the hotel all summer," Kingston said. "My wife will move down here too."
