QB Brandon Allen Press Conference

QB Brandon Allen

Press Conference – July 31, 2024

San Francisco 49ers

WR Ricky Pearsall got his first full practice in today. What would have you seen from him? What’s it like throwing to the rookie?

“Yeah, glad to have him back. I think you can kind of see he’s explosive. He’s quick in and out of his breaks. He’s a really good route runner. He’s definitely going to help us in that sense. And I think the more reps he can get, the more time he can spend out there practicing the better he’s going to get.”

What’s this camp been like for you having been here a full year going throughthe playbook once. Do you feel just a lot more comfortable in running the system?

“Yeah, absolutely. I think everyone knows [head coach] Kyle’s [Shanahan] offense is difficult at times to kind of get down, to kind of be really comfortable in and it comes with, with reps and studying and all that. And so I think having that whole year last year to be in it and then come back again this year with the same system has been good. Definitely more comfortable, mainly in terms of verbiage. I’ve been able to call the plays a lot easier, visualize in my head. So, I definitely think last year helped.”

What are the keys for a quarterback to succeed in this system?

“We’re really big on playing with our feet, knowing where to go on what hitch and the timing of routes and seeing the defense and throwing into holes really. So I think if you can play with your feet and be really dialed into, ‘here’s my first hitch. Here’s my second hitch. Here’s my checkdown. What defense are they in? What do I anticipate being open?’ I think you can succeed in this offense.”

Can you kind of just describe your relationship with QB Brock Purdy and just how you’ve helped him with your years in the league?

“I think the biggest thing, Brock’s awesome. Obviously the way he played last year kind of shows that and he can make all the throws, he can make all the plays. I think what I do bring into the QB room is like you said, kind of just the years in the league and just the amount of defenses I’ve seen, the amount of just kind of general reps where I’ve seen this coverage play out a certain way. Just little tips here and there. Where if you know the coverage, but if you see him kind of playing it this way, you can anticipate he’s going to undercut this route or you can anticipate this is going to be open. That sort of thing. So I do think just kind of the years in the league, the experience that I’ve accrued has kind of been helpful for him.”

Were you able to pick up like any defensive keys? Like maybe some defenses started playing him a certain way?

“Yeah, I think it’s different week-to-week. Obviously with just the style of defense you’re going against week-to-week, the different types of players. Some corners may be more aggressive than others. Some linebackers might get a lot of depth on their drops. Some might not as much. Some bite harder on the fake. So I think it really depends week-to- week.”

You mentioned getting the reps obviously last year this time you weren’t getting nearly as many as you are this camp. How much growth have you seen in yourself, just in terms of being comfortable in the system?

“Yeah, I do think a lot more reps this year has helped. Just being able to physically run the plays myself, as opposed to sitting and watching and trying to take the mental rep from last year. I do think getting in and getting more reps of actually running the plays has helped me a lot.”

Competitio is a part of this league and they brought QB Josh Dobbs in and his experience was almost a polar opposite of yours. He starts with Cleveland, then he goes to Arizona and then he goes to Minnesota. He starts all those places. Can you imagine three systems in a year? What’s your observations of Josh and getting to know him?

“No, it’s not easy to do. And obviously, he did pretty well being thrown in some tough situations like he did last year. And I’ve kind of known Josh for a while now, but obviously first observation, he’s really smart. He’s really picked up the offense pretty quickly being here, in the short amount of time that he has. You can see he’s dialed into what he’s trying to do on the field. He knows the reads. He’s seen a lot of defenses. So he’s experienced. He’s smart, accurate with the football, and that’s kind of everything you want to see.”

What does QB Tanner Mordecai bring to the quarterback room? What gives him a chance to be successful?

“Yeah, Tanner’s got an incredible arm. His arm’s talent, I put it probably close to the top. He can spin the football. You can tell he’s really put the work in the film room trying to learn the offense, get the verbiage down, call the plays. It’s a lot for him coming from college and a system, purely in the gun, I think in college for him. So calling a play in the huddle was different for him. But I think he’s done the work in the film room and you can see the arm talent that he has just when he lets go of the football, it comes off pretty well.”

There was a play where quarterbacks coach Brian Griesy was following him and chased him around the outside earlier. What was going on there?

“That’s our conditioning. Yeah, we don’t call a lot of QB draws. So anytime we give a handoff, we’re with the running backs and we carry out a boot fake, he’ll chase us down just so we get some conditioning in.”

With Brian Griese, does that bring a little more fun and interaction in the room?

“Yeah, you don’t love when he is chasing you down and he is making you run to the sideline, but he does bring the energy every day in practice. And I think as quarterbacks we kind of feed off that. You can get a feeling when coaches are tired. It’s the third day of practice in a row, but you really do never feel that with Griese. He’s always got energy. He’s always getting us hyped up before practice to get us ready to go and it starts with that, getting us to run and get going.”

You re-signed fairly quickly here. Did you have at least some confidence or feeling that you’d have be able to compete for a backup job this year?

“I’d hope so. Part of signing back as quick as I did, I wanted an opportunity to have a chance at the two, knowing full well they could bring someone in and have me compete for it. And I think me and Josh have had a pretty good competition going so far. I think we push each other every day on the practice field and really as a QB group as a whole. We’re out there all to make each other better, includes Brock, includes Tanner. We’re all pushing to make the right play, make the right throw. There’s no animosity towards each other at all like we want to see everyone succeed and make everyone around us better.”