First, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threaded a sideline pass Wednesday to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, who made the diving snag despite being blanketed in coverage by cornerback K’Waun Williams. A perfect throw.
Five snaps later, rookie QB Trey Lance rolled left, planted and flicked a 50-yard touchdown dart to wideout Deebo Samuel, who breezed past cornerback Dontae Johnson. Samuel didn’t break stride.
Next, Garoppolo, rolling to his left, torqued his body and delivered a downfield toss that floated over cornerback Tim Harris’ fingertips and into the arms of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The reaction from several teammates: “Ooooh.”
Finally, Lance, in what appeared to be a curious decision, looked deep down the left sideline to tight end George Kittle, who was stopping his route and had safety Kai Nacua parked directly in front of him. Kittle leaped over Nacua to grab the 30-yard pass, which was placed in the only spot Kittle could have made the catch.
The takeaway after Garoppolo and Lance spent the first practice of training camp making whoa throws: This could be a classic QB competition.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan declared Tuesday that Garoppolo was the No. 1 and there wasn’t an open competition “right now.” But Lance, who signed his four-year, $34.1 million rookie contract about two hours before Wednesday’s practice, appears poised to force the issue. And Garoppolo looks determined to force the ultra-gifted 21-year-old to take a redshirt season.
In other words: Get your popcorn ready.
“Jimmy looked great,” Samuel said. “Trey looked great, as well.”
Garoppolo completed 9 of 11 passes in team drills and 7-on-7 work. Lance was 8-for-10.
“On Day 1, what kind of stood out to me is they both made off-schedule plays,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “And in today’s NFL, in order to be a really elite or successful quarterback, you have to be able to make off-schedule plays, and both of them did that.”
As for Shanahan, he poked fun at the media’s instant analysis after one non-padded practice, saying, “Yeah, we’ll crown everyone today, before I even see the film and after five reps.” However, he acknowledged his top two QBs had strong summer debuts.
“I was impressed with both of them in OTAs,” Shanahan said. “I’ve only been around them one practice now, but they seemed sharp today and it was good.”
After his good performance, Garoppolo, known as a pleasantly bland interview subject, used some bad language in a relatively loose session with reporters. Discussing last year’s ankle injury, he said all players deal with “s— like that.” Asked for his early impressions of Sanu, he offered, “He’s looking really f—ing good, man,” before adding: “Excuse the language.”
San Francisco 49ers' Trey Lance (5) and Jimmy Garoppolo (10) during training camp at Levi's Stadium practice field in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
Scott Strazzante / The ChronicleGaroppolo doesn’t just sound different.
“He came back to OTAs looking like a different guy,” Samuel said. “Just really locked in and focused on things that he needs to work on. And he kind of showed today … he’s just more locked in. More focused on details. He has more energy in the huddle.”
Juszczyk noted Garoppolo has never lacked for confidence. And Juszczyk indicated the current situation, with the 49ers investing four draft picks in Lance to eventually replace Garoppolo, hasn’t appeared to faze the starter.
“That could shake a lot of people,” Juszczyk said. “But if it has, we haven’t noticed it. Jimmy is Jimmy, and he has the same confidence that he’s had since Day 1. And even more so.”
Lance began Wednesday’s session with a high throw — the same accuracy issue he had during spring practices — that Aiyuk couldn’t corral in traffic. But that was Lance’s lone notable blemish. He later found Aiyuk on a deep crossing route with a rocket that best showcased his arm strength.
Juszczyk, 30, an eight-year veteran, counseled Lance in the spring not to worry about being feeling overwhelmed by the amount of X’s-and-O’s he needed to learn, particularly given Shanahan’s dense playbook. Juszczyk said rookies make a big mental leap in the weeks between the end of OTAs and start of training camp.
“I feel like I saw a little bit of that from him today,” Juszczyk said. “Things start to become a little bit second nature once you can get away from it and come back.”
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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A crackling competition? 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance make dazzling camp debuts - San Francisco Chronicle
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