http://www.49ers.com/video/videos/Rookie...73aa755233

Just a sign of things to come.

Nice!

Nice article on Espn about his practice. http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogp...m%2F%22%7D

Quote:49ers camp report: Jimmie Ward shines
July, 24, 2014
JUL 24
10:45
PM ET
By Bill Williamson | ESPN.com

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jimmie Ward didn't waste any time making his presence felt as a San Francisco 49er.

The 49ers' first-round pick intercepted a pass from standout quarterback Colin Kaepernick on the third play of 7-on-7 scrimmage in the team's first practice Thursday. Ward took a tipped ball easily into his hands.

"If I keep making plays like that I will be seen (by the coaches,)" Ward said after practice.

He already has been. Earlier Thursday, 49ers' coach Jim Harbaugh said this of Ward: "Good player, good football player. Lots of things that we saw on tape."

One of the reasons why the 49ers took Ward with the No. 30 overall pick was his playmaking ability. It had to be encouraging to the coaches and front office that the kid was in the right place so early in his first practice.

Ward's strong first impression is also important because he missed much of the offseason work with a broken foot he suffered while preparing for the draft. Ward seems like a humble kid, who is hungry to learn. He seems like a player who knows he belongs where he is. Thursday's events didn't hurt his confidence.

He is just a playmaker. Harbaugh will be happy with him.

Awesome! That is the Jimmie we know & love!

Not a bad first day for the San Francisco 49ers first-round draft pick.

About an hour or so into his first on-field work of the summer at training camp, Jimmie Ward showed exactly why he was the 30th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Ward, who had missed OTAs and minicamps due to a foot fracture, saw an opportunity in a 7-on-7 passing drill and seized it immediately when a deflected pass landed nearby.

A Colin Kaepernick throw bounced off the hands of wide receiver Chuck Jacobs and stayed in the air long enough for Ward to swoop in for an impressive diving interception.

Ward described it this way to reporters after practice: “I was in nickel (coverage), and I had inside help. I saw the linebacker take the number two (wide receiver). It was a double-slant. (Cornerback) Chris Cook made a good play on the ball, and it was tipped, and I dove and caught it.”


Defensive Play of the Day

Ward’s interception was surely a memorable moment for his first ever training camp practice. But the Northern Illinois product got his day started with solid reps in one-on-one drills against San Francisco’s deep group of receivers.
View Gallery | 59 Photos
49ers Report for Training Camp


Ward showed no fear against the likes of Michael Crabtree and Stevie Johnson. When it was the rookie’s turn to face Johnson, Ward quickly beat the veteran receiver to the inside and broke up a slant pass thrown by Kaepernick.

The pass breakup was a prelude to the impressive interception.

“It was a good first day," Ward said. "I’m with the twos, so I’m just trying to fit in any way I can.”

http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/Jimm...38d449f84e

Don't try Jimmie with a sorry receiver like Crabtree!

A few practices into Jimmie Ward's career at Northern Illinois, Huskies head coach Jerry Kill realized the lightly recruited defensive back was not to be taken lightly.

"When he came in as a freshman it didn't take long to see, 'Geez, he's pretty damn good,' " said Kill, now at Minnesota. "And I think we all thought that if he put weight on, with the way he ran, he would get an opportunity to play at the next level."

Four years later, Ward is at the next level.

And history could be repeating itself.

Two training-camp practices into his NFL career, the 49ers' first-round pick has looked - to borrow from Kill - pretty damn good.

On Thursday, in one-on-one drills at the start of the noncontact practice, he debuted by reaching around wideout Stevie Johnson to bat down a quick slant. He later made a diving interception after cornerback Chris Cook deflected an over-the-middle pass from Colin Kaepernick.

He was fast, active and his aggression made it easy to see how he developed a reputation as a strong hitter at Northern Illinois despite his unimposing 5-foot-10, 193-pound frame.

Ward didn't participate in the offseason program after undergoing foot surgery in March, but his first NFL practice came last week when the rookies, quarterbacks and injured veterans reported. Still, many of his new teammates hadn't seen the cornerback in action until Thursday.

First impressions? Safety Antoine Bethea, an eight-year veteran, said Ward's play inspired some chatter.

"Like a lot of guys said on the sideline, he's always around the ball," Bethea said. "That's one thing you see in film of him in college, (he's) making plays. And yesterday making a good interception."

Said Ward of his pick: "If I keep making plays like that I'll be seen and, hopefully, I'll get some playing time."

Ward has taken some snaps at safety in his first two practices, but the 49ers drafted him to fill an immediate need at slot cornerback, a spot handled since 2011 by now-Raiders cornerback Carlos Rogers.

In June, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Ward "wouldn't look good early" in training camp because he was sidelined during the spring. Ward is still playing catch-up, but Fangio has been encouraged by his confidence and commitment.

"I like him mentally," Fangio said. "I think he's confident without being cocky or arrogant. I think he knows he's got a daunting task ahead of him, that he's been put behind the eight ball with no offseason work.

"I think he's ready to work. I think he's very coachable. He's ready to fight through the growing pains. I think everything about him emotionally and mentally will end up being on the plus side of his ledger."

Ward's first practice also included some of those growing pains. On two occasions he covered physical wide receiver Anquan Boldin, an 11-year veteran who routinely gives smaller cornerbacks the rag-doll treatment. Ward experienced that firsthand.

"He gave me a good swim move," Ward said, laughing. "He put his strength on display. So I know how to play him tomorrow."

Despite his non-BCS school background, the NFL stage doesn't appear to be too big for Ward, who was stunned in high school when he only received one Division I offer.

Now, after starring in college, he believes he can do the same with the 49ers - just as soon he masters the defense.

"I would say I was (nervous) more about the things I need to know and what I have to do," Ward said Thursday. "But football comes easy. ... It's really just trying to learn a new playbook."

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch

http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/49er...ter-mobile

Jimmie on Boldin