New San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo reported to the team's facility early on Wednesday morning to get to work on learning his new complicated offense. The 49ers have their first of three full practices this week scheduled for 1:40 p.m. Before getting to work, Garoppolo took some time out of his morning to call into KNBR for his first radio interview with the 49ers' flagship radio station.
Garoppolo, who first met with Bay Area media on Tuesday shortly after getting off of an airplane from the Boston area, reiterated how excited he is to be with the 49ers.
"I was eager for it to happen, is a good way to put it," Garoppolo said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "I had a great time in New England. I enjoyed my time there and I'm thankful for it but we play this game to go out and compete on Sundays, and that's what I'm here to do. Whatever I can do to help the team win and get some Ws, that's what I'm here to do."
Below are seven things we learned during the Garoppolo interview.
New territory
Other than during trips with his New England teammates for games, Garoppolo had never been to northern California.
"In the offseason, I always go down to Carson, California, right outside LA," Garoppolo said. "I train there but I've never actually been to northern California, so this is a first for me."
What was the first impression of his new home?
"I like it," Garoppolo said. "The weather is a lot nicer than Chicago and New England, that's for sure. That's a big step up, but I haven't really had a chance to get out or anything yet so we'll have to experience that as we go."
49ers playbook
Garoppolo has an extensive amount of work ahead of him. He is coming into a complicated offense in the middle of the season and has a lot of catching up to do. The first item on a long checklist is familiarizing himself with head coach Kyle Shanahan's playbook.
"Got a couple of hours of sleep off the get-go and then just kind of got in the playbook after that," Garoppolo said. "It's a tough thing picking up a new offense mid-season like this so I'm just trying to get in as much time as I can with it."
The 49ers sent their new quarterback the playbook via an iPad once the trade had completed and he started digging in learning his new offense. What does he think of Shanahan's playbook?
"It's exciting," Garoppolo said. "It really is. It's different than what I came from, just the verbiage. I've been telling people it's kind of like learning a new language, but I'm excited about it. It's going to be a little difficult to pick up, but we'll get it going."
A familiar face
Garoppolo, who was at the 49ers facility early on Wednesday morning, had already run into a familiar face among his new teammates. Linebacker Dekoda Watson, who was signed by the 49ers on March 17, played for the Patriots during the 2015 season.
"You hear about guys and you know their names, but I don't think I've ever personally met any of them (other than Watson)," Garoppolo said.
Garoppolo has likely started the process of getting to know his teammates leading up to his first practice with the team.
Getting his jersey number
On Tuesday, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne announced via Twitter that he is switching from number 10 to 84. The move was apparently due to the arrival of Garoppolo, who has worn the number 10 since high school. Were there any negotiations involved to acquire the number from the 49ers undrafted rookie receiver?
"I can't tell you guys that," Garoppolo said. Apparently, the terms for the acquisition of the number will remain undisclosed.
College options were limited coming out of high school
Garoppolo played college football at Eastern Illinois and wasn't a highly recruited out of high school because he didn't play quarterback for the majority of his time at Rolling Meadows. How many college options did he have?
"They were pretty limited," Garoppolo said. "I played linebacker up until my junior year and then our quarterback got hurt and I kind of got thrust into the situation. So didn't have a lot of offers. I think I had three DI-AA offers and Eastern Illinois was one of them, and it worked out pretty well."
Former NFL quarterback Tony Romo, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, and former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan, who is the father of the 49ers' current head coach, all had ties to Eastern Illinois. That played a part in Garoppolo's decision to play college football there.
"They do have a rich history," Garoppolo continued. "It's just -- it's limited."
Garoppolo wasn't surprised by the trade
The NFL and its fans were shocked by the news of the Garoppolo trade. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, all of the trade discussions for the quarterback took place on Monday. Did Garoppolo see any signs that his time in New England was nearing an end?
"Not that I was expecting it or wasn't expecting it, but I wasn't very surprised when it happened," Garoppolo said.
What were Garoppolo's first thoughts when he heard the 49ers had traded for him? "Just the rich history," he said. "I was excited to get here. I mean, get on a plane and everything -- I couldn't wait for it. Hopefully, good things will come."
One R, two Ps
Has anyone ever spelled Garoppolo's name correctly on the first try? "They've gotten close," he said. "You know, the 49ers were probably the first ones when they gave me the jersey, that had right spelling on it. That was pretty exciting."
You can listen to the entire interview with Garoppolo below.
