Under-the-radar star? 49ers’ top receiver finally catching attention

LAS VEGAS – For most of one week in the fall of 2017, Brandon Aiyuk boycotted speaking to his head coach. Ben Noonan, the leader of the football team at Sierra College in Rocklin, California, took his Division I-bound, star receiver off special teams going into a game against Santa Rosa Junior College.

Aiyuk was nonplussed.

Noonan’s reasoning, he said, was that Aiyuk had carried, caught and corralled enough for the Wolverines that season already. The coach wanted to spare Aiyuk the additional hits that came with kickoff and punt returns.

Finally, Aiyuk broke his silence.

“He said, ‘Coach, I’ll change the game on the first kick return. I’ll change the game on the first punt return,’” Noonan told USA TODAY Sports.

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Noonan stared at Aiyuk, who was adamant.

“And thank God I listened to him,” Noonan said.

True to his word, Aiyuk took a kickoff to the house. He had a pair of punt returns for touchdowns, but both were negated by penalties. And for good measure, Aiyuk had two receiving scores.

More than six years since that prophetic performance, Aiyuk – a Reno, Nevada, native – is back in his home state as the leading receiver of the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, who will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58 Sunday.

With stars on offense such as running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, left tackle Trent Williams and fellow wideout Deebo Samuel, credit for the Niners’ success this year as an efficient and explosive team hasn’t been widely given to one of the figures largely responsible for the unit’s output: Aiyuk.

“I definitely think Brandon don’t get enough credit for all the things he’s done since he’s been in the league,” Samuel said.

From scrutinized to prized

Aiyuk finished seventh in the NFL in receiving yards (1,342) during the 2023 regular season, a career best by more than 300 yards. His 17.9 yards per reception was also tops of his four-year career, and he scored seven touchdowns.

Demonstrable improvement can be difficult to prove in a wide receiver, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said in October, because a lot depends on their teammates: blocking by the offensive line, the proper routes from other receivers and favorable targets from the quarterback.

“It’s really cool when (Aiyuk) gets rewarded,” Shanahan said.

During the 2021 season, the relationship between Shanahan and Aiyuk made headlines in the receiver’s second season. Shanahan expressed publicly that he wanted more consistency from the 2020 first-round pick.  

“He was never in anyone’s doghouse,” Shanahan said. “We were just coaching him.”

Noonan said that Aiyuk has never said a bad thing about his time in San Francisco.

“I really think that was blown out of proportion. It’s hard for me to believe he wasn’t practicing up to their standard,” Noonan said.  

Talking about Aiyuk makes Noonan remember how consistent his former player was in practices at Sierra. He loved it, Noonan said. Aiyuk never missed one in two years despite the number of touches he received.

Aiyuk did not start the first three games of his freshman season. But by the fourth game, Noonan couldn’t take him off the field.

“When he wasn’t a starter, he practiced the same way he did when he was,” Noonan said.

Aiyuk also wasn’t the type of player to walk off the field once practice ended. He usually grabbed the quarterback for a dozen back-shoulder fades or another route that may not have been clicking during reps.

“That’s the one thing I always remember about him,” Noonan said.

What makes Brandon Aiyuk so good?

Noonan introduced Aiyuk and Draysean Hudson on the first day the two receivers reported for training camp at Sierra. To this day, they remain close friends.

“You know how dudes do,” Hudson told USA TODAY Sports about their first encounter, “just play fighting and wrestling and stuff.”

From then, Hudson has had a front row to Aiyuk’s football progression. Hudson said, at first, Aiyuk relied on his raw talent, which still provided plenty of “wow” plays. The ability always existed. Refinement was necessary.

“I just feel like it needed to get cleaned up and everything like that,” Hudson said.

Noonan coaches the quarterbacks at Sierra but is a former receiver and considers himself a difficult grader of the position. Aiyuk’s body control is unique. He also has a large catch radius thanks to an 80-inch wingspan – much bigger than what a 6-foot, 200-pound frame would typically provide. And his ability to catch the ball in traffic “sets him apart.”

Following his Sierra days, Aiyuk played his junior and senior seasons at Arizona State. He was first-team All-Pac 12 as a receiver and returner in 2019.

Niners cornerback Charvarius Ward rattled off a lengthy list of why Aiyuk has become a league-wide threat.

“He got a great release. Great routes. Great at the catch point. Great blocker. Great with the ball in his hands. He can do it all, man. He can do it all,” Ward said.

Hudson said Aiyuk doesn’t become caught up in individual statistics or accomplishments. When they’re speaking, Aiyuk is constantly talking about the run game. But that speaks to what type of player Aiyuk has been for San Francisco.

“Whatever it takes to win,” Hudson said. “He understands everyone has a role on the team.”

“It’s bigger to him. I feel like he understands that. That’s how he plays. And that’s why good things happen to him, like the season he just had.”

‘So many superstars’ and a young family man

Now in their mid-20s, Hudson, Aiyuk and the rest of their tight-knit crew can be found do the same as they were at 18: kicking it at someone’s house. Even after the Niners defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFC championship game, they stayed in.

“We can enjoy each other’s company,” Hudson said. “We don’t need to go out, party.”

Aiyuk is low-key like that. In the media, that can come across differently, Hudson said, and he can be portrayed as standoffish. That’s the wrong viewpoint, according to his friend.

“He’s a chill dude – good family dude,” Hudson said.

Aiyuk has a toddler son, Braylon, and Noonan said he is equally invested in being a father as he is being a football player.

“I’m proud of the family man he’s (become). … As quiet as he is, he’s got an incredible personality once you get to know him,” Noonan said. “He’s never really had a lot of media attention. And that can happen when you got so many superstars with the 49ers.”