Jason Hill's road to 49ers 'A' list

<p>SANTA CLARA — Ninety minutes prior to kickoff is when each NFL team must submit their list of eight players declared “inactive” for the game.</p><p>Receiver Jason Hill was on that list, relegated to street clothes, in five of the 49ers’ first seven games of the season.</p><p>Through it all, he maintained his work habits and his focus during the week, even if he knew there was a strong chance he would not play.</p><p>“My focus hasn’t changed, but it’s been hard on my patience,” Hill said Tuesday. “It’s about being a professional and knowing it’s bigger than just here. It’s about other teams and what they’re going to look at when I’m on film.”</p><p>Hill was afforded the opportunity to suit up Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Now, the 49ers will open themselves to sharp criticism if Hill ever again is told he did not make the list of the team’s active 45 players.</p><p>The third-year receiver, a San Francisco native, entered late in the first half of Sunday’s game when aging Isaac Bruce slipped and rolled his ankle. (The injury was not significant enough to place Bruce on the injury report.)</p><p>Three plays later, Hill caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith for his first reception of the season. Hill caught four passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns in the 49ers’ 34-27 loss to the Titans.</p><p>While he languished as wide-receiver option No.6 behind Bruce, Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan, Arnaz Battle and Brandon Jones, Hill said what kept him going was that he knew if he got into a game the film would be watched high-ranking officials of all other 31 teams in the NFL.</p><p>“You never know,” Hill said. “I might not have played this past week. Ike might not have gone down. You just never know. That’s why I stay focused. I don’t want to put anything on film that I’m not proud of.”</p><p>In the two games Hill played earlier this season, his role was extensively on special teams. His hustle play on a muffed punt against the Rams led directly to rookie Scott McKillop’s fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown.</p><p>Last week, coach Mike Singletary praised Hill for his special-teams work on the scout team going up against gunner Tarell Brown.</p><p>“I’m a wide receiver,” Hill said. “I like to catch balls. I tackle and do all that other stuff when I have to. But I’m a wide receiver.”</p><p>Hill was the 49ers’ third-round 2007 draft pick from Washington State. He caught just one pass as a rookie before emerging as the No.3 wideout in the second half of last season after an injury to Battle. Hill finished the season with 30 receptions for 317 yards.</p><p>But Hill did not carry over any momentum from a year ago. He sustained a hamstring strain during the 49ers’ offseason program, and he was unable to get on the practice field when new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye installed his offense.</p><p>He was pushed far down the depth chart during the exhibition season and thought he would get released when the 49ers made their final cuts. But the 49ers kept him, and Hill is now contributing.</p><p>“He has been practicing well since his hamstring injury and making progress,” Raye said. “That coupled with the fact that Isaac had a tender ankle and rolled his ankle, tweaked it a little bit.</p><p>“So we were down in numbers in the three-wide package and Jason was the next guy up. We were fortunate that we had him up for the game because he was the guy who had gotten the work as all three backups going into the game. It turned out that he was able to play and he made some plays for us.”</p><p>The 49ers now have a quick turnaround game Thursday. It would seem logical that Hill, 24, would permanently replace Bruce, a 16-year veteran and likely future Hall of Famer who does not figure to return in 2010.</p><p>But Hill is not taking anything for granted.</p><p>“We’ll see,” Hill said. “We’ll see how practice goes and I’ll get a clear picture then. I just have to be ready.”</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at matt.maiocco@</p><p>pressdemocrat.com</p>