College teammates Matt Breida, Jerick McKinnon reunited in 49ers' backfield

SANTA CLARA - Running Back A plays for the 49ers.

Running Back B plays for the 49ers, too.

Running Back A is 5-foot-9, 205 lbs.

Running Back B is 5-foot-9, 200 lbs.

Running Back A runs a 4.41 40-yard dash.

Running Back B runs a 4.39.

Running Back A went to Georgia Southern from 2010 to 2013.

Running Back B went to Georgia Southern, too, from 2013 to 2016. They overlapped for one season.

Running Back A and Running Back B seem interchangeable, like clones. They will share playing time and split carries for the 49ers this season. Fans might struggle telling them apart. But in many ways, they’re total opposites. Their styles complement each other, and have since college. And the 49ers will use them differently.

Running Back A is Jerick McKinnon, in his fifth season. The 49ers signed him as a free agent after he played four seasons in Minnesota. And Running Back B is second-year man Matt Breida. They played in the same triple-option offense at Georgia Southern, but did not play the same position. McKinnon was a quarterback. Breida was a fullback, also called the “dive back.” Their jobs were different.

“Midway through my freshman season, they actually put Jerick at my position, because we had injuries,” Breida said. “So he was able to help me at my position, because he had been in the offense so long. That helped me a lot, just having him as a mentor.”

They were friends then and continue to be friends now.

McKinnon rarely threw a pass in college. In a triple-option offense, both the quarterback and dive back run the ball a ton, but the types of runs are distinct for each position. Breida was the inside runner. McKinnon was the outside runner. Worlds apart.

Here’s what the triple option looks like:

The quarterback lines up under center or in the shotgun. The dive back lines up behind him. Two wing players line up in the backfield behind the offensive tackles.

The center snaps the ball to the quarterback, who takes one step backward, turns perpendicular to the line of scrimmage and extends the ball away from his body. He can either hand the ball to the dive back - that’s option No. 1 -or pull the ball away from the dive back, keep it and run himself. That’s option No. 2.

“The dive back hits it between the tackles,” said McKinnon, the quarterback. “The quarterback, once he pulls it, he runs outside. There’s a big hole right there. You’ve got all this space.”

As the quarterback runs around the edge of the formation, the dive back becomes his lead blocker. If the defense converges on the quarterback, he can pitch the ball to a wing player. That’s option No. 3.

As a former quarterback in a triple-option offense, McKinnon is a natural runner outside the tackles. Running between them is new to him. Playing running back is even newer.

“I really had to learn about the position in general,” McKinnon said. “Coming into the league, just reading the gaps and pressing the gaps in between the tackles was something I had to get used to. That’s something I worked hard to develop, because that wasn’t something I did in college. Throughout my whole life, I have been in space. If I get you in space, you’re in my house now. You’re in trouble.”

When the 49ers want to run the ball outside the tackles this season, or throw to a running back, McKinnon is their man. He’s a good receiver, full of finesse. When they want to run the ball up the middle on first-and-10, or pound it up the gut on third-and-1, it’s Breida all the way.

“I prefer to run inside than I do outside,” Breida said. “If you’re a running back, you’ve got to be able to run between the tackles. You can’t just run outside all the time, especially at this level. I was taught that very young. The quickest way to the end zone is north and south. Don’t dance. I know some guys don’t prefer that, but I do. I don’t mind the physical part of the game. That’s why I started playing it when I was younger. Because of the physical part.”

Breida still has the mentality of a dive back. It’s ingrained in him. Playing that position in college made him who he is. “It taught me to be gritty,” Breida said. “You’ve got to do blocks you don’t want to do - linebackers, defensive linemen. It just taught you to be tough.”

McKinnon admires those qualities in Breida. “He has an ability to play bigger than his actual size,” McKinnon said. “That’s one thing that stuck out to me. He doesn’t hesitate when he makes that cut. You’ve got to love that. When you see a player like that, you know he’s got the confidence. And you know when a guy has the confidence, that’s all he needs.”

McKinnon has a different type of confidence he picked up from his time playing quarterback at Georgia Southern. “When I’m in the room, I’m not just looking at the running back spot,” he said. “I want to know everything, like a quarterback. When I got here, Coach Shanahan said, ‘You’ve got to learn concepts.’ So when we go over the plays, I try to learn the other positions, too.”

Running Back A sees the big picture.

Running Back B sees a little hole and hits it like a sledgehammer.

Two players on the opposite ends of the running back spectrum. Two sides of the coin. Two threats. Pick your poison.