Now both hope to take the success they had in high school, where they just recently they won the 1A championship team, south to Northwestern State.

Nobody sported a bushy white beard and no children sat in anyone’s lap, but nine members of the team still made plenty of children’s holiday wishes come true when they participated in the annual Shop with a Player presented by Visa community event.

“It’s all about putting a smile on these kids’ faces,” fullback Moran Norris said. “We’re just out here to make their day.”

And judging by the kids’ reaction when they met the players, all 30 of them had more than their days made.

Along with Norris, tight end Vernon Davis, wide receiver Josh Morgan, cornerback Shawntae Spencer, linebackers Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson, tackles Joe Staley and Tony Pashos, and defensive tackle Demetric Evans all spent several hours at the Target in Foster City with youth from the Samaritan House.

The Samaritan House is a non-profit organization that provides services to help meet the daily needs of more than 12,000 low-income people within San Mateo County.

On Tuesday, each child was provided with a $250 gift card courtesy of Visa to spend on holiday gifts for themselves and their families.

“We’re just out here having a great time with these kids and I can tell they are having fun too,” Morgan said. “It is the holiday season and the holidays are all about the kids, but I made sure they bought stuff for their families first before they got stuff for themselves. I’m reminding them how important family is.”

After taking care of their families, some of the most sought-after items were in the electronics section. Many of the children left the store with Nintendo Wiis, Play Station Portables and games for their new consoles.

However, at least one of the 49ers tried to teach his kids how to conserve the money on their gift cards.

“I told them they need to slow down and get a lot of little things so that gift card lasts longer,” Davis said. “I’m trying to teach them how to budget, but they’re not listening to me.”

Even though Davis’ attempts to teach financial planning failed, the kids left the store with much more than video games. Every shopping cart was filled with clothes, shoes, board games, action figures, footballs, small electronics, skateboards and countless other items.

The kids picked out all of their own items, and it was probably for the best since the players admittedly wouldn’t have picked out the best gifts themselves.

“I wanted that drum set over there, but none of them wanted it,” Haralson said. “Then I liked this Transformer over here, but they looked at me like I was crazy when I held it up. I guess I don’t know what’s hot.”

As always, Staley was the loudest person in the room as he had his group of kids singing holiday songs throughout the store. But the songs weren’t the only reason Staley’s group was so happy.

Staley told his kids to get everything on their lists and that he would pay for the difference, no matter how far they went over their budget.

“It’s the holidays and these kids are so happy so I didn’t want them to have to be cut off at a certain price,” Staley said. “I told them just to get it all and I’d take care of them.”

And Staley wasn’t the only player who gave a little extra.

After Spencer’s kids ran out of money on their gift cards, he told them each to get one more item that he would pay for himself.

The 49ers generosity even inspired other Target shoppers as one woman bought three children Wii controllers and another handed a player a $50 gift card to spend on the kids.

“It is just great to get in the holiday spirit and help these kids out,” Pashos said. “As a team, we always try to give back to the community, especially this time of year.”

Tuesday marked the third-straight year that Visa sponsored the Shop with a Player program. The youth also received a CD of Visa’ Financial Football computer game, which tests students’ fiscal knowledge by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions.

I’ve played up in Seattle a couple of times when I was with the Redskins, twice in the playoffs and once in the regular season. We lost twice in the playoffs and man; those are some tough memories for me. I don’t even like talking about it because we thought we could go all the way in those years.

One year, we beat Tampa Bay in Tampa in the first round of the playoffs and then we went into Seattle and lost. We went back there in ’07 and lost in the playoffs too. I don’t have a lot of great memories of playing there but hopefully we can start some this Sunday.

It’s up there with the loudest stadiums in the NFL, but it all depends on what time of the year it is if you really want to pick out which stadium is the loudest. Plus, you have to account for whether or not the team is in the playoff hunt or not – that always increases noise and excitement in the stadium. I haven’t played in Seattle since we lost in the playoffs and they made a coaching change, but back then they were rolling with Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander. That was a loud place to play.

But really, the fans are only as loud as the score dictates.

If you start strong it can take some of the momentum away from the fans. One thing I remember about Qwest Field is how great of a sound system they have there. At the end of the day, the crowd noise is more for our offense to worry about. Seattle’s fans will be quieter when their offense is on the field which isn’t as difficult on our defensive guys.

Since the Seahawks lost veteran left tackle Walter Jones, they’ve been shuffling guys around looking to find their best five linemen. They’re looking for the chemistry there, but I think they’ve settled in on some guys and they got the running game going a little bit last week. But we’re planning on going up there and getting after them to start, so they can’t get that ground game going again.

We had a total team effort by our defense last week. Our coverage was excellent and it allowed us to bring pressure up front. And we picked up six sacks and forced two fumbles which is always nice for a defense to do. Overall, it was a great team effort against Jacksonville.

Anytime your offense is moving the ball, controlling the clock and putting up points on the board it gives the defense more confidence. In that situation, you can control the run and they have to change their game plan and try to throw it across the field to get back into the game. We got after them a little bit and were able to have some fun out there.

The most fun is when it’s happening on the field at that moment in time.

When you look at it on film on Monday, you have to look at with some perspective. It was a good game, but at the end of the day we have a new challenge going on the road to face Seattle. You have to enjoy it while you’re in the game – while you’re in the moment.

I had a half sack in the game, shared with Patrick Willis and it was nice to get that. But really I think I had my first sack against Green Bay – I just wasn’t credited for it. But it’s ok, I’m just happy when we get to the quarterback. We have guys like Justin Smith and Ray McDonald who can get pressure and have been doing a great job all year. I just want to get in that pack with those guys and help the defensive line as much as possible.

With all of the sacks, somehow I missed Takeo Spikes’ sack celebration dance. I heard it was nice though. I didn’t even get to see it or see a replay of it yet! But that’s what it’s all about. You have to get that energy going on the field. I’m trying to convince Ray he needs to do something after he makes a play – other than just looking back at the sideline.

Just when I said that, he just told me I need to do something with my old football cleats – but I like the shoes I have. It’s not about the fashion; I’m past that stage in my life. It’s about comfort and what gets it done. Plus, I don’t have beat up feet like half of these guys that have lockers by me. To me, there’s no excuse for you not to take care of your feet.

Off the field, I’ve just been focused on resting and relaxing back at my apartment. Every time I’ve ever made the playoffs, it was in November and December when you make your run – so we’re all getting ready to play our best football. We all want to be a part of that, so we’re making sure our bodies are good to go.

When I leave the facility every day, there isn’t much for me to do. By the time I get home it’s close to seven at night. When I get home I try to unwind a little, eat something and call my wife. By then, it’s time to go to bed. One thing I’ve been doing is cook a little bit at home. But nothing major. I just make salmon or a turkey burger here and there. I’m not a chef or anything now. I didn’t go to culinary school, but I do what I have to do to get by.

That’s another reason why I’m looking forward to seeing my wife again around Christmas time. It was tough not having her cooking on Thanksgiving. I went to Justin Smith’s house to celebrate and it was a lot of fun. Justin deep fried the turkey and I was really impressed. It was my first Thanksgiving in California and I think they did a good job with the meal. It was on point. I appreciated the fact that he invited me over; he’s going to have a tough time getting rid of me now.

But in all honesty, at the end of the day, there’s nothing like being with your family. I’m looking forward to having my wife out here for Christmas. All I want this year is to make the playoffs. I think that would be the best Holiday present of all.

It was great to win our first game out in Arizona. We played hard the whole way on both sides of the ball and it was great to see our hard work in training camp pay off. I’ve never been to that stadium either, so it was nice to be 1-0 in Arizona too.

I think our defense took a lot of criticism in the preseason, but when it came time for the big game, we came through when it mattered most. We have another big divisional game this week and it’s our home opener, so it’s a big game for us.

I know we get a lot of work out on the practice field, but during the season, I run for 30 minutes on the treadmill every day after practice. Call me crazy, but I just try to get that routine down and so I’m in the best shape. Especially with my legs, I have to get my legs ready to last for a long season.

As a team, we all got in really good shape from Coach Singletary’s training camp. The camp was intense and it brought out the best in us. It was fun but it was hard. The guys made it a lot easier with the camaraderie. Just going at it every day and working together brought us together.

We would find stuff on the bright side to get us through. We always do one-on-ones but Singletary added a little more intensity with the nutcracker drills. It’s one of those drills where you’re just trying to win. I went up against Barry Sims and Joe Staley and they were good matchups.

As I’m writing this, Kentwan Balmer keeps interrupting me. So I figured I’d find a way to get him in this blog.

“Hey Balmer what’s up? What time do you want to get a haircut later?”

Kentwan: “I can’t man, I got to make it home.”

“Man, don’t even worry about it. I can’t ever depend on you.”

Kentwan: “Man, what are you talking about?”

“You told me you’d go with me to get a haircut later!”

Kentwan: “What? I said I could go around eight. What you going to be doing later? You won?t be doing much later anyway!”

“At eight o’clock, I’ll call you man. Because you never call your boy!”

Sorry about that, where was I?

Well, I wanted to get a haircut because it was my birthday recently and I wanted to look nice for my birthday dinner with my wife. She just came into town to celebrate it with me which was nice. I turned the big 3-0. Hopefully Balmer will take me out to dinner too! That’s the least he could do.

We have three other guys on the team that I know of who have birthdays in September. Ray McDonald, mine, Isaac Bruce and Justin Smith all have birthdays this month. I think it’s funny because we all have similar personalities. As d-linemen, we all like to have fun together, laugh and joke around.

Every week I feel like I’m getting better in our 3-4 scheme. The key to going to a new defense is getting as many practice reps as you can because practice is pretty much the hard part. When you get in the game, you should already have a concept of how you are going to play certain plays based on the offense. I just try and get as many practice reps that I can. I also try and learn from the guys that were here last year by watching them play their positions.

Evans chose to pack his bags and move out to the West Coast after playing his first seven years of his career in the NFC East division. The defensive end originally went undrafted out of the University of Georgia, then was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys in 2001. After a two-year stint there, Evans has spent the past five years playing for the Washington Redskins. In seven years, he has totaled 147 tackles, 13 sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Now with the 49ers, Evans will not only be changing coasts, he will be changing defensive schemes too. In the past, Evans has only played in a 4-3 defensive scheme. But, in San Francisco he will be transitioning to the 49ers 3-4 defense.

Credit defensive coordinator Greg Manusky for selling Evans on why he should join the team and learn a different style of play.

“[Manusky] told me that the 3-4 they run is not the typical 3-4, where you are just holding blocks,” Evans said in an offseason interview with TV49. “They allow the d-linemen to get up the field and make plays.”

Evans feels that he and his teammates comprise an athletic group of 3-4 linemen, who will benefit from Manusky’s scheme. Evans’ own athleticism will be something he calls upon while transitioning to the 49ers defense.

“I like to get up the field and rush the passer,” the 6-4, 275-pound end said. “I like to make plays at the line of scrimmage. And whatever the defense calls for, just play within that play and let my ability show.”

As he prepares for his eighth training camp starting next week, it is very clear Evans knows what mentality to bring with him.

“In this game it doesn’t matter which team you play on, there is always competition. If you’re not competing you’re not trying to get a job,” Evans said. “I’m not sure what my role is right now. That is going to be determined when we get to training camp. I’m trying to make the adjustment as far as the 3-4, the terminology, the plays, and how the offense blocks that scheme.”

Evans was brought in to add depth and experience to the 49ers defensive line rotation. By adding him to the mix, the 49ers should see improved pass rush results this season. Evans points to the balance of an effective pass rush from the front seven and quality coverage from the secondary for either group to obtain success.

“This year I think we’re going to have a good combination of both and we’re going to do well. We’re just excited. We’ve got a lot of guys who have been working hard on their pass rush.”

However, Evans is quick to remind himself of the most important quality a good defense must have in order to dominate in the trenches.

“At the end of the day, to get a pass rush, you have to stop the run. That’s got to be the key.”

The entire 49ers defense will look to their coaching staff as motivators to improve from last season’s defensive rankings where they finished ranked 13th in the NFL in yards allowed from scrimmage. For Evans, that motivation will come from his energetic defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula.

“He’s a great coach,” Evans said of his new position coach. “He’s very energetic, very hands-on and detail-oriented. I think the thing I like the most about him is that he respects the players. He treats you like a man first because that’s what you are, before anything else.”

It is easy to see why Evans would admire those qualities in a position coach as he has a very engaging character himself.

Current fans of “The Meat Zone”, Evans’ blog featured on 49ers.com, have already come to know this by following his offseason updates.

“I really don’t play a lot of games out [West] and the fans are like, ‘Demetric Who?’” Evans joked. “[The blog] will be a good day-to-day insight on how things are going, how we are preparing for the preseason, and the things that we do before the game. It’s something I’m going to have fun with.”

In past editions of “The Meat Zone”, Evans commented on how his move across the country has left his wife, Dr. Aungel Latchley Evans, back in Washington D.C. as she finishes her residency.

“It’s been difficult because a lot of the time she’s on 24-hour call and sometimes you don’t even get to speak with her,” he said. “It’s been a transition we’ve worked though, but hopefully when she finishes up next year, she will come out and enjoy some of this California weather.”

Whenever Evans finds the time to speak with Aungel, he is careful not to dive too deep into conversation about his new climate.

“I don’t try to brag about it too much,” he said with a grin. “With her being in D.C., it’s not warm enough out there. I don’t try to rub it in her face.”

Besides weather, one additional change that has helped Evans acclimate to his new surroundings is the 49ers Faithful, who have already shown him a tremendous amount of backing.

“The community here has seemed very supportive. Seeing all the fans wanting you to sign autographs as you’re leaving the facility… I’m not used to that,” Evans revealed. “I see a lot of support here and I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like on gameday!”

Candlestick Park is where the 49ers Faithful will have a chance to see the results of Evans’ transition. Their first sneak peek into that transformation will be on Aug. 14 in the 2009 preseason opener when the 49ers host the Denver Broncos.

Before that, Evans will look to make his mark in training camp.

He, along with the rest of his teammates, had the month of July off heading in to camp. Despite the break, Evans was careful not to bombard his free time with activities as the veteran knew how vital it was to remain focused as he prepares another NFL season.

“I’m going to relax, train, and get ready for this long season. When training camp starts, your life belongs to the 49ers, period.”

Jokingly, Evans flirted with the idea of taking a vacation to an exotic location like Costa Rica, but quickly snapped back to reality after considering what sorts of adventures would accompany such a trip.

“See, I’m almost 300 pounds. I can’t be zip lining out there,” Evans teased. “What’s the weight limit? Because if I get up there thinking that I’m 300 pounds, something will happen!”

But with Evans safe and sound with his feet on the ground in San Francisco, the 49ers Faithful should be excited when their newest defensive linemen imposes his large athletic frame against opposing offensive linemen on Sundays.

My old school, Haynesville High had about 55 kids come out to the camp. They got to learn from me and four other NFL players who were at the camp as our coaches. I gave the campers 49ers t-shirts and after that, I’m pretty sure we just picked up 55 new fans. I’m thankful that Subway sponsored our lunch meals, giving the campers healthy food after we ran around in the hot sun.

It’s very hot in Louisiana right now. It’s about 105 degrees with the humidity! Coming from Cali where the temperature seemed to always be about 75 degrees – I’m missing the Bay Area! But Louisiana is where I’m from, so I’m used to the heat and so it wasn’t too bad. We just made sure to spread the camp activities early in the afternoon so the kids weren’t running around during the hottest part of the day. And we made sure the kids hydrated properly because it was so hot. But overall, the camp was a great success.

After my camp concluded, I took my mom and my wife to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans for the Fourth of July weekend. We went to a couple of concerts and had a couple of nice dinners together too. Mostly, we talked about how the camp and the silent auction went, while enjoying the entertainment.

The day before the Fourth, we went to see John Legend and Beyonce in concert. Both of them were amazing artists live.

On the Fourth, we ate at Emerald Laggase’s famous restaurant called “Commander’s Guard.”
Afterwards, I took them to see Anita Baker and Maxwell, who are two of the most talented soul singers alive. Baker, of course being a favorite of my mom’s and Maxwell is a singer from my generation.

I think I got whiplash from nodding the whole time during Anita Baker’s performance! Just kidding… But, she was a great performer.

I’m not doing any other traveling after my trip to New Orleans. I’m back home in Virginia relaxing and laying low at the moment. All of the physical contact and running that we’ll do in training camp takes a lot out of you, so it’s important to rest up until it’s time for me to report.

In the meantime, I’m going to help my little brother Justin look at colleges. He’s one of the top-rated defensive linemen in the state of Louisiana at my old high school, Haynesville High. I know I’ve mentioned him in my blog before, but he’s getting a bunch of scholarship offers in the mail right now. It’s an exciting time for him and I like being able to give advice. So far, he’s been offered by Nebraska, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Louisiana Tech, University of Louisiana Monroe and a few others.

All this talk of college football has me thinking about how that season is coming up pretty soon too. As an alum of the University of Georgia, I’m all about my Dawgs. But to be honest, I’m disappointed in them. We were ranked No. 1 last year nationally and struggled towards the end of the season and so who knows how we’ll finish this year.

Before I forget to mention it, I was trying to order my new 49ers jersey online in time for Father’s Day as a gift for my pops. I tried to order my jersey and they were sold out until the last week of July!

At first I was kind of bummed out, but I think that means fans are supporting me and I really appreciate that.

I’d like to finish up this blog entry by sending out my deepest sympathies to the family of Steve McNair.

The year he came out to the NFL, he was the top African-American selected at the quarterback position, No. 3 overall. It’s a tragedy what happened, but he’s leaving with a legacy.

I hate to see him leave his family and kids behind because he’s needed there. Sons and daughters need their fathers. I guarantee you there will be sadness throughout the league for awhile.

I played against him once, when I was with the Cowboys, in ’02. I haven’t played against him since. But my most memorable moment about Steve was in the Super Bowl when they played the Rams. On that last drive when he was scrambling and almost got sacked – man, that was a great play on his part. He came out of the Rams pressure to complete the pass and keep the drive going.

Of course, you always hear about how he played with injuries to his ribs, his shoulder, his elbow or his ankle and still go out there and light it up. It just goes to show without saying it, he was tough. Steve McNair will be severely missed.

Thanks for reading my latest blog, catch everyone out at training camp soon.

I have a set of clubs back home in Virginia that a friend of mine gave me. I was lucky that he was left-handed like myself or I wouldn’t have gotten hooked up. But I didn’t bring them out West and so I thought buying a new set would be a good opportunity to get the perfect set of clubs that go with my swing and are long enough for me to use. Most golf shops don’t have clubs made for guys who are 6-4. So Nike has a professional club-fitter I’m going to see and have him analyze my swing and make sure I have the proper equipment. Hopefully with a new set of clubs it will help me pick the game up faster. I hear Jay Moore, one of our outside linebackers is a big golfer and he takes guys out on the course with him, so I’m going to holler at him for some tips pretty soon.

After I got situated with the clubs, I went to Dave and Buster’s with Ray McDonald to watch the NBA Finals. To be honest, I was hoping to see Denver against Orlando because I just like Chauncey Billups. I think he’s an unsung hero in the NBA, and he helped turn the Nuggets franchise around when he got traded for Allen Iverson mid-season. Oh, and I like Carmelo Anthony’s game a lot too. But, they’re not there so I really don’t care who wins between the Magic and Lakers – I just want to see a good series. I know Orlando didn’t start the series off right, but I’m hoping they come back and make things competitive.

I usually watch sports on TV when I’m back at the team hotel chilling, but sometimes I check out shows on the Discovery Channel. I definitely like “The Deadliest Catch” but my favorite show has to be “American Loggers.” They follow around lumberjacks while they’re out there cutting trees down and it’s amazing how much equipment they use. Plus the thought that goes into what they do is crazy. The way they use the chainsaws to cut a tree one way so it falls the other way is amazing to me. That’s a dangerous job! It’s foggy and the saws are no joke, if you’re not careful you could be in some serious trouble.

I don’t think I could make it as a lumberjack. I played basketball and football growing up, but when I played basketball my style was more like Charles Barkley’s style of play. I hit the boards hard and of course, I had a nice little jump-shot. Basketball was my first love because it doesn’t cost much to play. With football you needed equipment and a bunch of guys just to play. But with basketball, you could just go outside and shoot around by yourself. I had to focus on football because at the end of the day I had a brighter future playing defensive end. My high school won the state title every year I was there and as a senior I was named player of the year in the state of Louisiana. It was a tough decision back then, but I’m glad I stuck with football.

Speaking of my hometown, I try to give back to my community in Louisiana as much as possible, especially helping out single parents. I was raised by a single parent and I know how hard it is on the kids who are in that situation. That’s why I started my non-profit foundation, 92 Blessings.

My foundation gives back to those families who don’t have enough money to buy kids sneakers for basketball or football cleats. Every Thanksgiving we give away 92 turkeys to needy families. But I guess it’s going to be 93 this year. Ninety-two is part of the name, because it has been my number since college, but Aubrayo Franklin has that here. I’m cool with wearing 93, it’s one-better than what I’ve been wearing before and another family will benefit from the change too.

As for what’s been doing down here at the team facility, we’ve practiced seven days in a row and you can tell guys on both sides of the ball got into a groove. We picked up the concepts that were being taught to us and we had a chance to watch film every day and get better. It also allowed me personally to get a better feel for the personnel we have on this team.

I know a little bit about our squad from playing them last year in the regular season finale, but we didn’t even watch the game film afterwards. When the season was over we all went our separate ways. But I do remember going against Joe Staley and Adam Snyder, because I played both defensive end spots. They were talented players and I’m looking forward to getting the pads on soon and going against them again in training camp.

Now that we’ve finished our seven days of practice, I’m headed back to Virginia for the weekend before coming back for two more days of OTAs next week. My wife Aungel has a banquet for her residency program. She’s going on her fourth year, so I’m going to support her accomplishment and be a good husband. I’ll be spending 12 hours in the air, but I’m flying Virgin Airlines, so it shouldn’t be too bad. If you ever want to fly across the country, fly with them. I need to talk with their marketing people, so I can get a promotional deal with them – for real! They have all kinds of movies and video games to entertain you while you’re flying.

I’m really looking forward to a nice weekend with my wife, relaxing at home and of course, sleeping in my own bed! Oh my God! How nice is that going to be? I can’t wait to enjoy the comfort of being home and then waking up late at night and sneaking in the kitchen to see what’s in the refrigerator to snack on. You really take things like that for granted. Being at home should be nice, but you never know if my wife will have some errands to do around the house. Hopefully I won’t have to do any summer cleaning just yet and I can take care of that when I’m home before training camp.

Now that I think about it, the offseason went by real fast! I signed as a free agent, came to town to work out with the team in the offseason conditioning program, the draft went by and now we’re almost done with minicamps and OTAs. It’s crazy how things have happened just like that. I guess time flies when you’re having fun and putting in work.

You might be wondering why I named my blog “The Meat Zone,” but this isn’t a blog about cooking, trust me. “Meat,” was a nickname given to me by my teammates when I played high school football in Louisiana. With my name being Demetric, I guess it was just easy for them to call me “Meat.” And the name has stuck with me over the years.

Since I’ve been with the 49ers and have moved from Washington D.C. to the Bay Area after playing with the Redskins for the past five seasons, the transition has been great. Other than leaving my wife behind, because she’s finishing her medical school residency at Georgetown; it’s been a fun experience being out in the Bay Area. We always seem to have great weather and you can’t beat that.

Being a part of a great franchise like the San Francisco 49ers is great too. We have such a famous winning tradition here, it’s inspiring to walk in the building and see the five Vince Lombardi trophies in the lobby. I’ve never won a Super Bowl before, but seeing those shiny trophies is the ultimate motivation. I want to help win the sixth one as soon as possible! In my humble opinion, it’s only a matter of time before this team gets back on track and starts playing like the glory days of the 49ers in the late 80s and early 90s.

Now that I’m in a new city and in a new time zone, I have to admit that I haven’t been able to do too much exploring of San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area. My wife came down to visit me recently, and I took her out to a nice seafood dinner in San Francisco on the bay. It was a great time and she loved it. I think she might be a little jealous that I get to enjoy all this nice weather. But she thought this area was beautiful and I know she’s looking forward to coming back out, and I’m excited for her to be back out here too.

I want to do more now that I’m out here, but I’ve been focused on getting prepared for training camp and my first season with the 49ers. I have gone out to many restaurants on Santana Row close to our team headquarters in Santa Clara and those spots have been nice too.

As much as I’ve enjoyed the great restaurants in the Bay Area, really the weather has been my favorite part. Right now, it’s still cold in D.C, and I spent five years there freezing half the time. It’s nice being able to leave all the cold weather clothes back there. Justin Smith, who is one of my new teammates on the defensive line, told me it only rained twice during practice last year! So I’m definitely looking forward to that and of course, no shoveling snow!

I think it’s been great playing with Justin and the rest of the d-linemen. We really have a tight-knit group and they’ve accepted me with open arms. From the first day I got here, I noticed how the guys all work hard together and that goes for the entire defense. But they also laugh and enjoy each other’s company. That’s the kind of group I love being a part of. For me it was an easy transition joining this team because there aren’t any “me-first,” guys. Our players are all unselfish and with our defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula, he orchestrates the group to play that way. He makes us all play together as one. I’ve also enjoyed working with our pass rushing coach Al Harris, he’s a former player and has a lot of great tips for us too.

It’s great playing for coach Tomsula. He has a great personality and he knows a lot about football. But most importantly, he knows how to get the best out of his guys. I think as a player, that’s what you want from your position coach. You want a coach, who knows when to discipline you, but at the same time knows how far to take it. We are still men and most of us have families, so I really like the respect he and coach Harris shows us.

Now that I’ve been with the team for a few months, I feel like it’s a really good fit. But at the same time, it’s been hard work making a transition from playing the defensive end position in the 4-3 scheme to now playing end in our 3-4 defense. It’s still a learning process with the verbiage that we use and also understanding how offensive lines will block us. It’s a lot different than a 4-3, but I think it’s coming along for me well out on the practice field.

After our minicamps and OTAs I usually just go back to the hotel where a lot of the players who are from out of town stay at. The rookies stay there too. I haven’t had a chance to find a place to live yet, but I’m enjoying spending time over there with the guys and getting to know some of my new teammates and also the guys in our rookie class. When I’m back in my room, I like to mostly lounge and continuously read my playbook to make sure I’m ready for the next day of practice.

One thing I do a lot of is use Skype, which is a video phone service over the internet. That’s the best way I can see my wife when I talk to her on the phone, so I’m glad we have internet in our rooms. It’s nice to talk to her every night before I relax and get ready mentally for the next day.

We have a minicamp this weekend, then two more sessions of OTAs coming up and it seems like this offseason is going by fast. Pretty soon, we’ll be in training camp before you know it.

When I get the chance, I’m definitely going back to D.C. to spend time with my wife and enjoy her company. I also want to check in on my little brother. He’s going to be a senior in high school and that’s a big year for him. He’s going through the process of being recruited for football, so I want to be there for him and give him some advice so he makes the right decision on his future. Helping him through the process should be fun and it’s going to remind me of my experiences that ultimately led me to the University of Georgia.

I had fun updating you guys on what I’ve been doing here with the 49ers, but I can smell the barbecue just around the corner by the practice field here at the team facility. The grub here is really healthy and the team does a great job of making sure you put the right foods in your body so you can get ready for another day of practice. They always have grilled chicken, fish and steaks with lots of veggies. So with that being said, I’m going to grab nice plate of food and enjoy the rest of my day!

Online registration is available for high school players from grades 9th-12th by filling in the registration form below. Registration forms may also be picked up at all SPAR recreation centers. The charge for the camp will be $50.00 until June 15, 2009 for early bird registration and $60.00 until the camp begins on July 2, 2009.

Friends of 92blessings feature other NFL coaches and players, along with collegiate and high school coaches from various teams across the league and local regions, that will be present to provide support and expertise throughout the camp.

Breakfast, lunch and an evening snack will be provided. Those in attendance will receive one on one physical and technical training, t-shirts and autographs from NFL Players along with informational instruction stressing the importance of education, community involvement, healthy living and nutrition and will learn what it takes to be eligible for collegiate and professional football.

Please fill out registration form below and paypal for camp registration, along with the Consent forms.

Online registrations must mail there consent and waiver forms to:

2521 Samford Ave

Shreveport LA 71103

or they can be emailed to njenkins@92blessings.org or fax to 318-459-1439

Evans (6-foot-4, 287 pounds) started 11 games for the Redskins last season at left defensive end. He is known for being solid against the run and can get some push with his pass rush. Evans had a career-high 3.5 sacks last season. Evans, who has seven years of NFL experience, turns 30 in September.

Of course, the 49ers did not get Evans for his pass-rush skills. In the team’s 3-4 scheme, the pass rush is expected to come from the outside linebackers.

The 49ers did not make much of an attempt to re-sign defensive lineman Ronald Fields, who signed a two-year deal with the Broncos on Monday. Evans gives the 49ers six defensive linemen who figure to make the 49ers’ 53-man roster.

At the scouting combine, 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan said the draft is thin at defensive line. So the 49ers are not expecting to get much – if any – defensive-line help in the draft.

Teams that play a 3-4 defense, such as the 49ers, generally keep six defensive linemen on their final roster. With today’s signing, the 49ers might already have their six men: Evans, Justin Smith, Isaac Sopoaga, Aubrayo Franklin, Kentwan Balmer and Ray McDonald.