A "Bear" Could Be What the 49ers Need on Offense

Whenever I visited the small town of Porterville, Ca, I always heard all the negative stereotypes you can think of to best describe the city:

"Its too boring here! There's nothing to do! I want to leave!"

Maybe its typical for anyone to say that when living in a town with about 40,000 in population, and where Wal-Mart and Target are considered hotspots for the night life.

But while Porterville may not exactly have the big-city lifestyle, it has helped lead three men to witness the glitz and glamour of the National Football League.

Victor Leyva starred at Monache High School before suiting up for the Cincinnati Bengals. Another Monache High grad, James Sanders, now serves as the backbone for the New England Patriots' secondary.

Now, there's a new member of the Porterville NFL family: New 49ers tight end Bear Pascoe.

Bear was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft as the 184th selection. Before becoming the newest 49er, he was blocking and catching for Pat Hill at Fresno State.

While in Porterville, many people probably have seen Pascoe wearing cowboy attire and roping down cattle in his ranch. He was a champion roper in the sport of team roping.

But when the Friday night lights came on at Granite Hills High School, opposing defenses probably wished they could use his rope to lasso down Bear, as he ran wild playing quarterback in the triple-option attack.

Bear totaled nearly 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns in two seasons. He helped guide his team to a win in 16 of the 20 games he played at Granite Hills.

Though he didn't play quarterback at Fresno State, he still found a way to contribute to the Bulldogs as a tight end.

Pascoe was crucial in the Bulldogs' running attack, with most of the plays running up his side. Bear used his 6-5, 250-pound frame to dominate his opponents at the line of scrimmage.

As a reciever, Bear was Tom Brandstater's security blanket when facing a short passing situation. But he also showed some big-play ability on two occassions.

One was a 75-yard touchdown reception he had in 2006 against Hawaii. Then at College Station, Texas, Bear hauled in three touchdown passes against Texas A&M in the near-upset of the Aggies during the 2007 season.

Bear now enters 49ers camp in one of the most underrated—but yet very important—position battle at tight end.

Pascoe's competition at camp includes 10-year veteran Brian Jennings, undersized 6-0 tight end Delanie Walker, and current starter Vernon Davis.

Davis however was known for not being on Mike Singletary's good side throughout the year and has suspect blocking. The new 49ers offense will likely call for more running plays and extra tight ends along the line.

This plays up to Bear's strength because he played in an offense at Fresno State that often called for more tight ends to help with the running game. His blocking ability was one of the central reasons why Singletary drafted him.

Bear has a great chance to stick around with the 49ers. His physical play and run-first offense experience gives him a chance to win the underrated but important tight end position battle.

That's not bad for a guy who comes from a small town that's considered boring and not having anything fun to do.