preseason finale against the Raiders\u00a0<\/a> on Thursday, Dugger had a team-high 10 tackles and two QBs hits, along with two big whiffs on tackle attempts in an 18-12 win. His raw potential inspired Patrick Willis to post about him on social media during the game. As the 49ers\u2019 Hall of Fame linebacker wrote: \u201c#53 is going to be good player.\u201d Willis isn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n\u201cThis guy,\u201d 49ers linebackers coach K.J. Wright said, \u201cis going to be a really, really special player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Really? It would seem prudent to hold off on the hype.\u00a0Dugger was the 154th pick after starting in just two seasons in college. In his two years as a safety, he had one interception. In his lone season as a pass rusher, he had one sack.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it\u2019s probably unwise to bet against him. Dugger has already overcome overwhelming odds to become an NFL draft pick.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
![\"Niners]()
<\/p>\n
Niners linebacker Jaden Dugger started his college career at Georgetown, a school far better known for basketball than football.<\/p>\n
Scot Tucker\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
He was a zero-star high school recruit who spent his first two college seasons at Georgetown, an\u00a0FCS school that hasn\u2019t had a player selected in the NFL draft since 1953. After two seasons at Louisiana, Dugger was not among the 319 prospects invited to the NFL combine. NFL.com\u2019s predraft outlook: \u201cCandidate for bottom of roster or practice squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon LeDonne, Dugger\u2019s coach at Penn Hills High School in suburban Pittsburgh, never envisioned that Dugger would one day compete to start alongside one of the NFL\u2019s nastiest linebacker duos, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.<\/p>\n
As a senior, Dugger was a 6-foot-3, 175-pound wide receiver and defensive back who wasn\u2019t known for his nasty.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that he shied away from contact early on,\u201d LeDonne said. \u201cBut he was just a little more finesse than physicality until he built that muscle and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Dugger got the brush-off from Division I schools before he bulked up. He did receive a scholarship offer from Toledo, but he held out, dreaming of playing for Penn State or Pittsburgh. It became a nightmare.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up losing the offer,\u201d Dugger said, \u201cand nothing else came up.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how Dugger ended up at Georgetown, a basketball school with a football program that has had only one winning season since 2000. He started just four games in 2022 for a 2-9 team.<\/p>\n
That was difficult. Then he faced unimaginable adversity.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 23, 2023, his brother, Dajuan, the oldest of five siblings, died in his sleep. He was 24. Dajuan had been a quarterback at Division II Lock Haven University, setting the example for his football-playing brothers,\u00a0Jaden, Dalen and Julian, a sophomore quarterback at Washington State.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was really the reason we started playing football,\u201d Dugger said. \u201cLooking up to him and seeing him get a scholarship made me set a path for myself and let me know what I wanted to do. He was a big inspiration for me. He paved the way for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaden Dugger wore No. 3\u00a0\u2014 his brother\u2019s number\u00a0\u2014 throughout his college career. He hopes to eventually sport it in the NFL, but wide receiver Christian Kirk, a nine-year veteran, currently wears No. 3 for the 49ers.<\/p>\n
More than three years after Dajuan\u2019s death, the pain isn\u2019t as acute. But the purpose born from the tragedy remains.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime makes it easier, but you never forget,\u201d Dugger said. \u201cSome days are harder than others. \u2026 Something like that is terrible, but I feel like it taught me a lot about myself. I kind of feel like I\u2019m not playing the game for myself anymore. I definitely was before.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Niners]()
<\/p>\n
Niners rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger played his final two seasons at Louisiana, then\u00a0was not among the 319 prospects invited to the NFL combine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jeff Chiu\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Dugger entered the transfer portal after his sophomore season. It wasn\u2019t an easy decision. He wasn\u2019t guaranteed NFL consideration, and he would be giving up the chance to earn a degree from a prestigious academic institution.<\/p>\n
He also knew from his high school recruiting experience that he might not attract much interest from FBS programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big risk,\u201d Dugger said.<\/p>\n
But Louisiana GM Ricky Ciccone was intrigued. There was history between them: Ciccone had been Toledo\u2019s recruiting coordinator when the Rockets rescinded their scholarship offer to Dugger less than three years earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cRicky felt that was maybe a mistake\u00a0\u2014 Jaden was a kid they should have taken,\u201d Desormeaux said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what he was going to be. So, essentially, we just took him as a unique player. We said that we\u2019ve got to be able to figure out something with a guy with this skill set who runs like that, with this height and length.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dugger arrived at Louisiana taller than expected after growing two inches at Georgetown. At 6-5, he looked like a pass-rushing outside linebacker.<\/p>\n
After one season, three starts and one sack, however, he moved to inside linebacker, partly because of a pressing positional need, Desormeaux said. Dugger filled the hole brilliantly. He led the team with 125 tackles, including 13 for loss, earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors and gained a superfan in Wright.<\/p>\n
The 49ers\u2019 linebackers coach, who played the position in the NFL for 11 seasons, was instantly smitten. Wright \u201cfell in love\u201d with Dugger and knew he \u201chad to have this dude\u201d after studying 15 plays of his college video.<\/p>\n
Much has been made of Wright and Dugger\u2019s shared physical profile. Wright was listed at 6-4 and 246 pounds during his career and had 34\u215e-inch arms. General manager John Lynch teased Wright when he lobbied for Dugger before the draft. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to draft yourself,\u201d Lynch told him.<\/p>\n
But Wright was convicted by Dugger\u2019s feel for the position. While studying video, Wright was impressed by how Dugger reacted to a reverse\u00a0\u2014 taking off as if he had heard the play in the opponent\u2019s huddle.<\/p>\n
![\"Niners]()
<\/p>\n
Niners linebacker Jaden Dugger performs a drill during training camp on\u00a0Aug. 1. The fifth-round pick might be the favorite for the part-time \u201cfever backer\u201d position,\u00a0which requires versatility and foresight.<\/p>\n
Jeff Chiu\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Wright made it the second play of a highlight reel presented to head coach Kyle Shanahan<\/a>. To Wright, it was evidence that the former wide receiver, cornerback, safety and pass rusher was, unquestionably, a linebacker\u00a0\u2014 one who was raw but could become a star with seasoning.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s going to be a guy that will anticipate plays and see them before they happen,\u201d Wright said. \u201cThat\u2019s just a gift he has. It\u2019s hard to coach. You just have to have the gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dugger admits he once viewed another of his assets\u00a0\u2014 his versatility\u00a0\u2014 as a curse. When he was moved from the secondary to the defensive front after arriving at Louisiana, he was frustrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like, \u2018Dang, I\u2019m a safety. Why are they switching me?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But his mindset shifted. And his fortunes changed. Now, after overcoming Division I rejection, personal tragedy and skepticism from scouts about what, exactly, he was, he has a shot to become more than anyone imagined.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting,\u201d Wright said. \u201cHe\u2019s just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Niners linebacker Jaden Dugger was selected in the fifth round after a college career that saw him bounce…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":985867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,116784,2810,2812,6,1161,252,2624,2623,9],"class_list":["post-985866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco-49ers","tag-49ers","tag-football","tag-jaden-dugger","tag-john-lynch","tag-kyle-shanahan","tag-nfl","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-sanfrancisco","tag-sanfrancisco49ers","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117175600004255661","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/985866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=985866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/985866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/985867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=985866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=985866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=985866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}