MIAMI, Fla. -- The 49ers used their 2007 first-round draft pick on a big kid from a small school. Joe Staley was the selection, an attempt at finding a long-term left tackle.
San Francisco never could’ve imagined the Central Michigan alum would hold the position down for 13 years and running. The six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro has been awesome all that time, with no signs of slowing down as he prepares to play his second Super Bowl on Sunday when the 49ers face the Kansas City Chiefs.
His counterpart, as it turns out, is a standout tackle from the same school who considers Staley a role model. The Chiefs took Eric Fisher with the first pick in 2013 out of … Central Michigan.
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SIGN UP HERE Fisher believed that moment would happen because Staley showed him it was possible.
“It was a motivation being at Central Michigan and seeing a first-round tackle from my school in the NFL,” Fisher said Wednesday. “He made me think I could do the same thing. It was great to see someone you had been there and done that. He set the example. That’s pretty cool.”
Staley was proud to see Fisher’s name go off the board first. There aren’t many Chippewas in the NFL, especially at his position, so Staley has kept a close eye on Fisher’s career.
“I've followed Eric’s career ever since he was in Central Michigan,” Staley said. “I understood that he was going to be drafted, but then all of a sudden, the first overall pick coming from Central. It has been really exciting to follow his career. We've stayed in contact. It's not like we're texting every other day or anything like that. We don't really talk much. but it's one of those things when you see each other before the game or after the game, we're always taking after we play each other.
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“I’m pulling for him. He's a guy that you just have a lot of pride coming from Central Michigan, coming from a smaller school. Seen him do well and develop every single year I have a lot of pride in what his career has become and the player that he is.”
Fisher hasn’t played quite at Staley’s level. He struggled at the outset but has improved and made the Pro Bowl last year. He missed eight games with a core muscle injury this season but has allowed just one sack since returning to action.
Staley might be even better, even after all this time.
“He was at Central Michigan before me and paved a path to the NFL,” Fisher said. “It’s really impressive that he’s such a good player and has done it for so long. I think it’s going to be cool to have two of us from a small school playing in the biggest game of our lives.”
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Staley is a bit uncomfortable being a role model and getting all this attention from younger players, but it comes with the territory after compiling a long and distinguished career that’s still going strong.
“I understand I'm in the point of my career where it's a lot of years and I know a lot of guys that -- it's weird -- [Mike] McGlinchey telling me that he had his No. 74 jersey in high school because he was watching me,” Staley said. “It's kind of weird. It feels -- you almost feel really old because of that but it's understanding that you do have an impact on players with how you play and how you approach the game.”
