Jim Harbaugh is adding yet another old-school wrinkle to the San Francisco 49ers.
In an age when players are shuttled on and off the field almost obsessively to confront specific scenarios, Harbaugh is looking for 60-minute men.
Two-way players.
And he's already found four of them here in June.
Case in point: Will Tukuafu. After entering the league as a defensive tackle, the 293-pounder has been used at fullback during workouts, blasting holes for Frank Gore and friends.
A fellow behemoth, defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs, is being used at tight end; and a pair of defensive backs, Cory Nelms and Ben Hannula, are catching passes from Alex Smith.
"The greater share of why we're doing that is to utilize a guy's talent on the other side of the ball, possibly find a player that's a three-way player to play defense, offense and special teams," Harbaugh told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "That's the 98 percent of it."
Smart work. A player who can fill in gaps all over the place solves roster problems late in the season.
We're a long way from the days of Jim Thorpe dominating both sides of the ball, but Harbaugh's near Belichickian love for on-field diversity could pay dividends. Plus, who wouldn't love to see an updated version of THIS?
