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Palo Alto Online

A melodic combination for the 49ers

by Rick Eymer

Forget that Stanford product Kwame Harris, who the San Francisco 49ers made their first round draft pick on Saturday, can play a little football. Bring on the piano duets.

Harris (6-foot-7, 305 pounds) and former Cardinal teammate Eric Heitmann (6-3, 305) will be reunited with the 49ers and they could line up next to each other on the left side of the offensive line. Just as Heitmann, picked in the seventh round last year, moved from right guard in college to left guard in the pros, Harris will make the move from right tackle at Stanford to left tackle in the NFL.

More importantly, both are accomplished musicians, and both play the piano (Harris can also play the violin). Heitmann composes his own music and Harris is a music major in college.

They could turn the 49er locker room into a concert hall during the week, then slam bodies side-by-side on the weekend. Their combined talents could help orchestrate a winning season for the 49ers.

Harris became the first offensive lineman selected in the first round by the 49ers since Harris Barton in 1987.

"It's been a focus of mine - and a desire of mine - since this has all started to go to a team that's committed to winning," said Harris. "The San Francisco 49ers, they're a manifestation of that. They're without question one of the best organizations in football today."

Stanford wide receiver/quarterback-turned tight end Teyo Johnson (6-5, 247) may not play an instrument, but the Oakland Raiders hope he can turn his extensive athletic abilities into a harmonious relationship with the Super Bowl runnerups, whom selected him in the second round.

"He brings so much versatility to his game because he's so athletic," said Raiders coach Bill Callahan. "He played wide receiver over at Stanford, but he shows so much ability to play down in tight, play in the slot and play in the flex positions that we want to feature him. He can do so many things from an athletic standpoint that gives us more versatility in our passing game, and obviously we'll make the conversion in terms of his blocking, but we're very excited about the upside of what we see in Teyo."

Safety Colin Branch (6-0, 207) and fullback Casey Moore (6-2, 250) both went to the Carolina Panthers. Branch, the Cardinal's starting free safety last season, was taken in the fourth round while Moore, Stanford's starting fullback the past four years, was chosen in the seventh round.

Harris was a three-time letterwinner at Stanford where he was the starting right tackle for the past two seasons. Harris was a first team All Pac-10 selection.

"We're very excited about the pick of Kwame. Quite honestly we didn't think he would be around when we picked," said 49ers coach Dennis Erickson. "He's a big athlete who can play right tackle, left tackle or left guard. He's obviously a very bright guy with a future that we are excited about."

Harris, who gave up his final year of eligibility to enter the draft, likes the idea of playing the Bay Area too.

"To go back home, where I went to school and get a chance to play with Eric again, I was ecstatic when the 49ers called," said Harris, who was the first Stanford player taken in the first round since Darrien Gordon was chosen by the San Diego Chargers in 1993. He's just the fourth offensive tackle from Stanford to be a first round pick, joining Bob Whitfield (1992), Brian Holloway (1981) and Gordon King (1978).

Johnson, who played football for three seasons and basketball for two years at Stanford, is the first Cardinal receiver to be chosen in the first or second round since James Lofton (whose son David is a redshirt freshman wide receiver at Stanford) was a first-round pick in 1978. After spending a redshirt year as a quarterback during his freshman season, Johnson was converted to wide receiver in 2001 and wound up catching 79 passes for 1,032 yards and 15 touchdowns the past two years.

Branch had an impressive workout at the NFL Combine. He continued to impress in individual workouts for NFL teams and saw his draft status improve over the past few months. He was second on the team last year with 69 tackles.

Moore started 44 consecutive games for the Cardinal. He rushed for 346 yards last year and averaged a team-leading 6.4 yards per carry to go along with 16 receptions for two touchdowns.