MOBILE, Ala. – If Alex Smith and Shaun Hill want a preview of their coming months, Erik Ainge, Colt Brennan and Andre Woodson would be happy to fill them in.
All this week, the three South squad quarterbacks for the Senior Bowl have gotten a crash course on what it's like to be one of Mike Martz's pupils.
What does that entail? Basically a semester's worth of studying and not much sleep.
"He's got us up at 7:15 every morning. The North ain't doing that," said Brennan, the Hawaii quarterback, with a smile. "But like I said, this is a job interview. And I came here to try to get a job. And I'm all for it.
"He keeps saying, 'I'm going to push you guys harder to make you that much more prepared.' And I appreciate that."
Said Tennessee's Ainge: "He's very demanding. He doesn't take a play off. If you watch him, every time we throw a ball – whether he's praising us or cussing us – he's coaching somehow on every single play."
Martz has had plenty to holler about.
Brennan and Kentucky's Woodson operated primarily out of the shotgun in college, and Ainge and the Volunteers also played quite a bit of spread offense. That means none of the quarterbacks has extensive practice with something as simple as taking a snap and dropping back to pass.
Martz has said he intends to break down and rebuild everything Smith, a three-year veteran, and Hill, a six-year veteran, have learned. That's precisely what he has done this week with his college students.
Brennan admitted that the first two days of practice were rough and that Martz rarely was satisfied. By Wednesday and Thursday, the 49ers' new offensive coordinator had mellowed a bit but still was poring over every detail of his quarterbacks' delivery.
While the rest of the South squad was in one end zone for special-teams practice, Martz brought the three quarterbacks to the opposite end zone to work on a simple five-yard dump pass. Over and over, the quarterbacks dropped back three steps, faked a handoff, dropped back two steps more and fired off a quick pass.
Martz adjusted everything, from the depth of Brennan's steps to how swiftly Ainge swung his hips.
Afterward, Ainge said sloppy dropbacks were No. 1 on Martz's list of pet peeves.
"He wants everything to look the same," he said. "He has his way. And he obviously has a great track record. We're going to listen to what he tells us to do. It's not what we might have done in college, but we're not playing college football anymore."
That's precisely why coach Mike Nolan and the 49ers tapped Martz to resurrect the league's worst offense.
Under Jim Hostler's direction last year, the offense always seemed hesitant. The players never openly questioned Hostler's play calling, but there was a sense the first-time coordinator didn't inspire the necessary confidence in his young players.
Martz is the opposite.
"I needed someone who commands the room, who inspires people to play," Nolan said. "Mike's been successful as an offensive coordinator and a head coach. That should inspire anyone."
And if that includes some yelling every now and then – well, Martz's pupils are willing to put up with it.
"He's been hard on us the last two days," Brennan said after Wednesday's practice. "But today he came out and smiled a little bit more, had some fun with us."
Read Matthew Barrows' 49ers blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
