Tight end Delanie Walker arrives at work at 6 a.m. each day, and Colin Kaepernick always beats him to 49ers headquarters.
The quarterback clocks in before most of his teammates for that matter.
With that work ethic and standout performances, Kaepernick has earned himself a third straight start at quarterback for San Francisco on Sunday at St. Louis.
"Kap's here before me, he's here lifting weights," Walker said.
Coach Jim Harbaugh made the announcement Wednesday that Kaepernick got the nod over Alex Smith after the second-year pro led the NFC West-leading Niners (8-2-1) to victories in the past two games, his first two NFL starts.
"The rationale is we have two quarterbacks that we feel great about as a starting quarterback," Harbaugh said. "Both have earned it, both deserve it - Alex over a long period of time, Colin by virtue of the last three games. It tips the scales. Colin we believe has the hot hand. We'll go with Colin. And we'll go with Alex. They're both our guys."
Yes, Harbaugh is leaving open every possibility, saying it still could be a week-to-week decision. All Kaepernick knows is he will begin Sunday's game under centre.
Harbaugh warned, "I wouldn't assume anything.
"To start talking about speculation or every per-mutation you could get into, we're not going to speculate on it," Harbaugh said.
The reigning NFL coach of the year told his players who the starter would be during Wednesday's walkthrough practice.
Kaepernick has completed 48 of 74 passes for 680 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and was sacked six times. He has a 102.3 passer rating.
"I don't know if it's a hot hand. Whatever you want to call it. I'm just happy I get to go back out there," Kaepernick said. "It's a great chance to lead this team and show we're a great team."
Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick, hardly looked happy on the sideline during Sunday's win over the Saints after being medically cleared from a concussion suffered in the first half of a 24-24 tie against St. Louis on Nov. 11.
"That's coach's decision," running back Frank Gore said. "He said before he's going to go with the hot hand."
