Before Colin Kaepernick was a Super Bowl quarterback, before he was the ESPY winner as "Best Breakthrough Athlete," before he suddenly drew 10-to-1 odds in Las Vegas to win the 2013 NFL MVP award, he was simply a 49ers backup working behind Alex Smith and fighting for second-team reps.
But maybe Kaepernick's emergence should have been more predictable. During the 2012 preseason opener, after all, he let loose against the Vikings for a quarter, providing a sneaky preview of the fireworks show that eventually helped San Francisco claim last season's NFC title.
In four series against the Vikings last August, Kaepernick ran for 92 yards and threw for 40. On his second snap that night, early in the second quarter, he lit a read-option mortar, taking a shotgun snap and faking a handoff to LaMichael James. With the entire Vikings defense washing right as if being pulled by a major undertow, Kaepernick darted into space.
Vikings safety Jamarca Sanford can still see all 78 yards of that play, from the San Francisco 22 all the way to the end zone.
"I remember it like yesterday," Sanford said. "I was part of that play trying to do too much. Bit inside on Cover 2, was trying to do too much, got a bad read and that was the end."
Chris Cook remembers that score as well. He was the last man with a chance to stop Kaepernick, shedding a block and giving chase. To no avail.
"It wasn't necessarily a helpless feeling," Cook said. "I was gaining ground. I just couldn't get there. As a defense, we played it too fast and gave up that backside. We weren't expecting it. But it won't happen again."
As the Vikings prepare for their reunion with Kaepernick tonight at Candlestick Park, there's an acknowledgment of just how valuable this preseason test might be.