In the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Isaac Guerendo from the University of Louisville with the 129th-overall pick.
"I'm excited to get to work," Guerendo said after being drafted.
Keep reading to learn more about San Francisco's newest running back.
Guerendo was a multi-sport athlete in high school, playing football, basketball and running track.
A native of Clayton, Indiana, Guerendo played his first two years of high school sports at Cascade High School and his final two years at Avon High School. Before playing as a running back throughout college, Guerendo primarily played as a wide receiver in high school. During his senior year (2018), he tallied 1,258 yards and 16 touchdowns to help his team go 10-3 and was named Indiana's Mr. Football, a position award for the state's top wide receiver.
Guerendo also lettered in basketball and was a three-time state champion in track. He won the 100-meter dash with a 10.51 time and was on the state-winning 4x100 meter relay team in his senior year.
Guerendo began his collegiate football career at the University of Wisconsin in 2018. He redshirted his freshman year, playing in four games as a reserve. From 2019-22, Guerendo appeared in 23 games where he recorded 582 yards and six touchdowns on 99 rushing attempts. He also notched 124 yards and a touchdown on 20 receptions. In 2022, Guerendo also played as the team's primary kick returner, tallying 443 yards on 19 returned kicks and earning an All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention.
The running back later transferred to Louisville for his final season of college football (2023). He played in all 14 games and registered 132 carries for 810 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Across Guerendo's time playing at Wisconsin and Louisville, he started in only one game. The running back shared that despite being overlooked in college, he views his potential in the NFL in a positive light.
"I think there were always a lot of people put in front of me," Guerendo shared before his first rookie minicamp practice.
He served as a backup to Braelon Allen from 2021-22 while at Wisconsin and was behind Jawhar Jordan during his senior year at Louisville.
"You want to contribute and play as much as possible. I think if I were to let it bother me, it wouldn't have allowed me to be ready for those moments when I did get them... People like to talk about tread on tires. That's an advantage for me. I have still yet to play my best ball, so I'm continuing to progress and become a better player. That's the exciting thing about it. I'm going to continue to attack and embrace whatever role I'm given."
Guerendo will now get the chance to learn from AP 2023 Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, 2024 free agent acquisition Patrick Taylor Jr. and pros Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason as he looks to progress his game at the next level.
Guerendo put up impressive numbers during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, as many of his measurables topped his position group.
Among running backs, Guerendo recorded the fastest 40-yard dash (4.33 seconds), the highest vertical jump (41.5 inches), the second longest broad jump (10 feet, 9 inches) and the fourth fastest shuttle (4.15 seconds) and 3-cone drill (6.94 seconds)
During Guerendo's transition from wide receiver to running back in his first year of college football, he went to Pro Bowler Jonathan Taylor as his mentor, who was his teammate at the time.
"There was a big learning curve," Guerendo said. "I model myself after him is his combination of size and speed. That was kind of his thing, just how efficiently he moves, his ability to break tackles. A lot of those things mirror what I am – a north-south, one-cut type of guy. Obviously, he was able to do those things so well. It was amazing to see."
The two running backs spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons together, and according to the Indianapolis Star, Guerendo spent every practice and film session with Taylor.
