Brandon Aiyuk

Golden Nuggets

• His last name is pronounced EYE-yook.
• Aiyuk is only the second alum from a Northern Nevada high school to become a first-round NFL draft pick. Former DT Shawn Knight (Reed HS, NV) was drafted by the New Orleans Saints 11th overall in the 1987 NFL Draft.

Golden Nuggets

• His last name is pronounced EYE-yook.
• Aiyuk is only the second alum from a Northern Nevada high school to become a first-round NFL draft pick. Former DT Shawn Knight (Reed HS, NV) was drafted by the New Orleans Saints 11th overall in the 1987 NFL Draft.

Goldmine

• Though he grew up in Nevada, Aiyuk has roots in Northern California. He attended Sierra (Rocklin, CA) College from 2016-17, where the 49ers spent training camp from 1981-1997. Additionally, Aiyuk began supporting the 49ers at a young age, thanks to his mom. "My mom's been a huge 49ers fan her whole life, so that kind of bled on me a little bit when I was younger," said Aiyuk. When he got the call informing him that he would be a member of the team, Aiyuk realized a childhood dream that he wasn't sure would come true. "There were a lot of people telling me before today and all week that it was going to happen. So, it's crazy that it actually did happen."
• During his time at Sierra College and later Arizona State, Aiyuk was known for his work ethic on and off the field. Ben Noonan, who coached Aiyuk at Sierra College, found Aiyuk in the weight room constantly, improving his squat from 275 pounds coming out of high school to 500 pounds by May 2017. That drive carried over to the practice field, where Aiyuk routinely stayed for 30 minutes after every practice working on routes in the Rocklin heat. "It gets up to a good 110 degrees, and then he's out there until the daylight is gone with the quarterbacks after a four-hour day," Noonan said. "And demanding that the quarterbacks stay, you know, whether their arm was falling off or not."