Florida's Jachai Polite says 49ers staff was tough on him in interview

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INDIANAPOLIS — First, Ole Miss receiver D.K. Metcalf revealed that his meeting with the 49ers at the NFL Scouting Combine was challenging. Not much later, Florida edge rusher Jachai Polite said he also had a tough time in his meeting with the 49ers staff. 

“Yeah, I talked to them,” Polite said. “I spoke to them the first day. They bashed me again. A lot of people bashed me, I’m not going to lie. I don’t even get the message at all. They didn’t even speak about football, really.” 

Polite was very productive in his final season at Florida, racking up 11 sacks, 19.5 tackles for a loss and six forced fumbles. However, those stats — not even the turnovers — weren’t brought up in meetings.

"Nah, no team brought it up,” Polite said. "They're not really talking about anything good right now. They want to know all the bad things about you, like character.”

When asked how the 49ers staff was critical, he noted they focused on what he had done wrong. 

“Asking ‘why’ questions,” Polite said. “Why. Why. Why. Nothing else.”

Polite explained how it was different than what he expected from coaches, and not what he was prepared for. But his tone of voice was relatively light-hearted, expressing that mostly it just took him by surprise. 

“They are the coach,” Polite said. “I mean, I’m looking for them to help me, correct me. That’s my answer. I just have bad technique. I need to work on it. My technique in the run game. Yeah, That’s probably it. That’s probably the only flaw in my game.”

Even though he was surprised by the format of his formal interview with the 49ers, Polite did explain he understands why they did it. 

“That’s their job,” Polite said. “They are trying to get my character out. They are trying to make me feel uncomfortable, see the way I react. So, them bashing me, that’s their job. They are about to invest millions probably, I hope. So, I have to take it, it’s my job. This is my job.” 

The 49ers weren’t the only team whom Polite said was hard on him. He cited the Packers and the Panthers as a few of his 19 formal interviews that were leaning toward the negative. The only team that kept it positive? The Rams. 

[RELATED: What Metcalf learned in 49ers interview]

"I don't know what they're expecting, honestly,” Polite said, “because a lot of teams have been bashing me," Polite said. "I don't think they're talking about me in their program. They just want to know who I am.”

Polite’s measurements: 
Height: 6-2 5/8
Weight: 258
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 80 2/8

Polite ran an unofficial 4.84 40-yard dash before calling it a day during defensive lineman drills because of a hamstring injury. 
 

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