SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After the San Francisco 49ers drafted cornerback Upton Stout with pick No. 100 in April's NFL draft, he wasted no time diving into the deepest part of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's playbook.
By his estimate, Stout began studying the playbook within 48 hours after hearing his name called. But he didn't stop there. Niners defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks regularly updates what the 49ers call "teach tapes" of players who have played in San Francisco's system at a high level.
As Stout scoured the film of previous successful Niners slot corners, two kept popping up: K'Waun Williams, who was with the team from 2017 to 2021, and Deommodore Lenoir, who has spent the past couple of seasons playing inside and outside.
Each time Williams showed up on the screen, Stout felt like he was watching himself -- an undersized slot corner with the combination of athletic ability and fearlessness to overcome whatever he might lack in height or weight.
Stout then reached out to Williams, who was once one of the first free-agent signings of the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan era, on social media. The pair forged a quick friendship, with Williams sending Stout some extra film clips. The duo connected again just before Stout arrived at his first NFL training camp.
"[It's] really just reaching out to him just so I could just pick his brain and see how he played a lot of concepts, technique and things like that," Stout said. "Just trying to figure out how I could be the best me but always knowing what the standard was before I came in. I just wanted to see what the standard was and see if I could try to surpass that standard."
While there's still a long way until the regular season, the reviews of his performance in this training camp provide ample evidence that he's on the fast track to a big role as a rookie -- despite recently dealing with calf tightness.
To wit: Saleh says Stout has the "inside track in a very long race" to earn the starting nickel job. Linebacker Fred Warner says Stout has "it." Former Niners cornerback Richard Sherman named Stout the player who most impressed him on his visit to 49ers camp. And Lynch recently compared Stout to Hall of Fame cornerback Ronde Barber for how feisty and competitive he is, in addition to his skillset.
It's high praise, to be sure, especially on a defense that could start as many as five rookies against the Seattle Seahawks in the Sept. 7 opener.
"He's made of the right stuff," Shanahan said. "A lot of guys got to learn it, but he hasn't had to learn it. You can tell he was that way in college because he came in right away like that. He's on everything. He's one of the bigger competitors that I've seen coming in as a rookie, and every day he is doing as much as he can on and off the field. That's why he's passing a lot of guys up."
According to Bullocks, nothing about Stout's grind is performative. Many players get the cliche "first in the building, last to leave" label, but few of them are rookie cornerbacks combing through film looking for any advantage they can get to use in practice.
Yet, there Stout was in a meeting room in the early morning hours of a recent training camp day when Bullocks walked in to find him studying tape of Williams from the 2018 season. Soon after, cornerbacks coach Ray Brown went up to Stout and asked him what it is that drives his football obsession.
According to Brown, Stout told him that he often finds himself standing next to Warner, the four-time All Pro widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the league, and he refuses to let Warner outwork him.
"[Stout said], 'I got to work, that guy can't outdo me,'" Brown said. "And so that's how he looks at everything. He's always in there. He's always asking questions. And at night when we're done with everything and we're wrapping up, he still got questions, so we're going to spend an extra hour answering his questions."
The biggest question lingering over Stout is: can a 5-foot-9, 181-pound slot cornerback hold up against the rigors of the NFL game, especially when asked to take on much bigger blockers in the running game?
Stout said comments about his lack of size often provide motivation, but he seeks more tangible ways to overcome any perceived deficiencies. At the NFL combine in February, Stout benchpressed 225 pounds 21 times and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds. He was one of two defensive backs in this year's class with a sub 4.5 second 40-yard dash and 20-plus reps on the bench (Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori was the other).
That strength and speed combined with a fearless approach has served Stout well in camp as he's regularly tried to match up with the team's more veteran receivers. After losing multiple early camp battles in one-on-one against veteran Russell Gage Jr., Stout has found more success recently, drawing cheers from the sideline when he finally got the better of the five-year veteran. He's also made impressive pass breakups against wideout Ricky Pearsall and running back Christian McCaffrey.
"Don't fall asleep on his size," Saleh said. "I mean, the guy plays way bigger than he is and way bigger than he looks. He's got a violence to him; he's got a violence to his demeanor. So, he's coming along really well too in that regard."
Stout held many jobs in his final season at Western Kentucky. In 2024, he played 324 snaps in the slot, 121 as an outside linebacker, 74 at safety, 65 as an outside cornerback and 29 as an inside linebacker. He didn't allow a touchdown as the nearest defender in coverage in either of his final two college seasons.
Seeing the game from every angle required plenty of studying, but the Niners are asking Stout to work exclusively in the slot. The added benefit is that Lenoir might not have to move around as much, though he leaves big shoes to fill for Stout if he ultimately wins the job.
And while Stout never hesitates to ask the veterans around him questions, none of them has found it necessary to go out of his way to keep Stout engaged.
"I don't think anybody's had to really say much to him," Warner said. "It's not about him trying to go out there and prove anything to anybody. ... He is who he is and he shows that every single day without people having to tell him what to do. ... I think the sky's the limit for him."