Niners, Sullivan trying to Marshall receiving corps

Jacksonville wasn't the only club in this year's draft willing to gamble that a college quarterback can make it as a pro wide receiver, but it was the only club to try it in the first round.

Which means you already know about Matt Jones.

Rasheed Marshall is getting a crash course in receiving. (Getty Images)

What you may not know is that the San Francisco 49ers are undergoing the same experiment with its fifth-round choice, former West Virginia quarterback Rasheed Marshall. He's instinctive, he's talented and he's at the team's Santa Clara headquarters these days working on making the switch to a new position.

"He's coming along nicely," said receivers coach Jerry Sullivan. "This is just a process of time. As he goes along and gets more comfortable he'll be a lot better.

"He has the natural talent to make it as a wide receiver. It's not going to happen in a week or a month, but he's adjusted better than most, and I expect him to make a contribution."

Sullivan isn't sure when. It could be this season. It could be next. But he's certain it will happen, and his endorsement counts for plenty.

Remember, this is the only pro coach to pull something from David Boston, guiding him to an NFL-best 1,598 receiving yards, nine 100-yard games and 98 catches in 2001. But he's also the guy who was at LSU when former running backs Todd Kinchen, Eric Martin and Wendell Davis became terrific wide receivers; who produced nine Pro-Bowl receivers in 14 years in the NFL; and who helped develop Cardinals' wide receiver Anquan Boldin -- a converted high-school quarterback -- into the NFL's 2003 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Sullivan is one of the game's outstanding teachers, and he has the patience to see difficult jobs through. In 2002 he was forced to play much of the season without his four top receivers, including Boston and Frank Sanders, yet somehow managed to find 62 catches and 731 yards from Jason McAddley, Kevin Kasper, Arnold Jackson, Nathan Poole, Jake Soliday.

So when the 49ers asked him to tutor Marshall, a prospect he didn't work out prior to the draft and knew almost nothing about, Sullivan wasn't fazed.

"Remember," he said, "I went through the 2003 and 2002 seasons in Arizona."

Life with the 49ers could be as challenging. The club that last year finished an NFL-worst 2-14 drafted no one ahead of Marshall to bolster a group of receivers that is ordinary at best. Sullivan's task is to turn Brandon Lloyd and Arnaz Battle, his two top pass catchers, into legitimate threats and to find something -- anything -- in former first round pick Rashaun Woods and journeyman P.J. Fleck.

Then, of course, there is Marshall.

A three-year starter at quarterback at West Virginia and last year's Big East Offensive Player of the Year, he had neither the size (he's 6-feet, 190 pounds) nor the arm to interest the pros. But his speed, quickness and ability to make plays (he ran for 2,040 yards and scored 23 times) convinced scouts that Marshall could cut it as a wide receiver, a position he played at the post-season Gridiron Classic.