It makes absolute sense to me that this news comes out of, drum roll, San Francisco! As you will read from the excerpts below, courtesy of Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, Virtual Reality is already heavily used in the NFL, and has shown tangible benefits to a rookie quarterback trying to be the next Joe Montana.
The 49ers are one of six NFL teams that use STRIVR Labs as an aide in training players via VR. The tool is especially useful for quarterbacks with the camera stationed approximately 10 yards behind the quarterback.
The 49ers have two stations inside Levi’s Stadium with VR headsets, and Quarterback CJ Beathard has taken full advantage of the resource to train his eyes to read defenses and route progressions. One source told NBC Sports Bay Area that Beathard recently reviewed more than 1,000 practice plays in a week with the technology on his own time.
“You only get limited reps in practice, but you’re able to watch through virtual reality, essentially every rep in practice – all of Brian’s and Matt’s and go back and watch mine, and kind of play things out in your head as you watch practice,” Beathard said.
Beathard has done everything right since his arrival, seemingly justifying the 49ers’ decision to make sure they secured him when they did. And a solid showing during training camp has placed him in position to overtake veteran Matt Barkley as the team’s No. 2 quarterback.
“That’s for the coaches to decide on and evaluate,” Beathard said. “I’m critical of myself and I feel like there were plays that I can improve on and get better at. That’s part of football. You’re never going to play a perfect game. I’m always trying to get better.”
Check out this feature that ESPN did during a 2016 season game on Monday Night Football:
