File- This Aug. 9, 2018, file photo shows San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey (69) blocking Dallas Cowboys defensive end Taco Charlton (97) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game in Santa Clara, Calif. McGlinchey's first test as an NFL tackle came against one of the NFL's top pass rushers in Dallas' DeMarcus Lawrence. Things will only get tougher this week when McGlinchey must contend with three-time former AP Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney when the 49ers travel to Houston for two days of practice against the Texans before an exhibition game on Saturday. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File) SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Mike McGlinchey's first test as an NFL tackle came against one of the league's top pass rushers in Dallas' DeMarcus Lawrence. Things will only get tougher this week when McGlinchey must contend with three-time former AP Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney when the 49ers travel to Houston for two days of practice against the Texans before an exhibition game on Saturday. ''It's going to be fun. It's definitely going to be fun,'' McGlinchey said. ''That's why you play in the NFL, to play against the biggest and the baddest dudes and they have three or four of them. It's going to be pretty fun. I'm more worried about the heat monster than those guys. As long as I can stay upright and not lose 15 pounds in practice, I'll come out a winner.'' McGlinchey and the 49ers were pleased with his exhibition debut against the Cowboys when he was matched up with Lawrence - who tied for second in the NFL with 14 1/2 sacks last year - on the first drive and stayed for two more to get as much experience as possible before the start of the regular season. McGlinchey mostly held his own, although he was upset about his technique on a bull rush move by Lawrence that led to a hit on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. ''I was really happy with Mike,'' coach Kyle Shanahan said. ''First game for him. That's why we left him in there a little bit longer. By no means was it perfect, but it was very easy to see that the game is not too big for him. He's very comfortable out there. He looks like the player he looked in college when we studied him, how he's looked in practice. He got out there and didn't change. He's a guy who I think gets better as the game goes on because he is talented, but he also is very smart and doesn't get overwhelmed with things. When he does make a mistake, he usually learns from it.'' Story continues The 49ers are counting on big things this season from McGlinchey after drafting him ninth overall out of Notre Dame in April and then trading last year's starter at right tackle, Trent Brown, to New England. San Francisco immediately put McGlinchey in the starting lineup in the offseason and is grooming him to eventually take over for stalwart Joe Staley on the left side. The two have struck up an immediate friendship based in part on a shared history. Staley's college coach at Central Michigan was Brian Kelly, who later took over at Notre Dame. Several of Kelly's assistants coached Staley in college and used him as an example at Notre Dame. McGlinchey said that because the two approach the game in a similar way, he has peppered Staley with 20 to 30 questions each day about how to excel as a tackle in the NFL. ''It's been great,'' he said. ''I really can't think of myself being any luckier than I am because I do ask a lot of questions. I don't really leave him alone. He doesn't ever turn me away. He doesn't ever say shut up or anything like that so he's there for me. He's there to help me with anything I see.'' It's become a bit of a running joke how close the two have become the past few months with Staley calling McGlinchey his best friend and little brother. ''The reason why is I see so much potential,'' Staley said. ''He has the absolute right mindset to succeed in the NFL. The guy is really hungry to learn every single day. He comes to meetings and asks the right questions and picks up the playbook really well. I just see all the potential he has. I think he has nothing but great things ahead in his career. I look forward to being a mentor to a younger guy and teaching him things I've learned and hopefully he can surpass me some day.'' NOTES: The 49ers signed RB Alfred Morris to a one-year deal to add depth with Jerick McKinnon (calf) and Matt Breida (shoulder) injured. ... OL Alan Knott was waived to make room on the roster. --- More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/tag/NFLfootball and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL<doc-sep>HOUSTON — Why was 49ers rookie right tackle Mike McGlinchey nearly impaled in the ground on his first snap against Houston defensive end J.J. Watt on Wednesday? Well, as it turns out, there was a reason beyond the fact that Watt is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. On Thursday, left tackle Joe Staley provided a bit of context. Staley said Houston’s coaches had the 49ers’ offensive linemen and Texans’ defensive linemen run one-on-one run-blocking drills. Those were foreign to McGlinchey, who had engaged only in one-on-one pass-blocking drills during his first training camp. As Staley explained, McGlinchey’s inexperience, combined with his opponent, made for a painful moment. “I don’t think guys were expecting that,” Staley said. “I know Mike had no idea. (He said) ‘One-on-one run? What do you do here?’ I was like, ‘Just come off the ball as hard as you can, like (an) Oklahoma drill, old-school.’ He’s like, ‘All right.’” “It didn’t go well for him the first rep — you could see that. But he told me after that ‘I was just trying to focus and (not) get embarrassed because he’s pretty strong. I was like ‘J.J.’s one of the best in the NFL, so he’s going to be pretty strong.’” Staley, 33, said he intentionally didn’t give McGlinchey any pre-practice pointers for facing Watt. “I think that’s good,” Staley said. “If it was game situation, obviously, you’re going to do a lot more studying. But I think it’s good for him to go in and figure that stuff out on (his) own. Try to correct what you’re doing on the practice field because it’s practice — it’s the time to do all that stuff. You’re not going to go out there and have a perfect day. You’re going to see what works, what doesn’t work.” McGlinchey, the No. 9 pick, appeared to learn from his first snap against Watt. McGlinchey had five more one-on-one reps against Watt during the course of the two joint practices and largely held his own on each. On guards: Right guard Joshua Garnett, who returned to practice Sunday after missing two weeks with a knee injury, took first-team snaps in practice and is expected to make his preseason debut when the 49ers meet the Texans on Saturday. “He looked good on tape yesterday,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He definitely looked healthy yesterday. The test will be after fatigue sets in. Today was his second day in a row. We upped his reps, so I’m looking forward to watching the tape when I get in.” Meanwhile, right guard Jonathan Cooper, who has been eased back in after undergoing offseason knee surgery, also will make his summer debut Saturday. Cooper worked with the second team in practice. Garnett and Cooper are competing for the starting spot that was assumed by Mike Person in the preseason opener. Person was the second-team center Thursday. Injury report: Undrafted rookie safety Terrell Williams was carted off the field with a knee injury after colliding with a cement wall during a one-on-one drill. In addition, linebacker Mark Nzeocha also left practice on a cart with an unspecified injury, and tight end Cole Wick exited, apparently because of heat-related issues. Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.<doc-sep>The San Francisco 49ers subjected everyone to some bad football on Thursday evening and have a bevy of injuries to show for it. One of the players that was somewhat quiet was tackle Mike McGlinchey. McGlinchey got a bit of extended playing time when the ones were off the field and there’s not much to say about him. And for a tackle, no news is good news. Well, except for this: Cowboys rookie 4th rd pick Dorance Armstrong. Really nice rep. Good hands. Wow. #DALvsSF pic.twitter.com/YVKid7afSx — Josh Cohen (@jco3215) August 10, 2018 There’s our first round pick! McGlinchey (No. 69) is right there punching Cowboys defensive lineman Taco Charlton to the ground. Who wants to watch Dorance Armstrong when you can watch McGlinchey go stonewall and make not let anyone by him? There hasn’t been anything to suggest McGlinchey is a bust, yet. He’s had his off days and struggles but nothing that has been in the realm of A.J. Jenkins territory. The 49ers are smart to give him more playing time in the preseason and it will be interesting to watch that side of the line with his presence. But this video, enjoy your morning watching this.<doc-sep>
The San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans held their first joint practice session of the week Wednesday, and as has already been mentioned, things got a bit feisty in the early going when Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and 49ers cornerback Jimmie Ward got in a scuffle that resulted in both of them getting taken out of practice. But there was more going on than just that, including some competition between rookie right tackle Mike McGlinchey and Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. McGlinchey, who was selected by the 49ers with their first round pick (ninth overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft, has been fortunate to get some significant tests early in his first NFL preseason. He faced off against Demarcus Lawrence of the Dallas Cowboys in the preseason opener and this week gets to face off with Watt and possibly Jadeveon Clowney, who has been limited at practice as he recovers from offseason knee surgery. Clowney wasn't a full participant at practice Wednesday, but McGlinchey did get his first reps against Watt. Here are a couple videos of Watt and McGlinchey facing off, via Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group and Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Watt takes McGlinchey to the ground in the first video, while McGlinchey holds his own in the second video. Early action between #49ers #Texans: Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins fights Jimmie Ward, Hopkins kicked off field but shakes Ward’s hand on way out Mike McGlichey MET Texans J.J. Watt. “Welcome to the NFL” pic.twitter.com/3DK8CfTK3p — Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 15, 2018 Rookie RT Mike McGlinchey holds his own vs. J.J. Watt. #49ers pic.twitter.com/BYXP9Pd27a — Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) August 15, 2018 Neither Watt nor Clowney played in Houston's preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, but perhaps at least one of them will be on the field when the Texans and 49ers play Saturday evening (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT). By the time the week ends, McGlinchey will probably have had more than his share of chances against Watt. “It’s going to be fun,” McGlinchey said earlier in the week about facing Watt and Clowney, per 49ers.com. “That’s why you play in the NFL. You play against the biggest and baddest dudes and they’ve got three or four of them. So it’s going to be pretty fun.” If Watt plays Saturday night, it'll be the first time he's been on the field since suffering a tibial plateau fracture in Week 5 of the 2017 season. After establishing himself as the NFL's best defensive player earlier in his career, Watt has missed the majority of the past two seasons due to injury and faces some doubters who think he might not be able to return to his old form. To this point, however, Watt seems to be well on his way back to becoming an impact player once again. "I feel great. I feel great. It's been great to be back out here with the guys on the field playing the game," Watt told CBS Sports this week. "Just take it one day at a time. I feel really good and the trainers did a really good job this offseason helping me get my body back to where it needs to be. And it's just playing football."