49ers star Kyle Juszczyk honored to be named 2026 Dwight Clark Award recipient
San Francisco 49ers tight end Kyle Juszczyk joins Laura Britt at the 2026 Dwight Clark Legacy Series event on Wednesday in San Jose.
49ers star Kyle Juszczyk honored to be named 2026 Dwight Clark Award recipient originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
And that's really why we're all here tonight, is for the Dwight Clark Award, which is given out every single year to the player who really embodies who Dwight Clark was.
He was the ultimate teammate.
That's what Joe Montana had to say about him.
He was the ultimate teammate, somebody who lifts other people up, who puts his teammates before him.
And so tonight, we've got a really special guest.
This is really cool that we get to welcome out Randy Cross to be able to present the Dwight Clark Award to Kyle Juszczyk.
Randy, thanks for being here.
Great to see you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
And this is one of the coolest awards of all time.
You guys have been coming, so you've seen this before.
But you are here to present this to Kyle Juszczyk.
You were also a teammate of Dwight Clark.
And for people, I, I didn't get the chance to know Dwight Clark.
I know many of you got the chance to watch him and see so many interviews with him.
But what kind of teammate was Dwight Clark?
Dwight, a lot like his, you know, sort of Butch and Sundance partner, Joe Montana.
They were about as close to normal as you could possibly get in that situation.
they really were.
I mean, that's the best way to explain it.
He, he was unimpressed with who he was and what he was.
He was amazing with people.
He was amazing with kids.
Probably one of the nicest persons that I ever had the privilege of playing with.
He was a pretty incredible guy.
What did he do behind the scenes?
You know, th- you don't get a reputation like this if it's not true.
What, what was he like behind the scenes a- as a teammate?
always there for you.
He was one of those guys.
y- you could tell that he was gonna have a future in the football business by kinda the way he carried himself and the way he acted.
But as a teammate, he was always the first one to pump you up and build you up.
probably the closest thing, I mean, Ronnie's another one of those amazing guys.
Roger Craig was another one of the m- one of the amazing guys.
And Dwight was just, he was a friend.
And any time you needed a friend, he was there.
And we've heard so much about similar qualities with Kyle Juszczyk.
So will you join me in welcoming out the 2026 Dwight Clark Award winner, Kyle Juszczyk.
Hey, Kyle.
Thank you so much, man.
It's pretty sick.
It's pretty cool, Kyle.
This is awesome.
You like it?
Yeah, this is gonna look good on the mantle, no question.
I know.
I think so.
We normally have a table for you to put it on, but today you get to hold it.
Randy, thank you so much- I'm, I'm good at this for being here tonight.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Honoring Kyle.
Thank you.
All righty.
Thanks, Randy.
Yeah.
Kyle, you mind sitting down for a little conversation?
I'd love to.
Yeah.
All right, let's do it.
Yeah, you look way cooler than I do with that thing.
Yeah, right?
Go ahead.
I, I don't disagree with you.
I feel like that looks way cooler.
you know, you get this award.
Yeah.
You, you know all about Dwight Clark.
You've been a part of this organization for so long.
Yeah.
And you hear the type of man that he was, the type of teammate that he was.
So knowing all of that, what does it mean to you to be sitting up here holding this award tonight?
Yeah, I think that's exactly what makes it so special.
you know, in this industry, like, the two biggest compliments you can get is one, that guy's a football player, and two, he's a great teammate.
And, you know, like Randy was just talking about, Dwight was known as being such an incredible teammate.
And, you know, that's something that's really important to me because, you know, when, when you set out to do this job and, you know, when you're a football player, all you want is the respect of the guys in the locker room.
And so, you know, to earn that, especially the locker room that we have.
Like, I feel like we have just such a, a special unit of guys.
to earn their respect and to do it for an organization like San Francisco just means so much to me.
And you know the former teammates that you have, some of your current teammates have gotten this award.
Yeah.
George Kittle being one of them.
We talked a lot about George tonight.
George, Gino.
yeah.
What is he- Red.
So, w- hold on.
We've gotta talk about this road.
The road.
Rock-Auto said you have a road named after you?
Yeah, the, the 101 Highway.
I, uh- What?
I- Wait, is that real?
Yeah.
if you head up- How did, wait if you head up north- How did this happen?
so I did a anti-littering campaign.
Okay.
And part of it is that they d- they helped donate towards, you know, like, the Adopt a Highway.
Yeah.
You see the signs.
So yeah, it's Kyle Juszczyk, or Kyle Juice Juszczyk Highway.
Oh, even better.
That's so cool.
Yeah, pretty cool.
I gotta go see that.
Yeah, you gotta check it out.
That's awesome.
That's really cool.
Now you just gotta adopt a highway.
You can get a highway named after you.
Just adopt a highway.
Really cool.
I, I don't wanna stir the pot, but I kind of am gonna stir the pot a little bit.
So you have 10 Pro Bowl selections.
I do.
Your boss, John Lynch, only has nine.
How often are you knocking on his door making sure he's aware of the situation?
I definitely have let him know.
Oh good.
Yeah, I absolutely have.
And, especially last year when I- finally surpassed him.
Yes.
Yep.
He, he tried to play it coy like, "Oh, I thought you already had 10 the year before."
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like, like he didn't- Sure, John actually keep track.
He knew.
Yeah, he knew.
So you, if you ever need anything, you're like, "Hey John, you know who's got more Pro Bowls, right?"
I need to start using that.
You really should.
Yeah.
See?
We're helping.
We're helping you here.
What is that relationship like between John and Kyle?
You and Kyle, and Kyle came in at the same time.
Yeah.
Kyle Shanahan, Kyle Juszczyk came in at the same time.
What has it been like to see the, the organization from behind the scenes- Yeah from leadership top down?
I've definitely had a, a special view, and probably one like no one other be- you know, because I came in with them.
and I've seen it the last 10 years of how it's built up and how it's grown.
and it's been And I've spent so much time with them more than just, you know, at the f- at the stadium, on the field.
Like- Yeah you know, we've, I've, I've seen both of them on vacation multiple times.
And, Kyle just had us over to his house last night with a number of my teammates, and we had dinner.
And, like, um-And I'm 35, so I'm not that- I'm not that much younger than him.
So.
Well, according to Brock, you're old.
So I don't know.
Yeah.
You might need to take that up with Brock.
Yeah, no, I know.
He reminds me all the time.
but, I, I feel like I have such a, a special relationship with them, and, I'm so grateful for that because, I just think I've had such a unique experience and, been on this, you know, this, this train ride with them for 10 years, and I don't take it for granted.
and I don't want this to be an awkward question, but since you guys came in at the same time- Mm-hmm you've grown up in the league.
Kyle Shanahan's grown as a head coach.
How have you seen him develop throughout your tenure with the 49ers?
I, I've seen so much development, and, I mean, over 10 years, honestly, I could say he's probably developed in, in every phase and, and i- has improved.
But, I think the one that really stands out is just his comfortability standing in front of the team and, and addressing the team and speaking to a group of men, and doing it confidently.
you know, he was, he was an offense coordinator before he came here, so there wasn't, as much of that.
but now, I mean, he, he, he commands the room, and, he knows exactly what he's doing up there, and, he's just such a great leader of men.
W- how does he keep that fresh?
I imagine that's one of the hardest things for a head coach.
I'm like, how many speeches do you have to come up with- all the time, and you've gotta keep the messaging fresh.
It can't be inauthentic.
Yeah, no question.
it- honestly, sometimes I think about that, and I, I know how he is.
Like, he'll literally, like, if it's the first day of training camp, he'll go back and watch last year's meeting of the first day of training camp to see what he said.
Oh, will he?
Wow.
And, and, and I think part of that is not to just keep saying the same thing- Yeah and to keep it fresh.
And, and it's also, that's another thing that he's so great at doing, is adapting to the roster that he does have.
And, you know, sometimes a, a different message needs to be given to a different group, you know, whether that's, you know, we're a more experienced team, less experienced team, you know, what kind of success we had the year before or, you know, at the, at the moment, all that type of thing.
so he's very good at, you know, being in the moment and, and being able to adjust what he says.
You guys drafted eight new rookies- Mm-hmm this season.
You've got a veteran-heavy team, but you also have a lot of new guys, a lot of young people.
Yeah.
How do you, how much responsibility do you feel, do the other veterans, like Brock and George Kittle- Yeah and Fred Warner, how much responsibility do you feel to bring those young players along?
A lot.
and that was really kinda the theme of last season.
this time last year, Kyle had us over to his house.
I think he had, like, 12 of us, guys that had been on the team for, like, four years or more.
And he basically, like, kinda gave us this speech of like, "Listen, for, like, five years we've been, like, NFC Championship or, or better, and that's always what we've played for.
Going into last season, we didn't know if that's what we were gonna be playing for, and the only thing that was gonna give us a chance to do that was if we brought along, the young guys along with us."
And so I felt like, you know, as a leader, as a captain, just talking with those guys, like, going into that season, we're like, "Listen, th- this is about It's not just about what we do and what, you know, what we can show.
It's, like, bringing these guys along with us.
That's the only way we're gonna be successful."
And so, like, we really took that personally, and, like, we were gonna speak up when we felt like we needed to speak up.
We weren't gonna hold anything back.
It was kinda like, listen, the, now is not the time to hold things in.
Like, let's, let's just go for it.
Like, if, if we feel like we need to say something to a young guy that, you know, gets him in line but helps him at the same time- Sure I'm gonna say it, even if it's uncomfortable.
and so I think that's, you know, something that we're just gonna build on this season.
yeah, we had, you know, we had, we had some, you know, good success last year and, with those young guys, but we're gonna need these new young guys, these eight guys that we just drafted, we're gonna need them at some point, and, you know, that's on us to k- to help them be ready for that moment.
Is there a, is there a moment, does it happen in training camp, where you guys as veterans kind of stand before the team?
I don't know, this might be just, like, a movie scene- that I'm imagining in my head, but that's kinda how I picture it, that you guys kinda set the tone for the season.
Is that how it goes down, or, or what does that look like?
The- honestly, there's, there's a lot of There's different moments throughout the day that, you know, there's the, you know, we just finished warming up.
We all kinda come together, and we break it down as a team.
The veteran will step in at that point- Mm-hmm and s- you know, say a little something.
After practice, someone may say something.
in the meeting rooms, you know, even when we're just, like, you know, when we're hazing the rookies or whatever, when you tell them, you know, "Get up and tell us a joke," or whatever, like, a lot of times, like, a, a veteran will stand up in front of the room and, you know, we'll say, like, "This is how we do things.
Like, now come up here and, you know, do this," or whatever, you know, just- At training camp they have to do the dance, right?
Don't they have to dance?
They, we, we do a talent show.
A talent show.
Yeah, we do a talent show at the end.
Even better.
Even better.
s- they can dance if they want.
That's been, that's been an option.
People do that.
Um- Usually, usually it's, you know, telling jokes or rapping, dancing.
I feel like telling jokes is way harder than just dancing.
It depends who you are.
Oh, yeah.
I guess that's true.
That's true.
Yeah, we've had some really entertaining rookies, honestly.
Some really entertaining rookies.
Do you have a favorite that you can think of off the top of your head?
I'm- I just- I'm putting you on the spot here I, I remember, w- Mitch Wishnowsky, our- Oh, yeah our punter.
he did, like He, he went up with a, he had a guitar.
Okay.
He didn't even, like, play the guitar.
He would do, like, one strum.
But he had a guitar- And- but he didn't play the guitar.
He lit- it was literally one strum- and then he would roast one of the veterans in the, in the- Ooh.
And we had some- That's very cool very roastable veterans that year, and, like, I remember, like, he was a rookie, and he went after Nick Bosa, and he, like, went after him pretty hard.
It was, it was hilarious.
That one definitely stood out.
Yeah.
But the one strum.
It was, like, one strum-He made, yeah, I won't- That's amazing I won't even say the joke.
That's great.
Wow, what a story.
last season, when you go back to last season, you guys obviously dealt with a ton of adversity.
Yeah.
All the injuries that you guys dealt with.
But one thing that stood out was the run game had a, a tough time getting going.
Yeah.
The run game, as you all know, is just a hallmark of a Kyle Shanahan offense.
It really helps your offense tick.
What can you guys do as a team to ensure that you get that consistency in the run game back this year?
Yeah, last year, you know, we didn't have a very high yards per carry, and I think that was, w- we just didn't have a lot of explosive runs.
And, that's something that we can definitely get better at this year.
And, and, and that, that falls on a lot of people.
you know, that, that falls on, you know, people making blocks downfield.
It falls on guys in the box extending blocks.
Like, not just getting your block, but like extending it so that, you know, when, when Christian or now Kalen or, or Jordan, they, when they're running past, that guys aren't falling off kinda at the last second.
there, there's just like, there's a lot that can go into that, and a lot of things, the areas of improvement.
But, I, we still had enough, we were still effective in the run game without even having those explosives.
So the way I look at it is, you know, we were able to do what we did last season.
We had a, a very good offense.
and we're only adding to it.
Like, I don't feel like we're losing very much.
So, I feel like it's only up from what we did last year, and that was already pretty solid.
A big addition on the offense with Mike Evans.
Have you gotten to- Big addition talk with him some?
Yeah.
What's it been like for you?
you know, I've, I've known Mike for years now.
I've, I've crossed paths at, at Pro Bowls and, um- The 10, by the way.
Yeah.
Sean, 10.
I had, I had a few, few opportunities.
but Mike's just an awesome, down-to-earth guy, loves to put in the work.
it, going back to what I said when we first stepped out here, like, I would say he's a football player.
Mm-hmm.
Like, he just, he just does things the right way.
and really excited that, you know, we get to add him to our offense.
I was talking with Brock about Jenna posting some behind-the-scenes videos of him as a dad.
Yeah.
Your wife is a star in her own right.
Thank you.
Kristin, she's incredible.
Thank you.
You guys seen her creations?
Thank you.
She's, like, taking over NFL wardrobe.
Which a lot of ladies appreciate, 'cause all we were given were, like, oversized T-shirts before.
what has it been like to watch her become a star of her own alongside- Yeah you and see so much success?
It's been so awesome.
sometimes it's, it's more enjoyable to see someone else's success that you're close to than even your own.
sometimes, you know, when it's your own, you almost, you know, take it for granted a little bit.
But just watching her and everything that she's been able to develop, I'm just so proud of her.
She's just, she's so creative.
She, she works so hard, and it's something that I've always seen.
But, like, now for other people to see it and recognize it is really, really cool, and I never would have thought that both of us would be, like, employees of the NFL.
That would be breaking news, for sure.
Yeah.
but it, it, that's kinda how it is now.
Yeah.
She has an NFL license and, it, it, she just continues to grow.
And she, she is constantly, constantly working.
And, I'm just, I could not be more proud of her.
It's really cool to see- Yeah just from the outside perspective.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Offseasonbrand.com, check it out.
There, oh, there you go.
Gotta get the plug in.
Yeah.
That's right, that's right.
before we let you go, and you gotta stay with me out here for our live auction package- Okay which is next.
Let's do it.
But I wanted to give each of you, Brock had the chance to talk to 49ers fans.
I know, you know, they're all at the stadium supporting you all the time.
You don't really get to, to speak to them like- Yeah you here tonight.
What's your message to Niners fans before the season gets going here in the fall?
Just how much I appreciate your guys' support.
The way that you guys can take over stadiums is- It's true.
It's second to none.
And- It's pretty incredible and I'm not exaggerating, like, when I say, like, what a difference that truly, truly makes.
It, it makes a difference in the game when you can go into somebody else's stadium and your fans are louder than, than theirs.
Like, it, it's so funny.
I always, like so many times in away games, I, I, I get confused 'cause, like, usually when- SoFi.
Yeah, well, definitely SoFi.
Sorry.
But I'll get confused, like, a, l- if I, I'm on, I'm on the bench, the defense is out there, and I'm looking at my iPad.
You can just, usually you can judge by how the home team cheers what just happened without me even watching.
Sure.
So, like, I'm looking at my iPad and, and I hear cheering, and it's usually like, "Oh, shit, what just happened?"
But with our fans, it's like, "Oh, we just made a good play."
You know?
Very disorienting.
Yeah, very disorienting.
but I appreciate it.
And it, truly the, the best fans in the league.
And, you know, for you guys to come out and support us again, a- a- and go through this with us, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, so thank you.
Let's give it up for Kyle.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kyle.
