SANTA CLARA, Calif. – One of the reasons why the San Francisco 49ers should be able to withstand the season-ending ACL injury to running back Kendall Hunter is the presence of rookie Carlos Hyde.

The truth is regardless of Hunter’s health. Hyde was going to get a lot of opportunities as a rookie.

While the venerable Frank Gore will start, it appears Hyde, who the 49ers took advantage of an unexpected draft tumble by taking him with the No. 57 overall pick, will play quite a bit.

Hyde is getting extensive work in training camp. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman was highly complementary of Hyde. Roman said Hyde has done everything asked of him.

A key for playing time for running backs is in pass protection and picking up blitzes. Roman said Hyde, who played at Ohio State, is coming along well in that area. Hyde said NFL pass protection was coming “naturally” to him.

The reason, of course, why Hyde is in San Francisco is because he is a power runner who has star potential. 49ers fullback Bruce Miller is impressed what he has seen from the youngster.

“He does what we want running backs in our system to do,” Miller said. "He’s a vertical runner."