Stanford center Chase Beeler was a first-team AP All-American as a senior and a second-team all-Pac 10 pick as a junior. -- AP

Former Stanford center Chase Beeler, who wasn’t selected in April’s NFL Draft, was in a peculiar position this morning.

Beeler was in a room with a group of 49ers offensive linemen that included Joe Staley and Adam Snyder, a duo with a combined 10 years of NFL experience, but it was Beeler doing the teaching.

What’s up with that? Beeler recently met Staley in downtown Palo Alto and they agreed it would be beneficial to both parties if Beeler visited during this week’s minicamp.

Beeler, who will sign as a rookie free agent after the lockout, would get a chance to work out with NFL linemen who could be his future teammates. The 49ers coaching staff is obviously familiar with the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Beeler, a first-team AP All-American this past season who could help the Niners at a position presently surrounded by question marks.

In return, Beeler could give something valuable to the Niners: information.

“I thought it would be good for him work out with some NFL guys and also he has history with this playbook,” Staley said. “… He has a history with the coaching staff, and (Jim) Harbaugh and it’s the same kind of offense that they ran (at Stanford). So he’s familiar with all the calls and how they ran things and he can clarify things for us.”

Below is a Q&A with Beeler from today. Worth noting, he mentions more than once how the offensive staff at Stanford made significant week-to-week changes. That is, they tailored the game plan to best attack the opposing defense – a sneaky little tactic not always employed, at least not obviously, this past season in San Francisco.

Also, if you think Beeler sounds smart, there’s a reason for that. As an undergraduate, he had a GPA around 3.8 and he’s currently working on his master’s degree in history with a concentration on Eastern Europe and Russia. Staley said Beeler reminded him of 49ers center Eric Heitmann, another brainy Stanford alum:

Q: In the past some of the 49ers have said they had the plays, but didn’t know which were going to be emphasized. Can you help them with that?

CB: I can to a certain extent. I can emphasize those plays that we emphasized at Stanford. If the coaching staff keeps the same mentality, the type of plays and the scheme they run on any week is going to depend upon the defense we face off against. I can give them an idea of what things are going to look like in real time.

Q: Players have said there’s a lot of guesswork involved in interpreting the playbook. For example, they may not know what personnel packages come in with different plays. Can you help clarify something like that?

CB: Again, I can tell them what my experience was at Stanford in terms of pairings of plays, particular packages that you might see – a power paired with a particular pass or what have you. But still I have to assume the circumstances in which they’re implementing the playbook are a little different at the next level in the NFL. So there’s going to be some variance there. I’m sure a certain percentage of whatever I’m able to tell them is ultimately going to be useful, but I don’t know I’m able to give them some kind of grand insight that’s going to bring the whole offense together.

Q: Stanford ran so much motion, some of which you can’t run in the NFL. How much do you think the 49ers might use?

CB: It’s hard to say. The stuff they’re working on right are the very basics. That sort of stuff is more advanced and, again, it’s something that at Stanford we did on a weekly basis. It’s very ad hoc. We would develop a particular shift or a particular series of plays based on the defense that we were going to see that week. So I trust the innovativeness and ingenuity of (offensive coordinator Greg) Roman and those guys. I’m sure they’ll come up with something that hasn’t been seen before.

Q: So the 49ers were really picking your brain today?

CB: Yeah, I’m just trying to help out with clarifying this series of calls, what other particular looks you might see in this set of pass protections, things like that. I know they do have a couple of playbooks and have some idea of what they’re going to be running. But things aren’t always so clear when translated into real life.

Q: Was it a weird dynamic – explaining things to guys like Staley?

CB: Yeah, it’s put me on the other side of the page a little bit, I guess. Maybe it will take me into coaching at some point.

Q: Where do you see yourself playing in the pros (Beeler played guard as a redshirt sophomore)?

CB: I think center just based on my size. That seems like the natural slot for me. But obviously at this level if you’re going to play, you’re going to have to play multiple positions. So at least mentally, I would think, I would have to be prepared to play guard as well.

John Henry Johnson, with the Steelers, is chased by fellow Hall-of-Famer Bob Lilly (74) of the Cowboys in 1962. -- AP

The 49ers will honor Hall-of-Fame running back John Henry Johnson this season with a football-shaped helmet decal with Johnson’s jersey number “35.” The decal will resemble the one the Niners will wear to honor Hall-of-Fame running back Joe Perry, who wore jersey number “34.”

Johnson and Perry, members of the “Million Dollar Backfield,” have both passed away during the offseason. Perry died in April at age 84. Johnson died earlier this month at 81.

“Just a few weeks ago I found myself reflecting fondly on my relationship with Joe Perry following his passing, and now I find myself doing the same in regards to John Henry Johnson,” said 49ers owner and co-chair John York in a statement. “… It seems only fitting that his jersey number will be placed alongside Joe Perry’s this season. Just as they once shared a backfield, they will now share a space on our players’ helmets.”

Johnson, who spent three of his 13 NFL seasons in San Francisco, rushed for 6,803 yards and 48 touchdowns. He had two 1,000-yard seasons, both with the Steelers (1962 and 1964). He retired in 1966 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

• I apologize for allowing mold to form on the blog recently.

My excuse? I’m immersed in advance work for this week’s NASCAR race in Sonoma, which I’ll cover Sunday with esteemed colleagues Phil Barber and Bob Padecky. On Thursday, I’m covering the NBA draft from Warriors’ headquarters in Oakland (anyone know Jimmer Fredette’s time in the three-cone drill?)

The end is in sight, however. The Sacramento Bee has reported the 49ers will hold another four-day minicamp next week. I’ll start acting like a 49ers beat writer again then.

It was an odd sight at the 49ers’ offensive camp: Alex Smith, a quarterback not on the 49ers’ roster, taking snaps from David Baas, a center not on the 49ers’ roster.

Of course, it’s become a foregone conclusion that Smith, an unrestricted free agent, will be back in San Francisco. But the arrival of Baas at the final day of the four-day camp was a welcome sight for a team potentially facing a hole in the middle of its line.

Baas, who earned rave reviews after filling in for injured center Eric Heitmann last year, flew from Florida on Wednesday to get familiar with an offense he hopes to be part of in 2011. Baas is also an unrestricted free agent.

“Really, all I can do is be a professional about it. And that’s one of the reasons I came out here – I plan on coming back,” Baas said. “You never know what’s going to happen with the craziness that’s going on. But I’m going to prepare like I’m coming back.”

Baas, who said a commitment prevented him from arriving earlier, had a one-hour meeting with coach Jim Harbaugh prior to the lockout.

“Yeah, I have a feeling that they definitely, that they want me back,” Baas said. “And like I said, I want to be back. I’ve got my house out here, a lot of things that I’m still hanging onto. But I’m just preparing and when the time comes, everything will work out.”

• Baas, who was part of San Francisco’s 2005 draft class with Smith, said picking up a new offense wouldn’t be a huge challenge. Baas got his first look at the playbook this morning.

“Let’s be honest,” he said. “We’ve had six different playbooks, six coordinator in six years. If I can’t learn a playbook quickly, something’s wrong. I think I messed up – said one old call out there (in practice) versus a new call, and other than that it was fine.”

• Smith was asked about an odd dynamic – tutoring Colin Kaepernick, the Niners’ quarterback of the future, as Smith attempts to finally establish himself as an elite NFL signal-caller.

Smith said he’s talked with the rookie after keeping their competition on the field and not letting it spill into the locker room or media. He said he had no problem guiding Kaepernick through the playbook.

“It’s just not in my nature, although it might be advantageous for me to try to screw him over — not tell him things and not teach him,” Smith said. “It’s just not who I am. It’s really not. It wasn’t how I got treated when I was a young player and I know how much I appreciated that.

“It’s a different situation for both of us. The one thing I’ve appreciated from Colin is that he’s come in and he’s very level-headed. He’s down to earth. He’s willing to work … and he’s working hard.”

• Kaepernick did not throw passes during practice this week. He said he is still recovering from a minor surgical procedure on his lower left leg that he underwent in early May. He declined to say when he might be at full strength.

“I’m still not 100 percent,” he said. “The doctors just want me to take it slow. We’ll leave it that.”

• WR Kyle Williams left practice after apparently tweaking his leg while running a deep post pattern. Williams walked off the field with a San Jose State trainer.

• First-round pick Aldon Smith made his first appearance at San Jose State today, arriving with defensive end Justin Smith, a fellow Missouri product.

The rookie’s first day featured plenty of running. He joined a group of defensive players that included Justin Smith, Parys Haralson, Isaac Sopoaga, Ray McDonald and Curtis Taylor for conditioning which featured repeated sprints up a steep ramp inside Spartan Stadium.

• TE Delanie Walker was back at practice today. Walker missed practice Wednesday.