Offensive tackle Jonathan Martin believes he’s found a “silver lining” with the 49ers, not that training camp is easy, but in regards to his opportunity. Each day creates a greater divide between Martin and his aborted Miami Dolphins tenure. No longer is he trapped as the victim in a notorious bullying scandal. Now Martin is like any other lineman battling in the summer heat, though any after-the-whistle feistiness is still sure to raise eyebrows, such as Wednesday’s with defensive tackle Quinton Dial. “Dial is definitely a good, young player and part of his game is being nasty,” Martin said. “So you’ve got to match his physicality and nastiness.” Camp practices offer Martin’s first live contact since Oct. 27, before the bullying scandal emerged. Martin got off to a tough start Saturday, getting bull rushed by British behemoth Lawrence Okoye. But Martin has steadied himself since then. Next Thursday, Martin will have his first encounters with an opponent that might not be as forgiving as his teammates, that being the Aug. 7 exhibition opener against the host Baltimore Ravens. “Everyone is excited to play against someone else,” Martin said. “It’ll be fun to go against someone in a different color jersey.” But is he curious to see how outsiders might react to him? “I’m not worried about that,” Martin replied. “I’m just focusing on making this team.” Martin is poised to do that. He’s taken all the first-team snaps at right tackle this camp, and through much of the offseason, while incumbent starter Anthony Davis recovers from shoulder surgery. Martin missed three weeks in May and June because of mononucleosis that cut 12 pounds off his 6-foot-5, 312-pound frame. Those snaps are allowing Marting to clean up his technique and seize an opportunity to show his talent that shined bright at Stanford. “I’ve been trying to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Martin, a 2012 second-round by the Dolphins. “It’s crazy how talented this team is.” Martin’s trade in March reunited him with his former Stanford coach, Jim Harbaugh. “He has the same quotes up around here, the same philosophies, the same enthusiasm,” Martin said. “But the energy he brings is just really infectious.” Harbaugh asked Martin when camp opened last week if he’s fully recovered from the mono setback. “Told me, ‘No, coach, I’m good.’ … He’s never lied to me before, never misled me. Take a man at his word. He looks good.” Martin indeed feels good, physically and mentally. “There’s a silver lining to everything,” Martin said. “I’m in a real good spot. You don’t get many opportunities to try to play in this league.”

Fullback Bruce Miller arrived three years ago in the same draft class as Kendall Hunter, so that special bond evoked special feelings in the wake of Hunter's season-ending knee injury. "To have him go down is definitely going to hurt us," Miller said, "but it’s an opportunity for guys to step up. We’ll kind of use that to push through the season and do it for Kendall." Here's what else Miller had to say in his media session Saturday: On if his role changes: "One thing is I guess I’ll start mentoring some of these younger guys. Carlos, Marcus, LaMichael. They’ve got to step it in and pick it up.” On Carlos Hyde: "He’s impressive. A big body that can run. He does what running backs in our system are wanted to do, as not much side to side. He’ll put his foot in the ground and get vertical, which is what we ask guys to do." On Frank Gore: "I was joking with him yesterday: he looks midseason. It’s Frank Gore. You can’t expect anything less from him. He looks great this year." On last season's fractured scapula: "I’ve had a lot of time in rehab to get ready. I was cleared right after the season. I don’t expect there to be any problems. I’m 100 percent." On LaMichael James: "He’s been nothing but positive. He’s had a great attitude and worked hard every day. He looks a little bigger but he’s still as fast as lightning."  

All four defensive backs who started Super Bowl XLVII are gone, underscoring just how different the 49ers’ secondary will look in 2014. So what style will define that unit? “If we can be smart, play aggressive and play together, those are the attributes of a great secondary,” safety Antoine Bethea said Thursday at training camp. Bethea enters the mix after eight years with the Indianapolis Colts. He’ll be paired at safety with Eric Reid, last year’s first-round draft pick who made the Pro Bowl. It’s at cornerback, however, where the 49ers’ greatest mystery is about to unfold in training camp, specifically on the right side and in the slot. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likes what he sees from two potential new starters: Chris Culliver, who’s coming off last training camp’s knee injury, and Jimmie Ward, this year’s first-round draft pick who’s projected as the starting nickel back. Fangio said both have looked “fine” in practice, and although that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, he expressed himself in genuinely pleased and encouraged tone. For Culliver, he’s lining up on the right side and cutting well. These are his first team drills since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last Aug. 1. “I didn’t see any indications this is a guy who came off a year rehab,” Fangio said. Meanwhile, Tramaine Brock is coming off a season in which he seized the starting left cornerback job midway through last season. So with Brock entrenched as a returning starter, Culliver’s bid for a starting job will determine with how he compares to Chris Cook, a newcomer who had no interceptions in four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Culliver’s edge is his experience, at least in terms of his 2011-12 seasons as the No. 3 cornerback. Fangio wants him to become a “more complete cornerback” and adjust to pass routes that are different in base situations, rather than the multiple-receiver sets in nickel. The loser of that Culliver-Cook competition conceivably could contend as the nickel back. But Ward has been ticketed for that spot since the draft’s first round in May. “I like him mentally,” Fangio said. “He's confident without being cocky or arrogant. He knows he's got a daunting task ahead of him, that he was put behind the 8-ball with no offseason work.” Foot surgery in March may have kept Ward out of team drills, but he made an interception in Thursday’s debut practice of camp. Bethea praised the rookie for an ability to “always be around the ball.” Ward, after Thursday’s practice, said: “This is our dream job. Football is the easy part. I’m just trying to learn the system.” “Everything about him mentally and emotionally will end up being on the plus side of his ledger,” Fangio added. Perrish Cox knows it well, too, and will challenge Ward for the nickel role, along with Darryl Morris. Despite the secondary’s personnel turnover, Fangio didn’t create a new scheme, though he “may call things we didn’t do as much” previously. Determining an ideal secondary isn’t all that Fangio must figure out this camp. There’s also the pressing matter of finding NaVorro Bowman’s fill-in (or fill-ins) at inside linebacker. Fangio noted that the 49ers may use a platoon next to Patrick Willis, depending on their base or nickel defense. Fangio wouldn’t say that Michael Wilhoite is the front-runner for that starting role, only that he’s a candidate along with Chris Borland, Nick Moody and Shayne Skov. “We know (Patrick) Willis will be in there and can play either spot. We’ll put the next-best guy in there with him,” Fangio said. They’ve got six weeks to figure all that out, before it’s time to open the season and shut down Tony Romo’s passing attack for the Dallas Cowboys.

Here is a quick recap from the 49ers' first full-squad practice of training camp, held privately at their Santa Clara facility: -- Defensive play of the day: Rookie Jimmie Ward, the 49ers’ first-round draft pick, intercepted a Colin Kaepernick pass that cornerback Chris Cook tipped before it could reach Stevie Johnson. “It was a good first day,” Ward said. “If I keep making plays like that, maybe I’ll be seen, and hopefully I’ll get some playing time.” -- Offensive play of the day: Tight end Vance McDonald, who had only eight catches as a rookie, connected with Kaepernick for a nifty catch against safety Antoine Bethea. -- Best run: Frank Gore burst through the right side of the line on the first snap of 11-on-11 drills. Yes, this offense still starts with No. 21. -- Longest pass: Blaine Gabbert found Brandon Lloyd for the day’s longest completion, a 60-yard bomb to the goal line. -- Kap Line: Kaepernick unofficially completed 7 of 11 passes in 11-on-11 drills, including drops by Davis, Hyde and Asante Cleveland. Note: the media was kept on the far field so please excuse the unofficial charting of his passes. -- Worst look: Rookie running back Carlos Hyde dropped two passes, which seemed uncharacteristic compared to this spring’s workouts. -- Special-teams watch: While LaMichael James cleanly field punts, Devon Wylie muffed one near the goal line. -- Health watch: Defensive tackle Justin Smith and right tackle Anthony Davis didn’t practice. Both are recovering from offseason shoulder surgeries on their labrums. ... Cornerback Chris Culliver saw some snaps on the first-string defense in his first, full-squad drills since last training camp’s knee injury. Culliver appeared to jam his left thumb in warm-ups but continued to practice. ... Marcus Lattimore is on the non-football-injury list for precautionary reasons because of what Harbaugh called a “combination” of knee and hamstring concerns. Lattimore performed individual conditioning drills well on a side field during practice. ... MRI results are pending on tight end Garrett Celek’s back, Harbaugh said. ... Center Marcus Martin and wideout Bruce Ellington, two of the 49ers’ most-promising rookies, are recovering from minor ankle injuries.  

Jim Harbaugh took to the Levi's Stadium podium for the first time Thursday and did his best to offer an upbeat theme as training camp opened. He called himself "relentlessly positive." How relentless? He used the word "positive" six times. Here's the full transcript, courtesy of Tim Kawakami, whose blog is a go-to spot if you're new to this Internet thing: -HARBAUGH: Nicer set up than we had before, huh? -Q: Do you like it? -HARBAUGH: I do, um-mm. -Q: Are you going to make your main locker room the one here or will you keep the one you have at the old building? -HARBAUGH: I can envision them having two lockers–one there and one at the stadium. Take advantage of good things in both the facilities. -Q: What’s Marcus Lattimore’s status going into Day 1? -HARBAUGH: He’s on the PUP.  (Inaudible.) -Q: Has he had a set back? -HARBAUGH: The trainers, doctors evaluate. They make those decisions. As an organization, we do what’s best for the member of the team, the youngster on the team, because ultimately that’s in our best interest. -Q: He had the hamstring issue in the spring. Is that what this is or is this related to his knee? -HARBAUGH: It was a combination of the two. Again, doctors would be in better position to talk about that. Jeff Ferguson, the trainer… -Q: What did it mean to you to see Vernon Davis report to camp yesterday? Did you know he was coming in? -HARBAUGH: Definitely added to the excitement. And it’s already such an exciting day–the first day of football, where it’s the new year, it’s the start of the new year in football where that’s the start of the new year in football. It’s like it’s your own birthday. It’s a family reunion. It’s like a re-birth, feel like you come out of the womb and re-born into football. And definitely having Vernon there added to that. Everybody sees their friends, sees their family, haven’t seen them for a month or so as we’ve been apart after the mini-camp. It’s just a happening. A happening. Reporting day to training camp. -Q: How much did it subtract from it to not have Alex Boone there? -HARBAUGH: It’s such a positive happening, that first day. Imagine you’re kind of in the comfort of the off-season, like being in the comfort of the womb, got plenty of eat in there, it’s warm, very cozy, and then you’re born, kind of, somewhat into the unknown. A lot of people looking at you, a lot of faces looking at you, a lot of excitement… it’s light, it’s bright, it’s noisy, it’s the crazy world of football. And again, it’s a real happening. Wish everybody could experience it. -Q: On Alex Boone, are you disappointed that he’s not here? -HARBAUGH: Again, I’m relentlessly positive right now. That’s how I feel. I’m trying to describe it to you, the rebirth of football. Step out onto the grass for that first practice, smell the smells,  you see the sky and you’ve got your team out there. It’s a wonderful feeling. -Q: Is Jimmie Ward going to be practicing today? -HARBAUGH: Yes. -Q: What do you expect out of him since he wasn’t able to do much work in the off-season? -HARBAUGH: We were doing some practices right before reporting day with rookies and quarterbacks and some of the injured vets… a couple of practices as well were even in pads and Jimmie and some of the younger guys that are experienced… were very positive. Looking forward to him and for everybody to be out there Day 1. -Q: What positives did you see from Ward? -HARBAUGH: Good player. Good football player. A lot of things that we saw on tape. -Q: How many padded practices did you have with the rookies? -HARBAUGH: We had two. -Q: Kaepernick says Vernon can get up to speed in no time. You agree with that? -HARBAUGH: Vernon’s an old friend and trusted agent. We’ve all been through the wars with Vernon–he’s been through them with us. Very positive. -Q: Justin Smith said he played with a shoulder injury all last season and he’s good now. How much better can he be this year? -HARBAUGH: I’ve learned to never under-estimate Justin Smith. He’s strong as ever. Looks like he’s in great shape–as all our guys did, we had a conditioning test, run, flush… and our guys just killed it. They knocked it out of the park, all of them did. -Q: If Alex Boone isn’t here for a long period of time, do you feel like you have somebody at right guard who can take his place? -HARBAUGH: We’re early… as we said this is just Day 1 of training camp. Things will determined. It’s a process. -Q: Did anybody step up in the off-season? -HARBAUGH: I’m talking about our entire roster. I’ve very pleased with the team that has assembled. Think Trent Baalke, all of us in the organization have done a wonderful job assembling this roster. Very, very pleased to be a part of it. -Q: Aldon Smith’s sentencing was resolved last week. How do you feel he has performed off the field this off-season from the incident in LA to this point? -HARBAUGH: He’s… going through a process, which is, there’s accountability for some mistakes made. And also he’s been given the opportunity to do what he says he’s going to do. So far he’s doing that. -Q: He missed five games last year voluntarily. Do you expect the NFL to suspend him for more games at the start of this season? Would that be just? -HARBAUGH: That’s… as you know, that’s in their hands. They will discipline if they warrant it. -Q: Has he served enough time already with those five games? -HARBAUGH: Again, it’s a process. A life-cycle of where we are as a football team. We’ve talked about that. First day of training camp–relentlessly positive. It’s a happening. We are enjoying it very much. And there’s a life-cycle to what you’re talking about. A process that plays out. -Q: Have you heard if and when the NFL’s process with Aldon might conclude? -HARBAUGH: Again, just to reiterate what I said, it’s a process. Don’t have any information to shed on that process. -Q: You’ve mentioned the positivity several times. Is that because you’re feeling so positive, do you think your team is feeling that or is that what you want? -HARBAUGH: I see it in their eyes. They’re cheerful and undefeated. I might be a little bit older, but I look at the mirror, I see my eyes, they’re cheerful and undefeated. I don’t know you can ever have a team that’s truly happy as a football team or in training camp, especially. You may not be around a happy team. But our team is the least unhappy team I’ve ever been around. -Q: Different than your team in previous years? -HARBAUGH: I see it. It’s in their eyes. -Q: Do you think Jonathan Martin has been a media distraction at all? -HARBAUGH: No. [SKIP QUESTION] -Q: How is NaVorro Bowman doing in his injury rehab? -HARBAUGH: Really good. Talked to him yesterday about it.  Positive. Doing running. Looking forward to doing some cutting–that’ll be the next in that process. -Q: A few months ago you speculated he’d probably miss about 8 games. -HARBAUGH: Who speculated that? -Q: You did. -HARBAUGH: OK. I think I remember that. I remember ballparking that. -Q: Is that still the estimate? -HARBAUGH: I don’t know–you make a prediction and that’s basically based on these guys, these athletes, these super-fit, almost super-human the way the rehabilitate themselves, and they come back from injury, it’s not the normal guy by any means. I think we’ve all seen the evidence of that. NaVorro is a cream of the crop of the athletes, professional athletes on a football team. So, hard to say where it’s going to fall. My prediction would be, I’ve seen other guys… He just is even the cream of that crop. So I don’t know, to be honest with you. I’m very hopeful. Very optimistic. Knowing NaVorro the way I do, nothing would surprise me if it’s sooner than that. I would not be surprised when you’re talking about NaVorro. Again, it’ll be in the hands of the doctors and NaVorro and we’ll do what’s in the best interest of NaVorro Bowman because ultimately that’s in the best interest of the program. -Q: What strides do you want to see Kaepernick make this camp? -HARBAUGH: I think you know I feel about him. Think he had a tremendous off-season, very excited to continue that into training camp as we build a foundation for our team. We’re laying the keel right now. Building the spine and the backbone of the ship. -Q: What are your thoughts on Stevie Johnson so far? -HARBAUGH: I already feel like he’s an ally. Feel like I’ve gotten to know him very fast and I like everything about him. Know what he has inside. I know what he can do on the football field. Very much looking for him to be the best that he can be. -Q: Just due to the way the last three season have ended, so close but no Super Bowl title, do you think there’s extra pressure on this one season to get that Super Bowl? -HARBAUGH: Again, it’s a new year, this is a rebirth. I know I’ve made that analogy before. You’re reborn in football into a new season and one of the things we feel reborn this year to some very high expectations. And we welcome that. My own son Jack was born and he’s got high expectations on him. And happy to report that he’s exceeding them. And we’d like to do the same. -Q: Your identity has been a running team. Do you think you can be a more dynamic passing team? -HARBAUGH: Can we? Yes. -Q: Do you want to see that? -HARBAUGH: Sure. All our focus, all our attention is on exceeding those goals, to become better as a football team. We strive for that every day. That’s a mantra for us. Better today than we were yesterday, better tomorrow than we were today. It’s a focus. -Q: How is this team better than it was last year? -HARBAUGH: I don’t really compare things like that–one team to last year or this team two or three years ago. Try to avoid that. Any time you try comparing things or people or teams, someone gets diminished. -Q: You said you want to be better, better than what? -HARBAUGH: I think we’re better than we were yesterday. And hope we’re going to better tomorrow than we were today. It’s been a heckuva off-season for us; I think–I don’t know about everybody else’s reporting day, because you’re not there–but feel like our reporting day was A-plus-plus. Meetings have been very good, very sharp, the players engaged 100%… had a terrific walk-through and our anticipations are high for a great practice this afternoon. -Q: You’ve got a lot of running backs. Would you like to go into a running-back-by-committee instead of Gore getting so many carries? -HARBAUGH: I don’t know. We could be talking about the wide receiver position same as the running back position. A very talented group of running backs, there’s no question about it. Very talented group of wide receivers, we have a very talented group of quarterbacks; very talented group of tight ends, we have a very talented offensive line, talented and deep. That’s the way the roster’s positioned, I’m very pleased with it. -Q: Will Jonathan Martin be ready to go full speed today? -HARBAUGH: Yeah, what he told me was–I’ve known Jon a long time and asked him how you feel, anything lingering? And he said no, Coach, I’m good. I’ve heard him say that before and he’s always been good. So never lied to me before, never misled me. So take the man at his word. He looks good. -Q: You had a couple rookies on the non-football PUP? Did they get injured away from the football field? -HARBAUGH: Yes. -Q: Martin and Ellington? -HARBAUGH: Yes. Those two. -Q: What is the nature of their injuries? -HARBAUGH: Hopefully it doesn’t seem like they’re real serious. Both involved rolling the ankle–basketball-type roll of the ankle. Not playing basketball, according to them. Again, take a man at his word. They were doing football drills away from the team. Very optimistic that Bruce will be back–he’ll be out the shortest amount of time, he’ll be on the PUP the shortest period of time. And then Marcus next. Aaron Lynch very soon as well. -Q: How about Celek? -HARBAUGH: We’re still waiting for some tests on him. He was talking about his back. Get an MRI. Again, it’s a process. -Q: Did he do the conditioning test? -HARBAUGH: Yeah, he did. And then afterwards felt tightness in that area. Take a good hard look at that. -Q: Back to your son Jack–what kind of expectations does he have? -HARBAUGH: I bring that example up, just… he’s my biological son and football sons and you have high expectations for Jack, football players, myself, coaches… And very pleased with how all of them are coming along at this point. Very happy. -Q: You’re putting him through drills? -HARBAUGH: I am. Had a little time away from football, had a chance to have some time away from football with the family, I was coaching my butt off. Teaching Addie my five-year-old to ride a bike without training wheels, that’s harder than I remembered with some of the older kids. But she’s coming along. Katie’s swimming now, teaching her to swim. And coaching Jack to hit a baseball and he can actually swing and hit a baseball, hit off a tee. So it’s good. -Q: Saw him head-butt you. -HARBAUGH: He’s got a callous built up on that forehead. -Q: Did you get solar power on your house? -HARBAUGH: Yes, how did you know that? It’s great. Fantastic.