49ers rookie Reuben Foster earns starting LB job

Reuben Foster has been named a starter by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, according to the team's website.

Shanahan told reporters after practice Tuesday that Foster earned the starting position at weak linebacker. However, the position can still be usurped by another linebacker should he perform better than Foster in the coming weeks.

Foster, a key member of Alabama's defense for the last three years, was scooped up by San Francisco with the 31st pick in the draft. He was considered by many to be too small to be a linebacker and had several off-field issues before he was drafted. However, Foster seemed to have proven himself to Shanahan in practice.

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The 23-year-old won a national championship with Alabama in 2015 and was a the team's defensive leader on a roster that made it to the CFP title game in 2016.

Foster, along with fellow first-round pick Solomon Thomas, will be key to Shanahan's new career as a head coach and to the new career of John Lynch as the team's general manager.