SANTA CLARA – “Celek Time” has become a rallying cry of sorts for the 49ers. Talk to the players and there seems to be a mystic around the notion. The phrase refers to humble tight end Garrett Celek, who has been known as more of a blocking tight end until the last two seasons.
However, Celek has been a part of the season’s biggest plays including a 47-yard catch-and-run in the team’s first win over the Giants, and last week’s 61-yard reception that was the most exciting play of the 49ers’ 26-16 victory last Sunday in Houston.
Before now, Celek has not been known as a receiving threat.
In fact, Celek wasn’t known as a threat at all until the Saturday before the Giants’ game when center Daniel Kilgore and a few other players saw fantasy experts discussing Celek on television.
“The dumb ass fantasy guys came across the TV and they mentioned Celek,” Kilgore said. “So we gave him a hard time about it. Sure enough, he scores a touchdown. So it’s Celek Time. That’s when it all started.”
Then during the film review after the New York win, coach Kyle Shanahan went over three great plays by Celek, culminating in his 47-yard touchdown pass. And then Shanahan coined the phrase, “Celek Time.”
“I think he false started or something and it set us back,” Shanahan said explaining how Celek Time began. “But he ended up making three plays in a row, a critical play to get us into a third-and-two and then he moved the chains for us and then the next play he had that pass versus the Giants where he caught like a 20-yard pass and made a guy miss and took it to the house. We just started joking there that they didn’t realize that it was Celek Time and it just kind of stuck.”
Now players utter the phrase to each other in the hallway.
“It cannot be defined,” receiver Marquise Goodwin said. “When it’s Celek Time, it’s Celek Time. Whatever that means.”
Rookie receiver Trent Taylor said. “You don’t know it, until you’re in it.”
As the 49ers win, and as Celek continues to score touchdowns (he leads the team with three) the Celek Time mystic just continues to grow.