Bucs coach seeing Kaepernick in his dreams

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Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano heard about Colin Kaepernick - or "Kapy" - before he ever saw him.

Several years ago, when Schiano was the coach at Rutgers and Kaepernick was the quarterback at Nevada, some members of the Rutgers coaching staff went to Reno to study coach Chris Ault's pistol offense.

They came back with an Xs-and-Os education. And they also returned having learned about the quarterback who made Nevada's offense click.

"I can remember the coach there, Chris Ault, speaking to our staff about - Kapy they call him, he called him Kapy. It was Kapy this, Kapy that," Schiano told the Tampa Bay media Wednesday. "I said, 'I have to see this Kapy guy.' Well I'm seeing him. I tell you, I'm seeing him in my dreams."

Schiano will get his first in-person look at Kaepernick on Sunday when the 49ers visit the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay leads the NFL in interceptions (21), but its secondary might not have faced the type of fastballs it will see Sunday.

"That guy has a huge arm, he throws the ball from the far hash to a ... I don't really see many (QBs) throwing (a) 22-yard comeback," Schiano said. "But he really rips it, and it doesn't leave much more than about 7 feet off the ground."

History with Gore: Schiano, who was the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami in 2000, recalled the Hurricanes recruiting and eventually signing a running back from Coral Gables (Fla.) High: the 49ers' Frank Gore.

Gore rushed for 2,953 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior.

"His high school tape was legitimately sick," Schiano said. "He was something."

More than a decade later, Gore, who is 69 yards away from his seventh 1,000-yard season, is impressing Schiano's players.

"I'll openly say it: Frank Gore is our focal point," Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. "If you can slow that guy down, then we can start worrying about everything else. It's not to downplay anybody else because they have a great offense, but that guy, he makes things run. If he's going, their offense is going, so we've got to slow that guy down."

Briefly: Guard Adam Snyder and defensive tackles Justin Smith and Ray McDonald returned to practice after missing Wednesday's session.