SANTA CLARA – The 49ers list Tarell Brown as their starting right cornerback for Sunday’s season opener against the Seahawks.

If Shawntae Spencer can prove in practice this week that his hamstring is healthy, look for Spencer to take his spot at right corner, and for Brown to slide back to the nickel spot.

Either way, Brown will be a key member of the Niners’ secondary in 2011.

He spoke today at his locker and this is what he said.

Q: With a new coaching staff in place, did you see that as an opportunity to prove to them that you’re a starter?

BROWN: All the guys, we all have to make a name for ourselves and let the coaches know who we are, in and out, as far as being a football player. Every guy. Every guy who was already a starter under the last coaching staff and the guys who weren’t starters, we all had to prove ourselves once again. Anytime you get an opportunity to prove yourself you’ve got to make the most of the opportunity.

Q: We talked to your defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, he said that he thought that football was important to you and that was important to him that you thought that. Is that the case and how do you communicate that to your coaches?

BROWN: I love football. I don’t know any guy in here that football’s not important to them. If it wasn’t important to them they wouldn’t do it on a day-to-day basis. You can’t be out here working on the field and putting all these hours in if football’s not important to you. I do what I do because this is my job and this is what I’m passionate about, so I’m going to give it 110 percent any opportunity that I get, whether that’s on the field or off the field as far as studying as well.

Q: Seattle has a brand new coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball. How do you prepare for a team that’s transitioning like that?

BROWN: I think you’ve just got to go with tendencies. The offensive coordinator – what he liked to do last year, the stuff he did against the other teams, different 3-4 defenses and stuff like that, so we’ve got to go out there and just makes plays. At the end of the day, Coach is going to put us in the best position to make plays, and we’ve just got to execute.

Q: Teams haven’t been showing much in the exhibition season…

BROWN: Yeah, most definitely. We haven’t shown that much either. It’s just like them. I think with every team, they’re not going to give away their cards. We’ve been hiding stuff too. When we go out there with our full game plan you’ll definitely see the 49er pass rush make some plays.

Q: Did you blitz at all in the exhibition season?

BROWN: Once (laughs).

Q: Do you have any career sacks?

BROWN: Never in my life.

Q: Is that something you feel you could do?

BROWN: If it’s asked, I’ll do it, but I’ve never been a rusher.

Follow me on twitter @grantcohn