San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis is making quite the impression with fans. His strong play at the end of his rookie season is catapulting himself to being a fan favorite. He finished last season with 27 catches for 467 yards and five touchdowns; most of his statistics came from the final six games as he posted 24 catches for 371 yards and four touchdowns in that period.
But he's also making himself a favorite with the 49ers faithful with his activity on social media.
by popular demandā¦. @Trent5Taylor @BournePoly11 @gkittle46 @WatchJRoss @TDBynum @Ford_Kyle6 ššššššš pic.twitter.com/fGZnygtttT
ā dante (@dmainy_13) April 7, 2019
But outside of highlight material on the football field, dancing, and changing up his hair color, not a lot of people know too much about him. And outside of what fans see from him on the field and online, there is a fascinating individual. Here are four things to know about Dante Pettis.
1. A Very Talented Family
Many will already know that Dante's father, Gary Pettis played in the MLB for ten years. He started his career with the California Angels (now Los Angeles Angels), and also for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and San Diego Padres. He's currently a third base coach for the Houston Astros and was on the squad that won the 2017 World Series.
But the 49ers receiver also has a brother that also played in the NFL in Austin Pettis. A fellow receiver who played college ball at Boise State and put together a relatively successful career with the St. Louis Rams as he put together 107 catches for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns.
Dante's mother was also involved with sports as a Raiders cheerleader, and outside of the world of sports is Dante's brother Kyler who is an actor on the daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives, where he won an Emmy award.
2. Dante Pettis is Very Artistic
Going along with his brother's artistic ways, Dante also has an appreciation for the arts.
At the University of Washington, he graduated with a creative writing degree, a hobbyist photographer, and attended a Q&A featuring director SpikeĀ Lee. When given a chance to talk to theĀ Do, the Right Thing director, he became even more inspired to do his creative writing and expand into making movies as he said in The Players' Tribune when he was told that he should write for at least 10 minutes before bed.
This was like an artistās version of the best pregame pump-up speech imaginable. After listening to him, I was ready to run through a brick wall ā¦ and then go write the next great American novel. It turned out to be hands down one of the most incredible, inspiring and uplifting artistic experiences of my lifeāsomething that Iāll never forget.
He's got his life after football planned out with writing movies. Mostly on his love for cats.
3. He LOVES Cats
In the articleĀ mentioned above, he goes into great detail about his love for cats. He starts by saying that they're āLITERALLY THE BEST ANIMALS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!ā He goes into detail about why he feels this way.
In a lot of ways, I feel like me and cats have a ton in common.
I mean, theyāre generally introverted like I am, and theyāre just so multi-dimensional. Theyāre always planning. Strategizing. Learning.
Pettis also has two cats in his personal life named Mowgli and Bagheera (pictured below).
Pettis loves cats so much that he can be caught on the sideline, making cat gestures as well. It's fair to attest his cat-like agility to his love of cats.
4. Has a College Football Record
Going along with his killer instinct like that of a puma or cheetah or some other feline predator, he's known from college for his returning abilities as well. He's the record-holder for most punt return touchdowns in a career.
These highlights are another reason as to why he's so dangerous when he has the ball in his hands. His open-field awareness and vision in finding space are just one of the many things that made the San Francisco 49ers draft him.
Follow Us
Subscribe