San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) celebrates his rushing touchdown with tight end Delanie Walker (46) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. The 49ers won 31-21. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

Kaepernick to start over Alex Smith as 49ers QB on Sunday

By JANIE McCAULEY

| The Associated Press

First Published Nov 28 2012 01:16 pm • Last Updated Nov 28 2012 01:30 pm

SANTA CLARA, Calif. • Colin Kaepernick will start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at St. Louis.

Coach Jim Harbaugh made the announcement Wednesday that Kaepernick would go over Alex Smith after the second-year pro led the NFC West-leading Niners (8-2-1) to victories in the past two games, his first two NFL starts.

He says, "Colin we believe has the hot hand."

Kaepernick has completed 48 of 74 passes for 680 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and was sacked six times. He has a 102.3 passer rating.

Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick, hardly looked happy on the sideline during Sunday’s win over the Saints after being medically cleared from a concussion suffered in the first half of a 24-24 tie against St. Louis on Nov. 11.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

About Reader Comments

---

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account.
See more about comments here.