Colin Kaepernick ethnicity was the recent focus of coach Jim Harbaugh who didn't need to raise the expectations for quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a recent meeting with local reporters. If he actually is destined to reach elite status within this league, this can be a year when he needs to take a giant step forward.

Harbaugh set the stage for such expectations by recently saying that this would be Kaepernick's breakout season. It actually looked like an odd statement, because Kaepernick broke out in the second year -- when he replaced former starter Alex Smith midway with the 2012 season and led San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII -- however it is easy to determine Harbaugh's motive in retrospect. A team that already had two proven wide receivers in Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin has added two more veteran targets this offseason (Brandon Lloyd and Stevie Johnson) and drafted another wideout in fourth-round pick Bruce Ellington. Add in Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis, and Kaepernick has not been blessed using a better supporting cast.

Brad Mills/USA TODAY SportsColin Kaepernick is a brilliant runner, but he passed for longer than 200 yards just six times last season.
The 26-year-old Kaepernick basically is a the point in his career when he should be able to carry the 49ers whenever necessary. He never had to accomplish this in 2012. Last season, he proved incompetent at doing it without Crabtree, who suffered an Achilles injury in organized team activities, along with the 49ers started slowly. At a time if this appeared likely that this 49ers would draw from their rising star quarterback, Harbaugh reverted to your more conservative, run-first approach that saved the growing season and raised real queries about Kaepernick's growth.

The idea that Kaepernick rebounded in the second half and played well inside postseason helped erase some of the people concerns. (In his defense, he was having fun with an injur