The Sports Xchange

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula thanked his players for their hard work at the end of the club’s June minicamp.

Now it’s the coach’s turn.

Tomsula insists he’s looking forward to the competition in training camp for starting positions that inevitably follows the loss of seven starters from the previous season.

But having seen most of his players at the minicamp, Tomsula’s next task is creating a depth chart that, for all intends and purposes, will give some a head-start over others in the competition for first-team status in the Sept. 14 opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Even after the summer sessions, the new coach has more question marks than exclamation points in his starting lineup.

Tomsula can go ahead and use pen on the depth chart when identifying the camp-opening status of nine returning standouts: quarterback Colin Kaepernick, left tackle Joe Staley, wide receiver Anquan Boldin, tight end Vernon Davis, inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman, outside linebacker Aldon Smith, cornerback Tramaine Brock and safeties Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid.

Probably, Carlos Hyde will get the first crack at replacing running back Frank Gore, but veteran Reggie Bush also is in the picture.

Torrey Smith will flank Boldin at wide receiver in Michael Crabtree’s old spot, although another newcomer, Jerome Simpson, already has played himself into some sort of role.

And Darnell Dockett, the club’s highest profile acquisition in the offseason, will line up with the first unit at one of the defensive end positions, replacing either Justin Smith or Ray McDonald.

The rest pretty much is up for grabs.

The offensive line is the biggest mess.

Tomsula spent much of minicamp trying to figure out what to do with last year’s starting right guard, Alex Boone. The options: Stay at right guard, move to Mike Iupati’s vacated spot at left guard, or take over for Anthony Davis at right tackle.

Where Tomsula slots Boone will have a domino effect.

Newcomer Erik Pears probably will start at tackle if Boone stays at guard, although Pears also could move inside.

Marcus Martin, Daniel Kilgore, Andrew Tiller, Brandon Thomas and Joe Looney ended camp jockeying for position(s), and Sean Hooey subsequently was added to further crowd the situation.

The defensive line is similar in terms of vacancies, quantity and questionable quality.

Smith and McDonald are gone, with Dockett set to replace one. That leaves an outside spot open potentially for first-round pick Arik Armstead, but competition runs deep.

Tank Carradine, Glenn Dorsey, Quinton Dial, Ian Williams and Tony Jerod-Eddie are also in the mix for the spot book-ending Dockett, as well as the starting nose tackle position.

Who will fill in among Bowman and Smith at linebacker? And who will earn top billing at the corner flanking Brock as well as the nickel corner position?

The 49ers faithful awaits the first 11 to take the field on both sides of the ball on opening day of training camp, as they will identify Tomsula’s first impressions.

Then the fun begins.