There’s a very slim chance that Nate Montana ever makes it in the NFL, let alone play for the San Francisco 49ers. Attending their tryouts is probably the closest he’ll ever get to being anything remotely close to anything his father, Joe Montana, achieved during his pro career.

But Nate doesn’t want to be like dad – he just wants someone to give him a chance. It took him four different college stops to finally get a starting gig, playing at West Virginia Wesleyan, a Division II school. He ended up starting nine games and leading the conference in passing yards (2,480) and touchdown passes (19). He was an honorable mention all-conference selection.

The chances of Montana even being drafted are very small. He’s not counting on it, hoping that he’ll do enough to impress the 49ers, eligible to take a part of their tryouts thanks to attending De La Salle High in Concord. He has a younger brother, Nick, who might start for Tulane this season after transferring from Mt. San Antonio College.

At the moment, despite some impressive numbers from his college days (Montana attempted at least 50 passes in seven of his games, completing 51.6%. His biggest game was against West Virginia State, when he threw for 432 yards and four touchdowns), he’s not among the 16 quarterbacks invited to the Scouting Combine; his performances in the Regional combine drew mixed reviews, not the kind that land you an NFL gig.

But Montana isn’t giving up. He has a dream of playing professionally as a quarterback, and he’ll give it what he’s got. If not the NFL, than the Arena football league or the CFL. At some point, he figures, he’s going to get a job from someone, and at least emulate his dad by a tiny bit. No one expects him to be Joe Montana or even anything close. Just trying seems to be something most would shy away from. Maybe, the 49ers somehow make this fairy tale come true.