SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ 6-11 season in 2024 was a gut punch for everyone involved after taking up residence in the NFC Championship Game three years running.

Kris Kocurek, the 49ers’ highly regarded defensive line coach, felt it more than most. It was his unit that gave ground far too easily as the 49ers lost seven of their last eight games and put too little pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

As a result, it was Kocurek who was given an almost entirely new unit with the expectation that the defensive line rotation would be younger, faster, tougher, better. Defensive end Mykel Williams (first round), defensive tackle Alfred Collins (second round) and defensive tackle C.J. West (fourth round) arrived in the draft. Defensive end Bryce Huff is the newest addition, coming in a trade on Monday.

“This year is probably one of the more significant turnovers with youth added to the mix and acquiring Bryce here in the last few days,” Kocurek said Tuesday as 49ers position coaches met with the media. “There will be quite a few new faces in there that will have to make significant contributions. It can be challenging, but they’re all coming in very eager to learn and getting a little better each day, one day on top of the next.”

Huff is coming off a two-sack season in which he was a non-factor in Philadelphia after signing a big-money free agent contract. He wasn’t even active for the Eagles’ Super Bowl win.

Kocurek is confident getting Huff back to his roots as a hand-in-the-ground pass rusher will return him to the form he showed when he had 10 sacks with the New York Jets in 2023 with Robert Saleh as head coach.

“If you’re born into a hand-in-the-ground defense, it’s an adjustment to a stand-up, outside linebacker role and vice versa,” Kocurek said. “It’s not just snap your fingers and go to a new scheme.”

Kocurek said he took the 49ers’ defensive line regression personally.

“If that doesn’t piss you off then you’ve got to get out of coaching,” Kocurek said. “The fire burns deeper in your stomach, the chip gets bigger on your shoulder and you want to do everything humanly possible to make sure it doesn’t happen again. No one should be happy about it.”

Some observations from other 49ers assistants on how things have looked during the offseason program:

Running backs coach Bobby Turner on Christian McCaffrey: “He looks like Christian. I’m very happy with Christian. I see Christian being Christian and he’s as good as they come.”

Linebackers coach Johnny Holland on rookie linebacker Nick Martin: “It’s not fair to compare him to Dre Greenlaw yet. Hopefully, he will be. Nick’s got to prove himself and he can’t put pressure on himself like that. I would tell him that Dre didn’t start out like this. He was just a guy that was playing football and having fun playing.”

Defensive passing game specialist Daniel Bullocks on safeties Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant: “Excited to have both of those guys. They bring starter experience. They’ve been two year starters in the league since they’ve been in the NFL.”

Tight ends coach Brian Fleurry on free agent signing Luke Farrell: “Luke’s got a different skill set than any of the guys we’ve paired with George (Kittle) in the past,” Fleurry said. “It gives the flexibility to take George out of some of those (blocking) roles. There’s a lot of room for him to grow as a route runner and receiver. There’s a lot more waiting to come out.”

Line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster on who will be the swing tackle: “We brought Andre Dillard here late, we have Spencer Burford and Austen Pleasants. He’s made huge improvements. I think he’s got something special there. It’s a very competitive spot.

Defensive backs/cornerbacks coach Ray Brown on nickel back Upton Stout: “The guy flies around, he plays the style of ball you want. He plays with urgency, he plays with passion. He loves the game of football. You can win with guys like that.”

Quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi on the next step for Brock Purdy: “Any quarterback, your job is to take care of the football, score points and find completions. If you do that, wins will find their way.”

Lombardi, a former New England assistant, on former Patriot Mac Jones: “Mac’s a talented player. I think he’s proven that in the NFL. We won a lot of games (10) in his rookie season and that was cool. He’s really smart, can distribute the football and play on time and in rhythm.”