SANTA CLARA, Calif. — I'm pretty sure this wasn't part of the 49ers' grand plan, but, last month in the sixth round, they appeared to have drafted the anti-Vernon Davis.

Vernon Davis and Bear Pascoe are both tight ends, but the similarities seem to end there. Davis has stylish braids. Pascoe has a flat crewcut. Davis is a fashionista, with a taste for the outlandish. Pascoe wore a cowboy hat to his first day on the job with the 49ers.

Davis grew up in the city, in Washington, D.C. Pascoe grew up on 5,000 acres of cattle ranch outside of Porterville. Davis spent his draft day in a suit at Radio City Music Hall. Pascoe spent his fixing a fence where steer had broken through.

A couple of weeks ago Davis hosted the annual Styling the Modern Man Gala at the W Hotel. Pascoe?

"I went to a ropin' with my family," he said Thursday. "Down in Three Rivers, Visalia."

Here's another difference: Davis came in with high expectations — drafted No. 6 overall in 2006 — and the 49ers are still waiting for him to materialize into the promised offensive threat. Pascoe, in contrast, is a sixth-round pick from Fresno State shouldering few expectations.

In theory, Pascoe, 23, was drafted to replace blocking tight end Billy Bajema, who signed with St. Louis in March. In reality, Pascoe appears to have far more pass-catching skill than Bajema: He caught 112 passes for 1,294 yards for the Bulldogs.

While Davis is treading a fine line with fans, who have become exasperated with his lack of production combined with game-day antics, Pascoe has all the makings of an instant fan favorite.

For one thing, his name is Bear, a nickname given to him as an oversized toddler. His given name is McKenna, but as a small child — after the third or fourth "What was that?" from adults — he usually gave up and just offered, "Bear."

Then there's the fact he's a real-life cowboy. Have a conversation with him and you'll learn that "cowboying" is a verb. Cowboying entails running the ranch: fence-fixing, hay-bucking, moving cows and "sortin' weaners" — sorting the weaning calves from the others.

"I never played Pop Warner or Little League," Pascoe said. "I wasn't interested. I loved being on the ranch, getting on my horse and cowboyin' with my dad."

Pascoe didn't spend a lot of time studying the NFL either. At his home, in a hollow surrounded by hills, there was no television reception. The gate to the ranch was an hour outside of town; the trip from the gate to the front door was another 15 minutes down a dirt road. The bus trip to school took 90 minutes each way.

"We were the first ones picked up in the morning and the last ones dropped off in the afternoon," Pascoe said.

Pascoe's competitive outlet was roping. He still competes, sometimes with his entire family. He enters mixed roping with his sister Sara or his mother, Julie. Or he partners with his father, Sean, who played football at Colorado State, or his brother Ryan, who is a cowboy on the Hearst ranch in Cambria. But roping isn't exactly the NFL.

"They coincide a little bit with the mental aspect," Pascoe said after a 49ers team workout. "If you're not right in the head you won't perform right. That's what's going on here — I'm thinking about stuff too much instead of just knowing what to do."

Pascoe — who is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds — didn't play organized football until he was a sophomore in high school. But he was already strong through his unique cross-training program on the ranch.

"I definitely think it had to do with building strength," he said. "Not being ripped, but that man strength. Brute strength."

Pascoe was a standout at Fresno State. His cowboying was restricted while he concentrated on football and school. But every so often he would sneak away and drive the 90 minutes home back to the ranch, and roping.

When he signs his NFL contract, such activities surely will be restricted. He's cool with that. He knows he has a lot to learn and is eager to learn from Davis, the anti-Pascoe.

"Maybe he can tell me where to shop," Pascoe joked.

Not likely.