San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh defended quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his short answers during a media session on Wednesday.

“It’s sad, really, because you don’t know him,” Harbaugh said Friday. “And he’s a determined person, he’s a spiritual person, he’s a very hard worker and he wants to do well and works extremely hard at it. And you get the honest person when you deal with him.

“If he’s not chatty, he’s not going to be chatty. He’s single-minded when he’s playing the game of football and preparing for the game. If you want somebody to be wordy and that’s not who they are, that would be phony to be that. It would be passive-aggressive.

“That would be being somebody that he’s not. His jaw is set; he wants to win this football game. He’s doing everything that I expect, and I appreciate it. I appreciate that. I appreciate that he is who he is. I’m around him every day. He’s his own person, too.”

Harbaugh took umbrage with criticism that Kaepernick’s dealings with the media reflect poorly on the 49ers.

“A face-of-the-franchise quarterback should be a great leader, by example, the way he works, a team player, all the way,” Harbaugh said. “What’s in his heart is about the team. He’s not about himself. You get the raw honesty.

“If you want somebody to be wordy and that’s not who they are, that would be phony to be that. It would be passive-aggressive. That would be being somebody that he’s not. His jaw is set; he wants to win this football game. He’s doing everything that I expect, and I appreciate it.”

The 49ers are preparing to play in Oakland on Sunday against the Raiders.