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49ers offensive lineman Dominick Puni joins Willard and Dibs to talk training camp.
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00:00Let's check in on the Niners and get down to Santa Clara because joining us now on the River
00:04Islands guest line is 49ers offensive lineman, third year Dominic Pony. Dom, appreciate you
00:12coming on the show. What's going on? Yeah, we're excited to talk to you. How are you feeling by
00:18the way? And I, and I mean that also in comparison, like I know it's a year later, so now
00:23we can
00:23admit it, right? You were kind of playing through injury last year. So how, how would you compare
00:28how you feeling now versus last year? I feel good, man. I mean, I just, I feel the same
00:32as going into camp last year. I feel 100%. Just getting better day by day. How do you approach
00:38the off season in terms of, you know, fitness and weight? Because you obviously want to stay
00:42at about a certain number. Do you get big and then get back small? Do you try to maintain
00:46your playing weight? I usually, no, I'm usually pretty good about maintaining. I just follow
00:51the program that the 49ers strength staff sends out and, you know, it never fails because I'm
00:55always coming back in training camp in shape and ready. So, you know, they got a good program.
00:59Dom, I, I think you probably feel this. Uh, and maybe you don't. I think the fan base is stressed
01:05about the offensive line and it's mainly because of the talent on the defensive line with two
01:12of the teams in your division. How, how do you see those matchups? What do you guys feel you need
01:18to do better this year? I mean, there's always stuff to get better at. Um, just simple stuff in the
01:23run game and the pass game, but I will say just the cohesiveness that we've built, um, especially
01:28with, uh, me, Jake and Cole, just having so many games play together. Um, you can really tell how
01:33it's affected and like how well we've meshed together this camp. Um, so I'm excited for that
01:38and take the next step, but, um, we're just going to keep taking our coaching points and just keep
01:42applying it to practice and just keep getting better. And you mix Trent in there as well. And
01:45you've got a pretty solid offensive line. I wonder when you look back at last year and you reverse
01:49engineer it, where do you see the biggest issues you guys were having in the run game?
01:54The biggest issues? I don't know. It's hard to pinpoint. I think, uh, coach Shanahan did a good
01:59job trying to point out. We're always just like, it's, it's one guy's off. You know, it's just, we
02:03could have 10 guys on, on the right path, right thing they're doing. Uh, one guy is failing his job
02:08and it can ruin the whole point. I just think, uh, we just weren't always all 11 guys on the
02:13same page.
02:15Dominic Pony is with us here on Withered and Dibs 95.7. The game, Dom, I I've, I've, you know,
02:19we've listened to a lot of things that you've said, uh, mentioned things about the cohesiveness
02:24of the offensive line. I don't know if I've ever heard you go in depth on Trent Williams as a
02:30teammate, especially as you watch, you know, you're going into year three, his age, his longevity.
02:38What, what have you taken from him? What has all of that meant to you?
02:42Uh, it means a lot. I remember when I got drafted, I think one of the first things I
02:45thought was, man, I get to like be in the same room as Trent Williams and just kind of see
02:49how he operates in the room. And you know, what's his key to longevity. And honestly, he's just,
02:54I would say he's like, not a real person. He's just kind of like, uh, like, I don't even know
02:59what, like a, like a myth, like a mythical character. Like he's in year, what, 16, 15. I don't even
03:04know, but like, cause guys will tell me they're in year 10 and I'm like, wow, that's a long time.
03:09And then here comes Trent, who's still playing at an all pro level, like 15, 16 years in. So,
03:13I mean, it is unbelievable. And you know, the advice he gives every day is just awesome. So
03:18it's great to learn from him. Um, I know also, uh, we always get to see him and especially now
03:23that Debo's back, we get to see those guys with the boom box crew. We don't really get to see
03:27what's happening behind them. Dom, what do you do during boom box time?
03:33I just watched them. I'm watching them dance and have fun. And you know, I just went out
03:39the tunnel behind them. There's no dancing. There's no nothing. You're just walking. Yeah.
03:43I was just walking in the back. I'm not a, I'm not usually dancing in the tunnel.
03:47Do you have anything pregame that you absolutely rely on, whether it's a t-shirt you wear under
03:52or just sort of a ritual that does get you ready for the game?
03:55Um, I used to, but I've kind of fallen away from it. I mean, I think one thing I like
04:00to do is I
04:00like to just take a lap around the field pregame and sit on the bench and just kind of soak
04:04in the
04:04moment. That's like probably the one thing I always keep doing. Uh, Dominic, I'm sure you guys,
04:09uh, may already be sick of this, but I, I really love to get the perspective of the players on
04:14this.
04:15What, what is your take on the whole 49 or injury thing? Um, and I don't even just mean the
04:21substation, uh, talk, but right now it's like anytime there's any injury at all and it's
04:27football, the whole, everybody just kind of loses their mind. What, what is your reaction to this?
04:34I don't know. I, you know, it's just, I mean, it could just be bad luck. I mean, I don't,
04:37I'm not,
04:38I don't think there's any real rhyme or reason. It's not like the coaches are over pushing us.
04:42It's not like they're doing too much. It's, it's, I mean, the road is not too much. So, I mean,
04:47I just mark it up to bad luck and just being unfortunate, honestly.
04:50I mean, you've been on other football teams, Kansas, et cetera. Does this feel
04:54different? And I don't mean just your work load. I just mean what's happening around you. Does
05:00this feel normal or different in terms of the number of injuries? Um, every team I've been on
05:07has always been injuries. I mean, I really, I don't pay attention to them too much. I'm like,
05:12how many people are hurt. Um, I can't even tell you how many guys are hurt on the team right
05:15now
05:16or at Kansas. Um, it just feels normal, Mark. It's, it's football. People are going to get
05:20hurt. Um, and if it takes a week, two days, three days a week or two weeks, three, they'll
05:26get back. It's not like they're missing the whole season. So, you know, it's just football.
05:29How do you balance the mentality of knowing that it's early August and this doesn't really
05:34quote unquote matter with the idea that you want to go a hundred percent and get better?
05:38Do you try to just block out certain parts of that from your mind so you can still go a
05:42hundred
05:42percent? Block out what? Block out the idea that this is practice or joint practice or
05:47preseason game number one. And it doesn't really quote matter. Oh yeah. No, you got to block that
05:52out. I, I, you got to treat every, every rep as a game rep. You know, I I'm looking at
05:55the down
05:55and distance every single play, just trying to try to imagine myself like in a game, like if it's
06:00third and eight, third and six, um, you know, just getting on two points, fans pass for, you know,
06:07there's stuff like that. Just being situational about it. Um, if you, if you approach it like
06:10practice, I'm not sure that's the best way to do it. Um, they're just trying to get through
06:13it, uh, instead of trying to get better. We're talking to Dominic Pony here on 95.7,
06:18the game, Dom, what was the first thought that went through your mind when you saw the Rams
06:22acquire miles Garrett? I was like, well, I probably got miles Garrett. I also thought they thought
06:27they lost, um, Jared verse. So I was, I was like, I'm glad they don't have both of them actually.
06:32But, um, uh, so I was kind of happy they got rid of him. Um, but you know, they got
06:38miles
06:38Garrett and it was probably the best pass rusher in the game. So
06:40I mean, obviously I'm not like super ecstatic about it, but you know, we got to go out there
06:43and play. Like we have players on the whole line too. You know, we got Trent Williams and Colt,
06:46like some of the two best tackles in the game. So, um, I'm very confident in them.
06:50And is that something that you guys take immense pride in, especially with Brock now, you know,
06:55the cemented quarterback and he's paid in full. Do you guys take a little extra pride of a measurement
07:00knowing that keeping him upright is a huge, huge job?
07:03Of course. Of course. Um, yeah, honestly, any quarterback you put back there, like there's no way we
07:09can like let them just like anybody get to the quarterback. That's gotta be the mindset of
07:13your whole line. It's not like when a different quarterback comes in, you're not like, Oh,
07:16I'm not going to protect him as much. It's like, you gotta fight your butt off to protect anybody
07:21who's back there. And you know, yeah, Brock obviously has a lot of money. Um, and we love
07:25him so much. So, you know, we're going to fight a lot to protect them.
07:27Tom, uh, obviously last year looking at it from beginning to end, there were a lot of
07:33good things, but I think the number one thing the organization sounds like they want to improve
07:37is the, is the pass rush. And there were so many injuries there last year. You're going against
07:42these guys in practice every day. So as a group, how do they look? How's Nick looking? And then what
07:48about the additions also, uh, Osa and, and anyone else you want to throw in there? How's everyone
07:54looking? Man, just off the first, uh, week of pads, they look, they look really good. I know
07:58I'm getting some really, really good reps against, uh, Osa, uh, on the interior. You know, he's been
08:03a top tier pass rusher in this league for a long time. And, um, you know, I'm super excited to
08:07get
08:07to like, get those reps against him. Um, because I know it's going to make me better in the season.
08:12And you know what Bosa, Bosa is going to be Bosa. Like he's just, we know what he's going to
08:15do on
08:16Sunday and he looks really good right now, coming up ACO. Um, I'm super excited to see him get going,
08:21but everyone else was good. You know, you got guys coming back, getting healthy at the right
08:25time. And, uh, we'll see what happens when you're blocking against the interior pass rushers. Is it
08:30a little bit more straightforward in terms of them not having as many moves or do those defensive
08:35tackles have just as many moves, but they're different? You know what I've actually said,
08:39I feel like, um, the interior D line is evolving into pass rushers. Um, and I, it's probably Aaron
08:47Donald's fault for them, um, because he was so good at pass rushing. I think he's kind of
08:51opened the gate for a lot of these guys to develop pass rush moves, um, instead of just
08:55being like run stoppers. So, you know, they're getting better and better. And as they evolve,
08:59we got to evolve with them. Um, so yeah, I mean, I think from a, from a D tackle or
09:04DM,
09:04they both could have the same amount of moves. Tom, how has the whole situation surrounding
09:09what happened to cause Shanahan a number of weeks ago, how, how has that affected the team?
09:14How has that affected camp so far? Um, it's, it's affected us in the way that, um,
09:20he, he kind of missed like the first week, but it really hasn't, uh, we haven't really
09:24been affected too much. Cause you know, the way our practices are ran, the way our schedule is,
09:29um, it's just like a, it's just like a clock, like it's just clockwork. So we got the right
09:33coaches, um, in place to handle this situation. And, um, you know, obviously, uh, when we see Kyle on
09:38the practice field, it's very motivating to see him healthy and, um, just to say what's up to him.
09:43Um, but I think the number one thing is just him being healthy and a hundred percent.
09:47So rookie year is always like, okay, wide eyed. And this is all new. Second year,
09:53they talk about kind of avoiding a sophomore slump. What's year three for you? How do you kind of
10:00approach it? Year three is just be the best player I can be. Now I'm not worried about
10:06and how I played my first year, my second year, I gotta be the best player I can be every
10:11single
10:11day at practice, walk through game day. Um, and that's just stacking reps. I think that's the
10:17number one thing my focus on this year. Just, just don't beat yourself, do what you're good at
10:21and just let it ride. So, uh, by the way, stacking reps, uh, we're looking at numbers right now.
10:28It appears you've never missed a snap in two years. What, uh, first of all, how,
10:34and what does that mean to you? I mean, like I said earlier, I think it's a little bit of
10:39luck
10:39involved and, um, you know, it means a lot. Like as an old lineman, you never really want to miss
10:43a snap. Um, I think the only snaps you really miss are the ones when the old line coach takes
10:48you
10:48out in the fourth quarter. Um, because you're up by a lot and some other guys want to get some
10:52reps,
10:53but you just never want to leave your, your guys out there, um, without you, especially when you can
10:57go, if you can go at all, you just go and, um, you just take pride in that. You don't
11:01want to look back
11:01and say you tapped out or whatever. So I think that's part of it. Next time we'll have you rank
11:05all 2,198 snaps. So make sure you do your homework. All right. All right. Sounds good.
11:12Dom Poonie with us on 95.7, the game. Dom, you ready for the big finish? Have a little fun
11:16here?
11:17Yes, we'll do it. All right.
11:21Here we go. Dom Poonie on the big finish. Here's how it works. We give you two categories.
11:25You pick one. Um, do you want to do small town America or linemen love to eat?
11:32Um, we'll do small town America. Why not? All right. Small town America. As a kid
11:38in a small town in Missouri, what outdoor activities did you enjoy most?
11:44Outdoor activities? Hmm. That's a good question. I think me and my friends would always go to our,
11:51um, uh, elementary school cause it was a big grass field and we always played football,
11:55kickball, baseball. We use that field for so many different sports. That was,
11:59that was probably my favorite thing to do. And I know that you were a high school volleyball player.
12:03Are you, um, super skilled like, uh, some of your family members?
12:07I am actually, I'm pretty good volleyball player actually back in the day. Um, yeah, I mean my,
12:12I think my, my mom played volleyball and she was really pushing for me to play and I didn't really
12:16have any other winter sport to play. So I was like, you know what? Why not? And it was pretty
12:20fun,
12:20actually. I like playing volleyball. Tom, did your body change a ton? Like I, I get,
12:24I bet you get this a lot, like old linemen and volleyball. These things don't mix in my mind.
12:30Yeah. Yeah, no, it did. It did. Uh, when I was, uh, a junior in high school, I was probably
12:35like
12:36220, honestly, in senior year too. And just, I mean, I, I think when I got to college, they,
12:41I was going to be a lineman in college and I just realized I had to get bigger. Um, so
12:45I just ate a lot
12:45of food. I don't know if it was like the right thing to do cause I got, I don't say
12:49I got pretty fat,
12:49but then I think like my junior, my junior year in college, I really, really started hitting the
12:54weight room. And that's when like the transformation started to happen. Fantastic. It's the big finish
12:58with Dominic Pune. You were obviously a standout in high school. I believe Francis Howell Central,
13:04if the research is correct, known for its marching band. Do you play an instrument or do you sing?
13:10I do not play an instrument and I do not sing, but our marching band at Howell Central was really
13:15good all the time. Like I was always very impressed. Like not even in the shower or in
13:19the car by yourself or anything? No. Yeah. I'll sing then, but I'm not singing. I was singing for
13:25other people. Who's on the playlist right now, Dom? Right now? I've been listening to a lot of, um,
13:32like Fiji, Maoli, um, Kalohi Kai, more island music, honestly. Okay. And that perfectly leads
13:40into the final question, which is being of Samoan, Samoan lineage, yet sort of landlocked with where
13:47you grew up. How old were you when you saw the ocean for the first time? When I saw the
13:53ocean,
13:53I think I was probably six years old in Florida, Destin, Florida, probably like five or six years old.
14:01And, and did it kind of like floor you and blow you away a little bit or, or what was
14:05that like?
14:07I was definitely afraid of the ocean. I couldn't even like go five yards in there because I was
14:11just so scared of the shark. I had, I learned about sharks too. So I was like, there's probably
14:15like a thousand sharks in this vicinity. So I wouldn't go in there at all. I was going to say,
14:20how about now? Now you'll go in the ocean. Yeah. Actually I went snorkeling in Hawaii, uh,
14:26this off season. I saw a little baby shark and it was actually pretty cool. Like I didn't,
14:29I didn't freak out or anything. It was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure the shark doesn't want any
14:33piece of a 315 pound lineman. Maybe a six year old. Uh, that's, that's one of those, like, uh,
14:39one of those books, uh, who would win? Who would win? Dom or small shark? Who would win Dom?
14:45I'm thinking me if it's a small shark, but if you get any bigger than what it was,
14:49so I'd probably take the shark. Oh, okay. I think that's a fair answer. Watch out for the swim move
14:54too. If you happen to be at the line of scrimmage. That's a good, that's a good one.
14:58Thank you. Hey, Dom, ton of fun, man. Thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.
15:02Of course. Thanks for having me.
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