How 49ers' Dominick Puni fits the 'underdog story' mold of new teammate Brock Purdy (2024)

Lance Leipold has orchestrated an impressive turnaround since he took over as the Kansas coach in 2021. The Jayhawks are fresh off a 9-4 season and bowl game victory, a far cry from when Leipold inherited a team that had gone 0-9 in 2020.

The build hasn’t come without its painful moments. One came in Leipold’s fifth game at Kansas, during which Iowa State shellacked the Jayhawks 59-7. Future San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, in his senior year, threw four touchdown passes in the first quarter for the Cyclones.

“They got after us bad,” Leipold said in a phone interview last month. “It was an eye-opening night for us in Ames, Iowa, about how far we had to go. You could see Purdy just making plays from the start.”

Kansas beat Iowa State twice over the next two seasons. Purdy’s departure to the 49ers, of course, was an instrumental factor. But the Jayhawks’ growing stockpile of talent also helped. One of their key additions was 313-pound offensive lineman Dominick Puni, who transferred from Division II Central Missouri before the 2022 season and didn’t allow a sack over two seasons and 25 games at Kansas.

The 49ers picked Puni, who might be the most adept rookie pass protector selected on general manager John Lynch’s watch, in the third round of April’s draft. They believe Puni has true five-position adaptability, which should maximize his chances of cracking the lineup sooner rather than later.

When that time comes, Puni’s primary job will be simple: protect Purdy. And Leipold, who has good college insight into both players, will enjoy watching that.

“Purdy is an underdog story, and I think that’s what Dom is, too,” Leipold said. “When you put enough guys like that who are great teammates, humble and talented in the locker room, even with the high dollars of the NFL, you’ve got a chance to be pretty darn successful. Hopefully, both of those Big-12 players will help the 49ers for years to come.”

Here’s the entire conversion with Leipold about Puni, which has been lightly edited for brevity.

What stands out first when you think of Puni’s two seasons with Kansas?

As productive as he was to our program, he was an even better person. He’s got some maturity to him, but he’s extremely humble. From the time he came on a visit with his father, you could just tell, the way he was raised, the humbleness. He was just appreciative of the opportunity.

When he first came in, we were thinking about him competing as a right tackle. But it was apparent to us that he was our most physical run blocker. We wanted to get a bit more physical inside, so we moved him to guard.

Earl Bostick Jr. (who’s now with the Dallas Cowboys) was our starting left tackle that year. Once he left, it became apparent that Dom was going to have to move outside to be that left tackle. His versatility, his understanding will help him at the next level. Our offensive line coach Scott Fuchs tried to train guys to snap as well. Our center Mike Novitsky (who’s now with the Seattle Seahawks) missed the spring game that year, and his backup twisted his knee. Dom said, “I’ll play center.” He jumped in and played center the whole spring game.

I share that because he’s got extreme versatility, intelligence — everything you want. To see him go to an organization like (the 49ers), it’s pretty neat and we’re excited for him.

It seems that Puni carries his 313 pounds very well — probably better than most bigger rookies that I’ve seen in the NFL.

(Kansas strength and conditioning coach) Matt Gildersleeve’s nutrition program helped him. Being at the D-2 level prior, you just don’t have the same resources, whether it be staffing or the meals themselves.

The way the weight and thickness is disbursed throughout his body, he’s not a floppy or a fat 310 or 315 guy. He can carry it extremely well. He’s worked at it. He came in as a big body, but he really took advantage of the time in limbo after an injury in the 2021 year at Central Missouri (Puni missed the final nine games of his time there with a knee injury before transferring to Kansas for the 2022 season).

How did Puni handle the transition from Division II to the FBS when he showed up to play for you at Kansas?

He never flinched. It was so impressive that you kind of forget about it. We had been 2-10 the prior year and we’re trying to put this thing together. He missed spring ball. He comes in and it’s like two days in spider pads and two days in pads. You’re like, “OK, yeah, great — this guy is going to help us.”

For a lot of guys, a move from right tackle to left guard would be a big deal — different stance, this and this. But he picked it up right away. There wasn’t that gap that you would expect. When you have that type of size and strength, it definitely helps you adapt because you’re holding your own in there physically.

The 49ers have a very particular way of blocking, especially in the run game. That seems it can lead to some longer developmental time frames for young linemen. Have you seen college offenses adopt some of what Kyle Shanahan is doing in a way that might make some of these adjustments to the NFL — particularly the one Puni is trying to make to the 49ers — happen more quickly?

I think so. And I’d almost say that part of what helps with this adjustment is that much of what college offenses are doing is actually coming from the high school game. You look at the Kyler Murrays; the RPO wasn’t invented at the top level of football. It’s had to matriculate its way up the ladder. I think you’re seeing concepts that are used at our level now being equally used at the NFL.

Of course, Shanahan is a very inventive and creative head coach. And he’s doing it with a Big-12 quarterback who was the last guy taken in the draft. So you look at how you’re able to be creative with personnel using concepts and schemes, utilizing speed at receiver, putting fly sweeps in and things like that. Fly sweeps were high school and college plays before they were ever NFL plays. I think what’s happened for some players: It’s easier to transition in some of these schemes because they are more used to them. They just have to learn terminology.

So how do you think Puni specifically will be able to adjust to the NFL level of play?

There are going to be new techniques to learn, especially on the perimeter when you’re playing with the ball in the middle of the field (due to narrower hashmarks) on essentially every play. With Dom, he’s already made one big jump as a lineman from Division II football to Power 5. And now he gets ready to take another big jump. I think as far as, “Hey, I’ve already been able to do it once, I can do it again,” that’s big.

He has what you want out of an offensive lineman. He’s got a very consistent, calm demeanor about him. He doesn’t play overemotionally. He doesn’t try to retaliate. He can flush a play and get on to the next. That’s what pros should be doing, and I think he’ll be an excellent pro.

We talk about it here a lot: If you want to be a pro, you need to be a pro now. That goes with your rest, your diet, your work habits, your film study. He’s taken that and hopefully, it’s given him a head start over some of the others that he’s competing against.

Can you take me back to that first encounter you had with Puni on the recruiting visit to Kansas with his father, Teu?

I just remember two very soft-spoken gentlemen. They were taking it all in. A good majority of our staff had coached at the Division II level. So we first talked about our respect and understanding of that level and that players had been able to make it to the NFL from those levels.

The thing that stuck out the most besides their humbleness was their appreciation of the opportunity. They didn’t come in feeling like they were entitled and saying “What are you going to do for me to get to the NFL?” They greatly appreciated what was being presented to them.

We were holding on. With transfers, you don’t sign anything. You’re hoping you kept one under the radar long enough that he ends up on campus. And Dom did. I think it played out really well for all parties.

(Top photo of Dominick Puni: Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)

David Lombardi is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the San Francisco 49ers. David joined The Athletic after three years with ESPN, where he primarily covered college football. Follow David on Twitter @LombardiHimself