Earned it.
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football)
Dominick Puni, San Francisco 49er.
Offensive lineman Dominick Puni's road to this point was anything but direct, but the Francis Howell Central graduate saw a big payoff Friday night when the San Francisco 49ers picked him in the third round of the NFL draft.
Puni, picked 86th overall, played at Kansas the past two seasons and becomes the highest drafted player from the University of Kansas since 2008.
He began his career at Central Missouri in 2018, but between the COVID pandemic canceling the 2020 Division II season and an injury Puni suffered in 2021, he only played one game over the course of two seasons with the Mules before heading to KU.
"The path has been crazy," Puni Friday. "I started at Central Missouri, Division II. Not a lot of people know about it.
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"Transferring to Kansas allowed people to be able to see me on a higher stage, Power Five."
His versatility was a big selling point to the 49ers.
"The cool thing about Dominick is, it's not often you can say about a player that he can play all five and we believe that's the case with him," 49ers general manager John Lynch .
Puni in 2023 didn't allow a quarterback sack in 745 snaps at left tackle. His pass blocking grade of 90.5 from Pro Football Focus ranked third among FBS tackles while helping to propel a Kansas rushing attack that was in the top 10 in the nation.
"He's a guy we got out here on a 30 and I think got comfortable with the person,"Â Lynch . "It's nice to be around them a little bit more and see them in an environment with their peers and how they interact and how they interact with our coaches.
"And there was a good feel there. We liked the tape, liked the versatility and wanted to make him a Niner."
Puni, of Samoan ancestry, watched as his older brother Derrick signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys in 2019 but didn't make the team.
Puni is ready to do whatever is needed to succeed in the NFL.
"My ambition is really I want to help the team in any way," he . "I want to play, develop. My thing is versatility, so center, guard, tackle, wherever they can put me."