Dominick Puni

Dominick Puni is an American professional football guard for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He played college football for the Central Missouri Mules and Kansas Jayhawks.

Early life

Puni played college football at the University of Central Missouri from 2018 to 2021. He did not play in 2020 due to the team's season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in [the United States|COVID-19 pandemic], and played in only one game in 2021 due to injury. Puni transferred to the University of Kansas in 2022. He started all 24 games he played in during his two years at Kansas. He opted out of the 2023 [Guaranteed Rate Bowl] in order to prepare for the 2024 NFL draft.

Puni was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round with the 86th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. On August 23, he was named the starting right guard for the beginning of the 2024 NFL season. As a rookie, Puni started in all 17 games in the 2024 season. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

Puni hails from a family of athletes. His parents, Teu and Jessica, were both college athletes at Truman State University. His father was a football player, and his mother played volleyball. His brothers, Derrick and Devin, were also football players, attending Central Missouri, one of the schools Dominic played college football at. His sister, Brianna, was also a college basketball player at Illinois State.
Puni is also the cousin of Buffalo Bills defensive end A. J. Epenesa.
Puni is of Samoan ancestry, and was a finalist for the Polynesian Football [Player of the Year Award|Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award] in 2023.