Hey Bradley Pinion, how did you become a punter?
This seems like a reasonable question for a rookie who is set to become the Niners new punter.
"It's a funny story," Pinion said on this week's "49ers Radio" podcast. "I used to hate punting. When I was little growing up, I was a field-goal kicker and a kick-off guy. My dad used to make me punt every single time we would go out there. I would be like, 'Dad, I really don't want to do it!' And he'd be like, 'No, you're going to do it.'
"Eventually, I became really good at punting and loved it. But it all started with a Christmas when I got a football – I used to play soccer growing up. I got a football for Christmas, my dad took me to a field, and he actually put the ball on his toe and told me to kick a field goal. It was like a 35-yard field goal. It went right down the middle with extra distance to spare.
"(After), he was like, 'Hang on, do that again.' I did the exact same thing, right down the middle. He said, 'You're not touching that thing again, we're going to get you professional help.' From then on, I really started getting help from a bunch of different coaches around the nation and just developed my craft."
Pinion went on to star at Clemson. He even left school early and was picked up by the 49ers in the fifth-round of the draft.
We asked the 6-foot-5, 229-pound punter all about the fundamentals of his job, and what he's learning from his coaches and veteran teammates.
We even played a game of "Name That Bradley," where the rookie was given clues about famous people with Bradley as either a first or last name.
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