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49ers rookie guard**Joe Looney has jumped right in with the team during his first NFL training camp. The fourth-round selection has taken most of his snaps with the second and third-team offenses in camp so far. His performance has been impressive since being taken off the physically unable to perform list after recovering from a foot injury. 49ers.com caught up with the Wake Forest alum following his first preseason game.
The first preseason game was great for me. Just the experience of being with the team and being in the garnet and gold out there with all your friends. Being in your first NFL game is just exciting. Everything is rushing and you are just eager to get out there and play and compete.
Coming out onto the field at Candlestick Park for the first time was crazy. I thought everybody on the team was excited to play. You get a chance to hit somebody else and have fun with your teammates; you try to laugh a little bit when you make a good play. I thought everybody was excited about it and the fans were great that night.
It was big to recover from my foot injury and be ready for training camp. The injury was tough, but God had different plans. Thankfully, I got in here with the trainers like Jeff Ferguson, Nate Breske and Manny Rivera. They helped me get back to playing football. I am just grateful for that.
Fan Fest was great. The fans make the game fun; we are out there playing for them. Anytime we can have the fans around and give back to them I think it's great. Our team wants to give back to the fans.
The first game was also cool because me and one of my good buddies Chris DeGeare, who I played with at Wake Forest, got to say "what's up" to each other. We played right next to each other on the offensive line for two years in college so we became pretty tight. It was nice to see him again and ask him how his family was doing and everything.
It was also great to get out there and have my teammates supporting me throughout the game. The offensive line with Jonathan Goodwin, Joe Staley, Alex Boone and all those guys were mentoring me on the sidelines, telling me what to do. I have really clicked with the whole offensive line.
I've gone to the movies guys like Boone and Staley and a couple of times, they are all great guys. They take great pride in what they do with both their off and on-field jobs. They are really funny too, they keep us laughing.
Me and some of the other rookie offensive linemen like Jason Slowey and Al Netter all had to go out and buy snacks for the veterans recently, it was pretty fun. We went to Target to get everything. We got a bunch of snacks like beef jerky, popcorn and gummy bears. Getting things for the offensive line, it was a long list. The veterans have all done it, so it's just our time to do it. We also carry pads off the field, and it's just our rookie duties.
Just to have other rookie guys on the offensive line is a help. We can talk to each other and get in there and to watch film together. We are going through the same thing during camp. We also hang out with each other on our off days, just trying to take it easy and have fun.
Watching film after the game was definitely wild. Me, Jason and Al all were all sitting there thinking, 'Wow, this is our first NFL game."
I am looking forward to going down to Houston and playing ball for our next preseason game. Getting the opportunity to play with my teammates is always great.
Thanks for reading my rookie blog. I look forward to seeing all the fans the throughout the season.
