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Deommodore Lenoir, 49ers cornerback, joins Willard and Dibs to discuss the first two weeks of the 49ers seaso.
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00:00Joining us here on Willard & Dibbs 95.7 The Game on the River Island's guest line is Niners defensive
00:05back Diamador Lenore.
00:07Dimo, how's it going this afternoon? Thank you for your time.
00:11It's going good, man. Just got out of practice, you know, just seeing the guys work outside and flow around,
00:17fly around to the ball.
00:18You know, it was a good practice today.
00:20You're damn right it's going good. You guys could not have started this season any better.
00:24Let's talk about you, though, for a second. I just joked with my partner here that I think having you
00:29on right now is the first time I've heard your name all year.
00:32And that's a really good compliment for a defensive back, man.
00:35Like, you are clearly locking people down and they won't even come your way.
00:40How would you assess your own performance so far this year?
00:44I feel like I'm just taking it one game at a time. You know, I still ain't played my best
00:48ball yet in my eyes.
00:50I'm still just aiming to get better every week.
00:52What's the Raheem Morris change been like for you guys in the secondary?
00:56It seems like a lot of you are a lot comfortable with exactly what he's trying to have you do.
01:01Yeah, you're just preaching the confidence and just having everybody own into the details and actually, you know, kind of
01:10dissect football
01:11and really just playing with your brain and, you know, using your help and knowing where your help is and
01:17being able to fly around and make plays.
01:19Yeah, I mean, or like definitely not looking to put you in a spot to criticize anybody,
01:23but I think people are super curious to know what is the difference between Robert Sala's system and Raheem Morris'
01:30system.
01:32They're both great systems.
01:34I would just say Raheem, he's more of a defensive back guy.
01:39So, you know, he relates to us more and, you know, we kind of meet with him a lot more
01:44often.
01:46That's interesting.
01:47I think that was a lot of fans heard that from a lot of guys in your room during training
01:54camp
01:54that maybe Raheem Morris' system was a little bit more of a fit for them.
01:58I wonder if you could kind of expand on that because you're not the only one.
02:03The safeties, Renardo, so far everybody seems to look really comfortable.
02:09Oh, yeah.
02:10It's just really about, you know, knowing the playbook, you know, the ends and outs,
02:14knowing where your help is, you know, it kind of makes the mind play a little faster.
02:19You know, you're able to do a lot more.
02:20You're able to see a lot more.
02:22You're able to know where the places where you can jump routes and can't jump routes
02:26or where you're vulnerable at and where it's placed to be made.
02:32What's it like to have old 57 back out there?
02:35A little bit of a reunion.
02:35Dre Greenlaw, I know he's in the linebacker level, but it feels to me like kind of a couple
02:40years ago all over again.
02:42Oh, yeah.
02:43Having Dre back, man, it was like he never left, man.
02:47He came back and hit the ground running, still as physical as ever, and just a real leader
02:54out there.
02:55Diamant O'Lenor is with us here on Willard and Dibs.
02:57Demo, I'd love to also kind of hear from your perspective how the pass rush affects you
03:04guys.
03:05You know, last year, everyone goes, oh, they only had 20 sacks.
03:07And I'm thinking to myself, the lack of rush that was being generated makes life a lot harder
03:12for you guys.
03:13So to what level is Nick Bosa being back and what's being generated up front?
03:18John, how does that change your lives?
03:21It definitely make the job easier.
03:23But, you know, nevertheless, we never try to complain on the rush, you know, because we
03:27all got our own 111.
03:29So we all just try to focus on doing our assignment.
03:32And then hopefully the odds come in our favor.
03:35I see that you guys are blitzing a little bit more, Upton Stout, already with a half a
03:39sack.
03:39Is there a corner cat blitz that perhaps you might be dialed up for at some point?
03:45Hey, man, we got to keep that one on the hush, man.
03:47It might be.
03:48Never know.
03:49I just was looking because I think you have one career sack.
03:52I was looking at some of your numbers, and I'm just trying to remember that play and
03:55wondering if you are already, you know, trying to lobby to see if you can't get one of
03:58those.
03:59Oh, yeah, yeah.
04:00I'd love to get another sack.
04:02I got my first sack versus the Rams against Matthew Stafford.
04:08I was at nickel.
04:10So, I mean, if I do, if I'm able to get that, you know, get that call to where I'm
04:15able
04:16to blitz, you know, I'm blitzing with my hair on fire.
04:18Hey, Demo, I'm always interested in the way quarterbacks sort of act on the inside when
04:24you get there.
04:25Like, for instance, Andrew Luck used to be famous for patting guys on the head.
04:29And going, great hit.
04:30That was amazing.
04:31What's Stafford like when you get to him?
04:35Oh, man.
04:35He closed his eyes.
04:36Oh!
04:40He didn't say anything to you?
04:42No, he didn't say nothing.
04:44He just took his mouthpiece out of his helmet and then ran to the sideline.
04:48He probably didn't see you coming because he's about 6'5", and I think you're 5'9",
04:52or 5'10", so you probably got him on that stealth tip.
04:57Yeah, I'm 5'11".
04:58Yeah, he didn't see me, though.
05:00Apologies.
05:01Maybe I'm harkening back to your high school stats I was looking at earlier.
05:04That's my bad.
05:06Hey, Demo.
05:06Oh, yeah.
05:07High school.
05:07High school.
05:07I was all world at running back.
05:09I don't know if Kyle Shanahan had that.
05:11Oh, you were running back in high school.
05:13Oh, yeah.
05:14I didn't play no defense, really.
05:15Oh, so you didn't play both sides in high school?
05:19I did, like, but I was mainly offense.
05:22And I saw that you played quarterback senior year, so have you told Kyle that just in case,
05:27you know, maybe they need that emergency third, that you're available?
05:30See, I was kind of waiting on a pick six so I could just really show them that I got
05:34good
05:35skills on that side of the ball.
05:37So that's why I'm just waiting on the pick six, and then I'm going to just go in there
05:41with my pitch.
05:42Hey, Demo, I'd love for you to help the listeners get to know your grades.
05:48Because we always hear, this is such an old team, and I'm like, the offense has got
05:53a lot of age.
05:54This defensive back group, you know, you're the veteran of the group.
05:58I know there are some, but like this starting group, you, Renardo, you got Jair, you got
06:06Seagull.
06:07I know there are more.
06:08Like, Malik, who's kind of the, who's the clown of the group?
06:14The clown?
06:16I would say we all got a bunch of mixed personalities in there.
06:20Everybody has their days where they're the funny guy.
06:23But I would say our whole room is like confident.
06:27Like, we all think that we all can make plays.
06:31We can all go out there and do the assignment, and it's no drop-off.
06:35I mean, that's just the, you know, the presence of the room.
06:40Like, we drop egos and contracts at the door, and everybody is in there.
06:45We coachable, and we try to put the game on our back to win it.
06:49I love that.
06:50And you are the veteran of the group already at this stage in your career.
06:54So, how do you view leadership with regard to your approach to the room?
07:01Just being one of the guys that's played a lot of football, you know, wherever guys need
07:05help or I feel a guy is struggling, you know, I kind of just kind of talk to him and
07:10just
07:10kind of, like, kind of dumb it down so it can be a lot easier for him so we can
07:14all play
07:14fast because, you know, what the next man don't know, you know, it can hurt, you know,
07:21us as a whole.
07:22So, you know what I'm saying?
07:24Just trying to be that, you know, that role model.
07:28Something you probably couldn't role model is the trip to Australia because none of you
07:32had ever been there to play a pro football game before.
07:34What was that like for you in terms of the trip, and was there sightseeing and the jet
07:39lag?
07:39What was the trip like for you, Demo?
07:42Yeah, it was crazy.
07:44I mean, just being on the plane that long, I ain't never, like, a lot of people know that
07:49I ain't, besides us flying to games, I never really been on the East Coast.
07:54So, just flying that far, because I'm a Cali guy, so I ain't really never been off the West
08:00Coast, honestly.
08:01So, flying that far was kind of crazy.
08:04How long?
08:04Yeah.
08:05Oh, sorry.
08:05Go ahead.
08:06It was, it was like, it was like 14 hours, and being on a plane, ADHD kind of kicking
08:14in, I had to, you know, walk around the plane, it was a, it was a double-decker plane, it
08:20was a big plane, you know, I ain't never seen one of those before, so I wasn't, so I wasn't
08:24walking around bothering people while they were asleep.
08:27How many, how many, how many meals, how many meals did you guys have on that, on that flight?
08:31What'd you eat?
08:33Man, so we left at 9, 9 o'clock at night, Pacific time, and we slept probably all the
08:42way, and, well, I slept all the way until it was probably like, four hours left.
08:47Oh, wow.
08:49And, when I got up, it was already breakfast.
08:52They said I had missed dinner, and all that, but, it was breakfast, I had, I had me a nice
08:59croissant.
09:00It was great, I put some great, some strawberry jelly on there, strawberry jam, it was great,
09:07I ain't gonna lie.
09:08And so you get off the plane, and do you try to stretch out the day, and how many days
09:12did
09:12it take until you felt like regular demo on Cali time?
09:17It took, it took three days, honestly.
09:20That first, the first day we got there, it was kind of, the first day we got there, it
09:24was cool, but that next day, it was bad.
09:29Oh, it was so sleepy.
09:31And then, then the day after that, it was like, it was kind of like, you had to get in
09:37that flow, because we had practice, so you had to get in that flow to have your body ready
09:42and ready to practice and stuff.
09:43But then, by that, that next day, which was our off day that Tuesday, it was so great.
09:50Hmm.
09:50I mean, the day that you just described as the worst is kind of exactly when the Rams
09:55played the game, Demo.
09:57Oh, yeah, yeah.
09:58Yeah, for sure.
10:00So, it was kind of crazy to see that they came, and that's probably why they were kind of like
10:08sluggish out there.
10:09Hmm.
10:10Diamant O'Lenor is joining us here.
10:11Willard and Dibbs, 95-7 the game.
10:13Hey, you go against this Purdy guy in practice every day, and look, I know you guys know it.
10:19He's been really good for a long time, but you're hearing the national media finally start
10:24to take notice.
10:26A, I wonder why you think everybody's finally getting on board, but B, are you seeing a new
10:33level from him this year?
10:35I mean, this level that I'm seeing now, I feel like he been had that potential.
10:41Like, I always thought he was one of the top quarterbacks, like, even before we paid
10:45him.
10:46Just seeing, like, his progression, he got his first start against the Dolphins, I want
10:53to say, when Jimmy G got hurt.
10:55I remember that, because that was like my second, no, that was like my third year, and I just
11:00remember him going in, and I'm like, I don't know why.
11:03I just had so much confidence in him, and he was on the scout team at that time, and we
11:07was playing against him in the scout team, but he would still, like, throw balls, like,
11:11and they would be like, oh, that was a great ball.
11:13Like, you know, he got potential.
11:17So, when he got in, like, I had so much confidence in him, I don't, I really don't know why.
11:22I barely seen the guy play just in practice and stuff, but I just had so much confidence
11:28in him, and then once he won the game, like, I said to myself, just watching the film, I
11:32was like, what if he'd be the one?
11:34Like, what if he'd be the one?
11:37And it turned out he was, so it was crazy, and I was just so happy for him, just to
11:42see
11:43the progression, his success, and everything that he's doing, like, he deserves it.
11:49And he started with that same level of confidence, not arrogance, because you come in as QB3, but
11:55is that something you saw from the first training camp when he was there?
11:59Yeah, I would see, like, I mean, I would see, like, he'd throw a bad ball, he'd be hard
12:04on himself, too, but then, like, nobody really kind of paid attention to him, because at the
12:08time, he was, like, QB3.
12:11So, you know, QB3 kind of go against the starting defense, so, and there was one day, he was kind
12:19of ripping us, and I was like, and me and Ambry Thomas, we were on the sideline, and I
12:25remember he's saying, Ambry, he was like, he was like, I ain't gonna lie, I kind of
12:28trust, I trust Birdie.
12:30I was like, yeah?
12:32And I'm like, I'm like, yeah, he do throw a, he throw a nice ball, like, I'm not lying,
12:37like, but then I was on something, I was on, like, yeah, I was in my head, like, I want
12:41to, I want to pick that man.
12:44But then, but then he was, he kept throwing dimes, and I was like, hey, hey, he's nice, I
12:50ain't gonna lie, and he got confidence, he's letting it rip.
12:52Like, like, he don't, he don't even care, like, you know, if it's a bad play, or if
12:56it's a good play, like, he just, he's just competing, and I just respected that.
13:01Uh, Demo, what's it like going against Mike Evans?
13:04Uh, Mike Evans, man, he's a, he's a, I would say he's like a, he's a real artist, you know
13:12what I'm saying, like a, he got so many tools in his bag to where it's like, I see why
13:20you
13:20get open, like, I see why it's a struggle, you know, to face you, like, you got so, so
13:26many different tools, you can do so many different things, and it's like, it's kind
13:29of hard for, like, if you don't see it, like, me, I see it every day, so I kind of
13:34know how
13:34to play, I know how to guard it, but just for a guy that's, like, just seeing him on
13:40a Sunday, uh, I think he's, like, second to none.
13:44Uh, Demo, ton of fun to have you.
13:47Before you go, when we get fancy players like you, we, we love to have a little fun and
13:52get to know you better on the way out the door with the big finish.
13:55You up for a couple more here?
13:57Yo.
13:58Okay, big finish.
14:01All right, Demo, this is how it works.
14:03We got two categories.
14:04You pick one category, and then we'll hit you with a couple questions.
14:07Do you want to play major bag alert or odds and ends?
14:13Major bag alert.
14:14Major bag alert is what we're talking about.
14:16All right, um, what do you spend too much money on?
14:21Like, any guilty pleasures out there?
14:24Uh, I would say I spend too much money on clothes.
14:34I would say clothes.
14:35I'm, I'm, I'm like a clothes type of guy, but I love clothes and fly shoes and.
14:42They get you on Instagram late at night when you, when you're scrolling?
14:47Yeah, but this year, like this year, I, I stayed away from all that stuff.
14:51I don't be trying to, I don't even be trying to look at my phone as much.
14:54Cause I'm, I'm, I'm at the point where I don't even need it.
14:57I got so many clothes.
14:58Cause I don't really need it.
14:59Like I'm just all ball, to be honest.
15:02So you're more clothes and shoes than you are like watches and jewelry, for example.
15:07Yeah.
15:08Okay.
15:08That was going to be a possible follow-up question.
15:11Number two, and you're doing great so far.
15:12Once your playing career is over, what exotic place are you most interested in traveling
15:18to?
15:21Um, I don't think my playing career ever going to be over because I'm a robot.
15:28Are you AI dealing with that?
15:32Just AI.
15:34That's it.
15:35No, but, um, I'll probably go into coaching.
15:38I, I always said that I would not coach because it's like, I'm not even a vocal person.
15:43I am vocal, but I'm not like coaching vocal.
15:47Like, but I, but it started to grow on me.
15:51Cause you kind of, you kind of start, you know, it kind of just flow off the tongue.
15:56You know, after a while you just been, I've been in so many defenses.
15:59Like it's so easy for me to coach now.
16:03Dimo, last one for you.
16:04And, uh, five years, 92 million.
16:07When, when you signed that contract, yeah.
16:10When you signed that deal, did you change the way you tipped?
16:16You said change the way that I.
16:17That you tipped like at a, like at a restaurant or a valet.
16:21Yeah.
16:22I actually, I actually, I actually tip more.
16:27Why would they?
16:28Like.
16:29Yeah.
16:30Yeah.
16:31Yeah.
16:32Yeah.
16:32I actually tip more.
16:34Cause I, um, I used to always see Ocho Cinco.
16:38He do all these crazy tips and stuff.
16:41I don't do the crazy tips, but I just feel like, you know, like if you got great service,
16:45you know, like I respect everything you're doing, you know, you, you, you grind and trying
16:50to make money.
16:51And, you know, if I, if I can help, then I'm, you know, I'm all, I'm all in to help.
16:56Love that.
16:57So let's, so let's say you love the meal.
17:00You love the service.
17:01The bill is, is a hundred dollars.
17:03What's Dimo leaving?
17:06$25 tip.
17:08Okay.
17:09Solid.
17:09Yeah.
17:1025%.
17:10It's a win for the server right there.
17:13Man.
17:13Yeah.
17:13You know, 25, 25%.
17:18Mark said the terms of your contract and you let made a whistling noise.
17:22When you actually put pen to paper, what was that moment like?
17:26Um, it was, it was crazy.
17:29Cause I was, cause one, I was thinking I just got out of practice.
17:33I had no haircut.
17:35I have nothing.
17:38Zach came in here, grabbed me from the locker room and just gave me a Niner shirt and said,
17:43put this on.
17:44And I'm like, man, at least I could get a suit.
17:47Can I get a suit?
17:48I didn't know I was going to sign today.
17:50I didn't know.
17:51Like, I didn't know what I was, I just like, you know, I just know we had an agreement,
17:56you know, with me and the 49ers.
17:59And I was like, all right, maybe we're going to do it next week.
18:02And then I, and then I was like, next week.
18:05All right.
18:05I'm about to probably get my suit.
18:07I get to get a haircut, fly my son up here and, you know, take pictures.
18:12But then it was like, they had called me like probably an hour later and it was like, oh,
18:17no, we doing this right now.
18:18We're doing it now.
18:19Yeah.
18:20I was like, are you, are you close?
18:22And I was like, I was like, yeah, I'm like, my house is like seven minutes away.
18:27And it was like, oh yeah, get up here.
18:29Yeah.
18:29All right.
18:30Someone asked you to sign that.
18:31You signed it.
18:33Yeah.
18:35Hey, Demo, what, what a pleasure, man.
18:37Thank you so much for your time.
18:39That was a blast and best of luck this week against the Cardinals.