Deommodore Lenoir isn't just preparing for a new role on the field this season. He's stepping into a bigger one in the locker room, too.
"Just getting my body back. Really just getting in the groove of the game again and just being able to attack every day and try to get one percent better," Lenoir said, just weeks away from the start of the regular season.
Now entering his fifth year, Lenoir has become a key voice for a young defensive backs room. He's been intentional about guiding younger corners like Chase Lucas, Renardo Green, and Jakob Robinson through the grind of camp.
"I feel like I took initiative," Lenoir said. "I feel like I took a step in that leadership role, with guys coming to me, talking game with them and being that shoulder that they can lean on and always being there for them."
That mentorship has been especially meaningful for Lucas, who has emerged as a standout in the preseason.
"We hang with each other every day," Lenoir said. "When he goes to the special teams meeting, I'll be in the locker room. Then he comes out, we link up, we talk about almost everything, life and football included. Just seeing him make those plays, I was happy for him because we've all been counted out before. I was in his position before, and if I had a person like me in my ear, I would be happy for them, too."
That kind of connection hasn't gone unnoticed in the locker room. Lenoir's growth as a mentor and teammate was recognized this offseason when players voted him the winner of the Dwight Clark Award, given annually to the 49ers player who best exemplifies teamwork, selflessness, and camaraderie.
"To be elected that by my teammates, it was an amazing feeling," Lenoir said. "I always preach that I'm a team player. So for them to actually nominate me and want me to be the next Dwight Clark Award winner the feeling was surreal."
Lenoir's leadership extends on the field, also. This camp he's been tasked with a new challenge: moving from nickel corner to a full-time role outside.
"It feels different, because at nickel I'm always in the fire," Lenoir said. "It kind of fit my personality being at nickel. But for what's best for the team is me to move outside, and that's the new challenge that I've got to accomplish."
As the team gears up for Week 1 in Seattle against the Seahawks, Lenoir is embracing his dual responsibility as both playmaker and mentor.
"They drafted me here to play and be where I am today and they believed in me," Lenoir said. "So I feel like the only way I can repay them is just by going to work every day and just being who I am and the guy who they paid me to be."
