Kicker Dominic Zvada
Q: Dominic, can you tell us a little bit about your background in terms of most young kickers are still trying to find their way, establish training and whatnot, and you seem pretty far advanced in that. So, can you give us a little bit about how you train and just kind of how you got ready for this opportunity with the Giants?
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, I mean for me nothing has changed. Throughout college I was able to kind of get into a good routine and I've kind of stuck with that. Really the focus going into the season was just to come in and get better every single day and stay focused on the task at hand.
Q: Did you work with anybody in particular on developing your routine, a professional kicker or a coach or someone like that?
DOMINIC ZVADA: I've been working with the same guy back home and so when I train in the offseason I'll train with him, but like I said, when I come here it's the same thing.
Q: Can you tell us who the guy is?
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, Steve Rausch. He trains mainly Arizona kickers and specialists and he played at Arizona State. He's been working with me since high school, so he's been an awesome resource for me my whole career.
Q: Tell us, when you go out there for that 52-yarder with a chance to make it a six-point game there in the rain and the cold and the wind, what's the thinking there? Obviously, they're putting a lot of faith in you in that spot to make it a six-point game. You know the difference between a three-point game and a six-point game.
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, so for me, I really try and dissociate myself from the situation. For me, my job is to go out there and do my part no matter what, and so for me, that was the mindset going into that kick.
It's just another opportunity to display what I'm able to do. The operation was great. Never really had a problem, never had a problem the entire game with pressures or anything like that, so I knew going into that kick, all I had to do was focus on my job.
Q: Take me back to last year, Dominic, because you had this great 2024 season and then you were, it seemed a little bit more erratic in 2025. Not that I watched Michigan every day, but I'm watching the stats. Did you identify something that was wrong last year that you corrected in pre-draft prep or in training camp this year, or is that just the life of a kicker where you have a great year one year and a shakier year the next?
DOMINIC ZVADA: I mean, for me, going into every season, I have expectations of things I want to accomplish, and I always take the season on the same way, with the same mindset and intensity, so for me coming into this season I wanted to make sure that I made the most of every opportunity that I had starting with rookie minicamp, going through OTA's and then veteran minicamp and all that stuff. I just wanted to make sure that I was having positive momentum every step of the way, and obviously we were able to get that done, so just excited to keep rolling.
Q: One more thing for me, what's it like to have a head coach whose background is the kicking game and special teams and whatnot, because I've heard the DB's say that (Head Coach John) Harbaugh with his DB background spends a little more time around them. I can't imagine how much attention he pays to you, and is that like a good thing, or is that like, when your head coach is an expert in your thing, is that like a nitpicky thing?
DOMINIC ZVADA: No, it's an amazing thing. You can really trust what he's saying, and he uses the same terminology as a specialist used, so when you hear someone talk like that, you know that they have a great idea of what they're talking about. And so, yeah, to be able to play for Coach Harbaugh has been an absolute dream, and I'm just excited to keep rolling with him.
Q: I just want to take you back a little bit to the summer. I mean, you obviously had a job, and how the coaching staff and certain players, (outside linebacker) Abdul Carter, I know comes to mind, tried to test and challenge you as much as possible. I mean, did you feel it, and what are some of the things that you remember them putting in your head to try to snap you out of your concentration?
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, I mean, they, throughout the whole summer, throughout training camp they were doing a really good job of trying to get us in as much of a game-like situation as possible with just a little bit of fun hostility. And so, yeah, they did a great job, and it really helped prepare all of us for the preseason, and then obviously the season. It kind of got us ready for that early so that when we got to the games, we were already used to that sort of thing, so I thought it was great work, and hopefully they continue to do it.
Q: And do you get a sense, some of these guys are a lot older than you, most are older than you, married, kids, careers, that they want to believe in you as a rookie that you can win games for them, and do you see any attitudes or things changing from we hope you can do it to now maybe they're expecting you to do it?
DOMINIC ZVADA: I mean, when I first came in here in the summer, they immediately took me in and treated me as a guy on the team, and so their attitude from the very start was always really positive around me, and I've had great interactions the whole time I've been here. And so for me, and now them continuing to give me those hard things during practice to help push me and, yeah, continue showing their support and helping me out.
Q: You talk to a lot of coaches and a lot of kickers through the years, and they all talk to physical skills, and I had somebody once tell me that it's the kickers who are able to figure out the mental game early on, are able to deal with the ebbs and flows, the ups and downs. How long have you worked on your mental game and your mindset as a kicker, and do you feel like that has helped you kind of hit the ground running here as a pro?
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, so I really started taking the mental side of sports seriously earlier on. Pretty much when I started, when I went to Michigan is when I started connecting with a sports psychologist named Suzi Freeman, and we've been working together for a while. Since I got to Michigan up to this point, I still have weekly chats with her, and we just kind of make sure that I stay sharp and stay focused on the things and the tasks at hand. Obviously, we have Dr. Lani (Director of Wellness and Clinical Services Lani Lawrence) on the staff too, who's been absolutely amazing. She's been doing a great job, checking in with us and making sure that we're doing everything and even doing meditations and things like that. So, it's a very big part of the specialist skill bag is to have a really strong mental game. So, for us there's a lot of resources that we're able to use, and so I definitely try and take full advantage of those.
Q: When you look back and when you actually became a kicker in your journey, when was the first time you actually thought, you know what, I can kick in the NFL? I want to be one of the best kickers that there's out there.
DOMINIC ZVADA: I feel like I always kind of had that mentality. Even from very early on, I always kind of had that belief in myself, even when maybe other people didn't. And so, I think that's what kind of helps drive a person to get to this point. And so, that's how it is.
Q: Last thing, I heard you were a big soccer player growing up.
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, no, I started playing soccer when I was like three years old and continued all throughout high school. And so yeah, I love soccer. I love watching it and playing it.
Q: When did that dream end, though? I'm sure you dreamed of being some of the pro soccer guys, right?
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah, just kind of as life kind of goes on, you kind of figure out things that you enjoy doing and things you don't. And I definitely enjoyed playing soccer. Maybe not quite to the level, like a professional level or anything like that. I was more focused on other things. But it eventually led me down to this kicking path and been able to hold on to it and keep going with it. So, it's been good.
Q: What is fun hostility? That's what you said, that they had some fun. What are the taunts?
DOMINIC ZVADA: They're just trying to get in my head and do things that, maybe if we're in a hostile place, like an away game or something like that, something I might hear coming from the sidelines. The whole point is just to keep myself focused on the job and focused on what actually matters and kind of block everything else out.
Q: So, just stuff like, 'You're going to miss this, you can't make this," that kind of stuff?
DOMINIC ZVADA: Yeah. I mean, just stuff they obviously don't mean, but things that, because you always get better. And that's one way that you can start to kind of push somebody.
Cornerback Greg Newsome II
Q: You guys are towards the top of the league in takeaways. What do you attribute that to?
GREG NEWSOME: Yeah, I think it attributes to a lot of things. First, our coaches. Just how we structure practice. We're always doing takeaway things before we get into team activities and things like that. Obviously, I think our d-line, our front seven, the guys that are blitzing. I think they're doing a great job of just pressuring the quarterback, affecting the quarterback, and just giving us a chance to make plays out there. It's a credit to a lot of things.
Q: And then the other side of that is ball security. I want to ask you about this. (Head Coach John) Harbaugh and (Running Backs Coach) Willie Taggart both said that guys are carrying around weighted footballs in practice. I don't know if the defensive backs have to do that at all or if you guys are just maybe trying to punch it out. What do you know about the weighted footballs that guys have in practice as part of the running backs specifically? I think Taggart said that the tight ends, defensive backs, and receivers do it. What do you know about the weighted footballs you guys have in practice? And have you done that anywhere else you've been?
GREG NEWSOME: No, we don't really have the weighted footballs. We definitely do – especially as DBs, I think offense normally does that. They don't have us punching out weighted footballs. I think it would probably hurt our hands. We don't do too much of that. But no, just – they definitely use them. It's a great tool to use. Just ball security and things like that. So, they definitely use them, but in the secondary, we don't use them too much.
Q: Do you know if the team the Browns and Jaguars, did your running backs use them there or is that kind of like a new thing to the NFL?
GREG NEWSOME: I'm really not too sure. Really not too sure.
Q: Seems like since the Rams game, you guys have been even tighter on – with the pass defense, not just with interceptions, but eliminating some of those big plays. What do you think that has been attributed to, you think?
GREG NEWSOME: Yeah, just the way we practice. Like I said, just trying to be consistent as best as we can. Every single day we work on fundamentals, we work on our eyes, and we just try to stay consistent.
(Defensive Coordinator) Dennard (Wilson) has all trust in us to play sticky, tight coverage, so shout out (to) him as well. But I think it's just the way we practice. We practice until everything is perfect, so I think we've been doing a great job at practice, and it's showing on Sundays.
Q: And obviously you guys aren't involved with stopping the run, but it seems like the front's done a great job with stopping the run, so I'm curious, with them doing such a great job bringing pressure and limiting those super long runs, how much does that help you guys as a defense when they're doing their job to stop the run, and then on say third down or second-and-long, you guys can go wild and make sure you deflect those passes or get interceptions?
GREG NEWSOME: I think it's super important. Like I said, shout out to the guys up front. Them stopping the run makes teams one-dimensional. It helps us out on the back end. It helps the linebackers not have to bite up on play fakes and things like that. I think with them doing such a great job up there with the front seven, it definitely helps our job, and just getting them on passing downs, allowing our guys to go up there and attack, so I think they've been doing an amazing job.
Q: You guys obviously are 3-1. You're in first place. What is the vibe and feel around the team right now, and what's the balance between feeling confident about what you guys have done and sort of being humbled about how much is still left to go in the season?
GREG NEWSOME: Yeah, I mean, we're always humble. We're underdogs every week, so that's enough humbling for us. We've got to continue to keep going 1-0 each week. We don't get too high, we don't get too low. It's a long season, so it's great to be 3-1, but we have a lot of football left to play. I think we have a lot of vets in here that have played meaningful football that know how much each win matters, so we just focus on the next opponent. We don't really care too much about the last game. It's in the past, and now we've got to find a way to go 1-0 this week.
Q: You're a winning team, and you've played some losing teams, and you are – like you said, you're underdogs. I mean, that gets the attention of players?
GREG NEWSOME: Yeah, for sure. I mean, stuff like that, definitely. You always want something to go into a game and just give you an extra motivating boost. Like I said, we don't really care what the outside world believes, we know what we have on this team. We know what we're all about, so at the end of the day, no matter who we play, we just have to go out there and just play to the best of our ability and try to find a way to go 1-0.
Q: Can a 3-1 team play with an underdog mentality? You're 3-1, and you're in first place. You're not – you're not a losing team.
GREG NEWSOME: Yeah, for sure you can play with an underdog mentality. 3-1 can easily turn into 3-14. That can easily do that. If you're not careful enough, and if you have too much – if you're not humble, you will get humbled. So, at the end of the day, we have to continue to have that mindset that we had in the beginning of the season, and we're going to carry it the entire way. We definitely will keep that mindset.
Q: Have you ever been part of a defense that had 14 passes defensed in a game?
GREG NEWSOME: Maybe. I might have. Not that I remember, but, no, that's amazing.
Q: It's well over a decade that the Giants have ever had that. What does that say? The guy didn't throw the ball 60 times – what does that say that there are so many passes defensed?
GREG NEWSOME: I think that says, once again, the front seven. Guys are hunting. Guys are giving us chances to get our hands on footballs. It's also great in the secondary that we're playing tight coverage. We're getting our heads around and just trying to find the football. But, like I said, once again, it's rush and coverage working together, so without those guys up front, we wouldn't have 14. Shout out to those guys up front.
Q: Did you know after your interception, you leap and you come down – it almost didn't look like (Cardinals wide receiver Marvin) Harrison (Jr.) touched you. Did he kind of tap you when you got back up? Did you know that you were touched?
GREG NEWSOME: Well, I knew the whistle was (blown), so I knew whether – they called me down, so I knew it was time to celebrate.
Q: Yeah, you didn't have any problem running into the end zone at that point.
GREG NEWSOME: Exactly.
