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Rex Sunahara
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Rex Sunahara (born October 9, 1996) is an American professional football long snapper for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rhode Island Rams and West Virginia Mountaineers.
Key Information
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Early life
[edit]Sunahara was born on October 9, 1996. He is of Japanese descent via his father Reed, who came from Hawaii and is the head coach of the women's volleyball program at WVU.[1][2] His younger brother RJ played college basketball for Georgia.
He attended Bay High School, where he played varsity baseball, football, and basketball.[3][4] He played as a wide receiver and defensive back in high school.[4][5] In his senior year, he earned All-Ohio Division IV Third Team honors.[5]
After high school, he committed to the University of Rhode Island in order to remain a multi-sport athlete and converted to playing long snapper.[4]
College career
[edit]University of Rhode Island
[edit]Sunahara played football at Rhode Island and walked on to the basketball team.[6][7] During the football season, he appeared in eight games as the long snapper and recorded 4 special teams tackles.[6] During the basketball season, he appeared in 3 games and logged 1 rebound.[7] After his first year at Rhode Island, Sunahara decided to transfer to West Virginia and attempt to walk-on to the football team.[4]
West Virginia University
[edit]Sunahara walked on to the West Virginia football team before the 2016 season and served as a backup to Nick Meadows for two years.[8] In 2018, Sunahara became the Mountaineers starting long snapper.[8] Over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Sunahara started 24 games and recorded 4 special teams tackles.[9] Following the 2019 season, Sunahara was named a Patrick Mannelly Award Semifinalist.[10][11] He was also invited to participate in the 2020 NFLPA Collegiate All-Star Game and the 2020 Hula Bowl All-Star Game.[8][12]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6+1⁄4 in (1.99 m) |
249 lb (113 kg) |
35+1⁄8 in (0.89 m) |
10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) | |||||||||
| All values from Pro Day[13] | ||||||||||||
Miami Dolphins
[edit]Sunahara signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on August 1, 2020.[14][15] He was waived on August 4, 2020, and participated in a workout for the Pittsburgh Steelers before being signed to the Dolphins practice squad on November 16, 2020.[16][17] Sunahara signed a reserve/futures deal upon completion of the 2020 NFL season and returned to the Dolphins practice squad for the 2021 season.[16][18] Sunahara was again waived by the Dolphins on August 9, 2021.[18]
Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)
[edit]Sunahara signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 8, 2021, and was assigned to the practice squad.[19] He was cut two days later, but returned to sign a reserve/futures contract on January 18, 2022.[19] The Steelers waived him on May 10, 2022.[20][21]
San Antonio Brahmas (first stint)
[edit]On November 17, 2022, Sunahara was selected with the 7th pick of the specialists phase of the 2023 XFL draft by the San Antonio Brahmas.[22][23] He appeared in all ten games before receiving an invitation to a workout with the Steelers on June 2, 2023.[24]
Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)
[edit]On June 19, 2023, Sunahara signed a one-year deal with the Steelers.[25][26] He was released on August 26, 2023.[27]
San Antonio Brahmas (second stint)
[edit]On January 24, 2024, Sunahara re-signed with the San Antonio Brahmas.[28] His contract was terminated on August 8.[29]
Cleveland Browns
[edit]On August 8, 2024, Sunahara signed with the Cleveland Browns.[30] He was waived on August 26, and re-signed to the practice squad.[31][32] He was released a few days later.[33] He was signed to the active roster on October 9.[34]
NFL career statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2024 | CLE | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | CLE | 17 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 29 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References
[edit]- ^ "Reed Sunahara – Head Coach – Staff Directory". West Virginia University Athletics. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "NFL Long Snapper Rex Sunahara on Resilience, Rising Again, & The Price of NFL Dreams". The Playbook with Colin Jonov (Podcast). December 11, 2024.
- ^ "High school baseball: Mother nature claims yet another chance to play ball". Morning Journal. April 28, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2023.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Hickey, Alex (October 20, 2018). "Why Rex Sunahara wanted to be a long snapper at West Virginia". WV MetroNews. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "High School Football All-Ohio List, Divisions III-IV". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Rex Sunahara – 2015 – Football". University of Rhode Island. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ a b "Rex Sunahara – 2015–16 – Men's Basketball". University of Rhode Island. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c Knobbe, Travis (January 17, 2020). "Rex Sunahara: Morgantown's Unsung Hero". Last Word on College Football. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "Rex Sunahara – Football". West Virginia University Athletics. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ Nespor, Cody (November 19, 2019). "Sunahara Named Semifinalist for Long Snapping Award". WV Sports Now. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "OFFICIAL: Rex Sunahara Signs NFL Contract". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "2020 Hula Bowl acceptances – Great Blue North Draft Report". gbnreport.com. November 11, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "Rex Sunahara College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ "OFFICIAL: Rex Sunahara Signs NFL Contract". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Dolphins sign UDFA long-snapper Rex Sunahara". Dolphins Wire. August 2, 2020. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Rex Sunahara Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Sunahara Returns to Miami". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Steelers Add New LS Rex Sunahara". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Who Is Rex Sunahara? Wikipedia Bio Of NFL Long Snapper Released By Pittsburgh Steelers". celebseek.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Steelers waive former WVU long snapper Sunahara". WBOY.com. May 10, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ Williams, Charean (June 20, 2023). "Steelers sign Rex Sunahara". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ San Antonio Brahmas [@XFLBrahmas]. "With our first pick in the specialists round of the #XFLDraft, we proudly select @RexSunahara! Welcome to San Antonio." Twitter, 11 November 2022, https://twitter.com/XFLBrahmas/status/1593286433900441600
- ^ Asti, Mike (November 18, 2022). "Former Mountaineer Rex Sunahara Drafted by XFL's San Antonio Brahmas". WV Sports Now. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Former WVU long snapper receives workout invite from Steelers". WBOY.com. June 3, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ Ulrich, Logan (June 19, 2023). "Steelers Signing LS Rex Sunahara". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Steelers sign XFL long snapper Rex Sunahara". Steelers Wire. June 20, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ Grindley, Wyatt (August 26, 2023). "Steelers Cut Eight Players". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ^ @UFL_PR (January 24, 2024). "The United Football League, the premier spring football league, has agreed to terms with the following 8 players for the upcoming 2024 season" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ @UFL_PR (August 8, 2024). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions" (Tweet). Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Browns sign LS Rex Sunahara". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ "Browns reduce roster to 74 players, return 5 to active roster". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ "Browns sign 13 players to the practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 28, 2024.
- ^ "Browns sign RB D'Onta Foreman, add five to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 29, 2024.
- ^ "Browns place Charley Hughlett on injured reserve". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 9, 2024.