In the opening hours of the 2024 free agency period, the Steelers announced a low-key signing that didn’t garner the headlines of some of the other big deals that were getting done around the league.
That doesn’t mean, however, that it wasn’t impactful.
Four years ago, long-snapper Christian Kuntz was happy just to be getting an opportunity – any opportunity – to show that he belonged in the NFL. Kuntz signed a three-year deal to stay with the Steelers March 14, meaning he not only has a home in the NFL, he has one in his hometown.
A graduate of Chartiers Valley High School in suburban Pittsburgh and Duquesne University, which is located in downtown Pittsburgh, it seems like Kuntz’ destiny always meant for him to be here.
But a more in-depth look at his past shows a meandering path that brought him to this point.
“It doesn’t surprise me one bit to see where he’s at, because I knew he had the mindset, the work ethic, the attitude,” said former Chartiers Valley basketball coach Tim McConnell of Kuntz. “He wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He got shut down a few times, but it didn’t discourage him to say, ‘OK, I’m going to move on with my life’s work.’ He worked harder to prove to people he could still make it to the NFL.”
What does Kuntz’ high school basketball coach know about his desire and determination? Plenty.
As a senior at Chartiers Valley, Kuntz was just a few days away from the start of his senior season in 2011 when disaster struck.
“I tackled some guy on the second-to-last day of training camp and fell on his heel I think or hit the ground weird and I rolled over and was nauseous,” Kuntz recalled. “They said I was really pale. I started spitting up blood. And then pain kind of went away after they took me in the training room. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m good.’ The trainer, she wanted to call the ambulance. I said, ‘We don’t need to call the ambulance, I’ll be alright.’
“So Wayne Capers took…
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