PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced the signing of Duquesne University alum Christian Kuntz to a three-year contract.
Kuntz, who was inducted to the Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame in January, has been the Steelers long snapper the last three seasons, playing in a total of 51 games.
"All of us in the Duquesne Football community were happy to see that Christian will continue his career as a member of his hometown Steelers," said Duquesne head coach
Jerry Schmitt. "He demonstrated extraordinary work ethic throughout his collegiate career and it continues to drive him to higher levels of success."
Kuntz, a Pittsburgh native out of Chartiers Valley High School, became just the second Duke in 68 years to appear in an NFL game in 2021.
As a Duke, Kuntz earned All-American honors three times in leading the Dukes to NEC titles in 2013, 2015 & 2016. The 2015 squad also made the program's first NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff appearance.
A 2016 finalist for the FCS Buck Buchanan Award (National Defensive Player of the Year), Kuntz recorded a school record 30.5 sacks during his standout career on the Bluff and 71.5 career tackles for loss, which rank sixth on the NCAA FCS all-time list.
Kuntz, a two-time Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the NEC's "Mount Rushmore" in November of 2020 as one of the four greatest players in the 40-year history of the conference.
"My fifth year, my senior year, our (long-snapper) didn't come back and I had to do it,"
Kuntz told Steelers.com. "Coach Schmitt, he loved that I had to be the long-snapper and play linebacker. He loved the fact that I was running downfield and making half the plays on the punt team. Then, after the season, he told me I should be ready to long snap on my pro day. I was about as ready as I could have been. But he was right."
