Many kids grow up with the dream of playing for their hometown team, but for Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz, that dream became a reality. While he made it to the NFL, the road to becoming a professional football player wasn’t always easy for the Pittsburgh native.

Kuntz attended Chartiers Valley High School, where he was a member of both the football and basketball teams, winning a WPIAL basketball title in 2010. Entering his senior year of high school, Kuntz was slated to have a leading role on the Colts’ football team when a freak accident in practice derailed those plans.

“I was set to play quarterback and linebacker,” Kuntz said. “On the last day of training camp I fell on someone’s heel, ruptured my spleen and didn’t get to play my senior year of football.”

Sidelined for his senior year, Kuntz had limited opportunities to play college football. Ultimately, he chose to walk on at Duquesne University.

“Coach Schmitt had an extra spot,” Kuntz said. “He came and watched me play basketball that season, and he offered me a walk-on spot on the football team and then I ended up starting as a freshman.”

After breaking into the starting lineup, Kuntz found immediate success on the field. In his initial collegiate start, Kuntz intercepted a pass from future pro quarterback Taylor Heinecke and returned it for a touchdown. Despite his early success, Kuntz remained on only a partial scholarship, which meant he was still paying  for most of his college education, while many of his teammates had theirs paid for.

“I won All-American my sophomore season,” Kuntz said. “Coach Schmitt put me on full scholarship after that.”

Kuntz finished his collegiate career with an extensive list of accolades. He owns the Duquesne record for career sacks with 30.5, and ranks 6th in FCS history with 70.5 career tackles for loss. In addition, he was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year twice, and earned FCS All-American honors three times.

After college, Kuntz entered the NFL Draft as a linebacker. Despite his various awards and achievements, he went undrafted and was left searching for an NFL roster spot.

“I didn’t have anything after the draft,” Kuntz said. “I just had an invite to go to Tampa Bay for a rookie minicamp tryout, and then the following week, I got to go to Houston. Neither of those worked out, so I was essentially on the couch for a little bit.”

Kuntz’s wait would come to an end when the New England Patriots called in August of 2017. He signed with the team after a successful workout, but his time in New England didn’t last long. The Patriots made a trade for another player, and Kuntz was the odd man out and was released in order to make space on the roster.

“I was there for literally a cup of coffee,” Kuntz said. “24 hours.”

While Kuntz was only a member of the Patriots for a day, it is still a day that he will not forget.

“I got in for my physical the morning I signed,” Kuntz said. “It’s five in the morning, I’m in the training room, and they were checking my knee. I heard the door behind me swing open, and it was Tom Brady. I was like, ‘holy s***.” He sat on the table next to me and he said ‘Hey, what’s up man? You here for a workout?’ He put his fist out, and gave me a fist pound. I’ll never forget that.”

Kuntz played for several teams following his cup of coffee in New England. From 2017-2019, he was a member of the practice squad for Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Pittsburgh Steelers. As a member of the practice squad, Kuntz was expected to show up and play on the scout team, yet not play in any games.

“I’d be on every scout team,” Kuntz said. “If they didn’t need me on scout defense, my coach would have me working on snapping stuff, and as soon as they needed me again on scout defense I’d be back there.”

Eventually, Kuntz realized that if he ended up playing in the NFL long-term, it wouldn’t be as a linebacker. After a workout in Green Bay, he ultimately made the switch to focus on snapping.

“I went on a bunch of workouts after I got cut from New England, and John Wojciechowski, who is a Duquesne graduate, was on the staff in Green Bay, and he knew I long snapped. When I went up there for a linebacker workout, he was like, ‘Christian, let’s see you long snap.’ I got down and did it. The Green Bay staff was like, ‘Dude, if you do this for two, three years, you’re going to be in the NFL.’ That’s when I started strictly long snapping.”

Between his time on practice squads, Kuntz would have to make ends meet by working different jobs around Pittsburgh, while also keeping in shape in case an NFL team called him.

One job that Kuntz held while between teams was as a driver for a local luxury car service. This led to an awkward situation when he was sent to pick up a former teammate.

“I picked up my teammate, Vance McDonald, and dropped him off at his house,” Kuntz said. “I was just teammates with him in training camp about two weeks before. He was like ‘Christian? What the hell are you doing?’ I was in a suit, driving an Escalade.”

Kuntz was released by the Steelers at the end of the 2019 preseason, then signing with the Dallas Renegades ahead of the 2020 XFL season. The 2020 XFL season was cancelled after just five games, and as a result, Kuntz had his XFL contract terminated along with the rest of the league’s players. Kuntz knew his time as a professional football player could be coming to an end if he didn’t find a steady spot soon.

“I’m not naive,” Kuntz said, “I played at Duquesne. I didn’t play at Penn State. Each year that went by, I knew my chances were going down and down and down.”

Eventually, his hometown Steelers called again. Kuntz spent a year on the practice squad before beginning the 2021 season as the Steelers’ starting long snapper.

“I told myself I could make it as a linebacker and that obviously fell through,” Kuntz said. “When the long snapper thing presented itself, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I’ll never let the linebacker go. It was an ego hit, but I think I fully embraced it once I got there and I realized dudes in the NFL locker room don’t really care. Everyone respects everyone’s job.”

Kuntz has remained the Steelers’ starting long snapper since he gained the role in 2021. During games, Kuntz takes special care in order to ensure he successfully does his job for the team. One particular way is the mindset he has while getting ready to snap.

“I think about anything but the last snap,” Kuntz said. “I can’t think of the last one because that’s done and that ain’t going to help me, no matter how good it was or how bad it was. I have to think about having one good rep. That’s what I tell myself when I get out there.”

As a specialist, Kuntz relies not just on himself to produce that “one good rep,” but also his teammates to help finish the job. This season, this meant that he had to trust kicker Chris Boswell and punter Corliss Waitman to help him perform.

“We were with each other every day since July 24th when we reported at least six days out of the week,” Kuntz said. “We’re close. When one of us messes up, if I have a bad snap, I’ve gotta trust Corliss enough to get the ball and to get it up or to get it down. Then Bos has to trust Corliss enough to make sure he has the right lean on the ball.”

That trust seemed to be strong within the specialists this season, as Boswell had a career year. By the end of the year, he was named to the Pro Bowl, a First-team All-Pro, and the NFL’s leader in scoring.

“He found his groove,” Kuntz said. “He was comfortable with the operation and where he was, and he was just swinging. He just swings away. He’s got that next kick mentality. He doesn’t care about anything going on besides making the kick. He doesn’t care if it looks bad. It doesn’t matter. If it goes in, it goes in.”

The strong performance of Boswell proved to be one of the most reliable parts of an otherwise up and down season. After a strong start with a 10-3 record, the Steelers finished the season on a five-game losing streak coupled with a first-round playoff loss.

“We had a good season,” Kuntz said. “We just didn’t finish the way we wanted to. We started off pretty hot, we were making some strides, and then we hit a tough road. It was tough the last five. It wasn’t fun to go to work.”

With the season having wrapped up, Kuntz will now look forward towards the offseason. It will be a deserved period of rest after such a busy season for the Steelers’ special teams unit.

“I’ll take two weeks off of working out. I’ll still do mobility work on my body, but I won’t really snap a football until April. I’m from here, so I stay here. My family’s here. I’m home.”

Outside of football, Kuntz will likely stay busy this offseason. He recently started “The Christian Kuntz Podcast,” a show where he interviews teammates, former Steelers, and other guests. He also is the founder of the Kuntz 4 Ki6s foundation, an organization where he provides support for the youth of the Pittsburgh area. The foundation mostly focuses on supporting youth sports, but is not limited to just that.

“Being from here and knowing that I have a platform now to raise awareness for something that is close to my heart,” Kuntz said. “I kind of want to be that person for the kids that don’t have friends, family or brothers around, to help them in the community with whatever they need.”

Before the 2024-2025 season, Kuntz signed a three year contract extension to remain with the Steelers. That deal gave him a solid place in the NFL, something that Kuntz didn’t always have at the start of his career. At this point in his football journey, he isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s surreal. Now that I’m going into my sixth year with the team, I don’t take for granted moments where I’m in the locker room before a huge game and a guy like T.J. Watt is giving a speech. That’s unbelievable,” Kuntz said. “At this point I’m taking it in more, and taking more pictures when I go to stadiums that I haven’t been to yet. I’m trying to enjoy it a little more than I was. It was stressful trying to make it. It’s still stressful, but it was stressful those first three years until I signed a contract. I feel like sometimes I just need to stop, take it all in and appreciate what’s going on.”