Meet Rex Sunahara

[Ibleedbrown]

I’m going to start doing a thing featuring lesser known current Browns players and sharing hopefully fun and interesting information about them. What better guy to start with than Rex Sunahara, Browns long snapper since 2024.

He’s a local guy! Born in Toledo, but raised in Bay Village, just west of Cleveland. At Bay high school he played baseball, basketball, and football, primarily as a WR and DB.

In college, he decided to go to Rhode Island to play football and basketball. It was there that he focused on the fine art of chucking a ball between his cheeks, aka long snapping.

A year later in 2016, Rex bet on himself. He walked on at West Virginia to chuck balls between his cheeks for the Mountaineers.

He was the backup for a couple years, but by 2018 he was starting. Rex long snapped his ass off for the Mountaineers for a couple years, and even won the Patrick Mannelly Award, whatever that is.

His pro career started off rocky. It’s a 4 year tale of being signed and cut by NFL and XFL teams without ever playing in a game.

Then in August of 2024, he got his break. Charley Hughlett went down and the Browns needed a replacement. Let’s call the guy down the road.

And the rest is history. Rex has been starting ever since and doing a fine job. I don’t recall ever cursing his name. He led all NFL long snappers in tackles last year with 7.

Rex was interviewed in October of 2024, and he’s apparently a big music guy. At the time, “Easy Lover” by Phil Collins was his jam and what he listened to before taking the field.

Easy Lover? Really? I could see Sussudio, or In the Air Tonight if you like a slow burn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Sunahara

https://www.news5cleveland.com/sports/next-man-up/next-man-up-neo-native-rex-sunahara-went-from-working-at-house-of-blues-to-browns-starting-long-snapper