Former Mountaineer Long Snapper Signs With Miami Dolphins

Former West Virginia long snapper Rex Sunahara has signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins.

Congrats to @RexSunahara on signing with the @MiamiDolphins! Pen to paper 💯#HailWV pic.twitter.com/dVPHDGywBG

— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) August 1, 2020

Sunahara was WVU’s primary long snapper for both 2018 and 2019. He was a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannely Award, which goes to the nation’s top long snapper.

Sunahara began his collegiate career playing football and basketball at Rhode Island. He played both wide receiver and power forward before transferring to WVU ahead of the 2016 season. That rare athleticism for a long snapper made Sunahara into a secret weapon for the Mountaineers on punt coverage, according to head coach Neal Brown.

“We’re able to do some things on punt team because of his athleticism that other team’s can’t do,” Brown said during the season. “He’s been a weapon. It’s almost unheard of for your long snapper to be one of your leading tacklers on your punt team, and he’s done that.”

There was some talk of Sunahara getting a shot at the NFL near the end of the college season, but he went unsigned immediately following the draft. The Dolphins hosted Sunahara for a workout yesterday.

Sunahara is the fifth 2019 graduate to sign as an undrafted free agent, joining receiver George Campbell, safety Josh Norwood and corners Keith Washington and Hakeem Bailey.