Gerald "Jerry" Wunsch (born January 21, 1974) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for eight seasons during the 1990s and early 2000s. He played college football for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and played professionally for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and Seattle Seahawks of the NFL.

Early life

Wunsch was born in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...

and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Wausau West High School Wausau West High School is a public high school serving students in grades 9 to 12 of the Wausau School District. It was built in 1970 on the west side of the city of Wausau, Wisconsin to accommodate the growing city population. Its enrollment is a ...

. He played college football at University of Wisconsin–Madison. In his senior year, he was awarded first-team All-Big Ten honors after starting every game as right tackle.

Professional career

Wunsch was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2nd round of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

. He played for Tampa Bay for five seasons before being cut in 2002. Wunsch then played for the Seattle Seahawks for three seasons.

Life after the NFL

Wunsch actively volunteered in Wisconsin while he played professionally, and after retirement he moved to the Tampa Bay area to work with the Wunsch Family Foundation full-time. The Foundation works with children who have cancer and chronic blood disorders. Wunsch and his family live in Clearwater, Florida.

References

External links

Circle of Friends: Wunsch Family Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wunsch, Jerry 1974 births Living people American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Seattle Seahawks players Wisconsin Badgers football players Sportspeople from Wausau, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Eau Claire, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Ed Block Courage Award recipients