Neal Evan Guggemos (born June 14, 1964) is a former

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)

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

. He played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Early life

Guggemos attended Holy Trinity High School in

Winsted, Minnesota Winsted is a city in McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,240 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Winsted has been in operation since 1858. The city was named after Winsted, Connecticut. The name "Winsted" ...

. As a four sport athlete, he earned 14

varsity letters A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

and finished in 2nd place in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

at the Minnesota State High School track and field meet.

College career

After high school, Guggemos attended the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

, where he was a football News All-American in 1986 and a Kodak All-American defensive back in 1985 and 1986 for the Tommies. He finished his career with 25 interceptions, which at the time, was 3rd most all time in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

history, regardless of division. He also helped lead the Tommies to the 1985 D-III Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship. He won 6 All-American awards in both the long jump and the triple jump during his collegiate track and field career.

Professional career

Guggemos signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1986. He didn't see any action on the field until 1987, when he was 2nd in the league behind Paul Palmer with 808 return yards on 36 kick returns, averaging 22.4 yards per kick return. He also had an interceptions as a defensive back. In 1988, Guggemos signed with the

. He had 17 kick returns for 344 yards. In 1989, Guggemos signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, but was cut in the preseason.University of St. Thomas All-Americans
, University of St. Thomas All-Americans.

Personal life

Neal is married to Julie Guggemos. His older son, Nick, played wide receiver at Neal's alma mater, St. Thomas. He signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

on May 6, 2021 as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. His younger son, Matt, played

for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

before transferring to St. Thomas. He also has a daughter, Alexa.

References

External links

Football Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guggemos, Neal Players of American football from Minnesota 1964 births Living people People from McLeod County, Minnesota New York Giants players Minnesota Vikings players St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies football players St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's track and field athletes American male triple jumpers American male long jumpers