Richard P. Gunnell (born January 12, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

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 2010. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

.Joe O'Gorma
Gunnell grateful for football career at Boston College
December 21, 2009 Trentonian He is currently the wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

Early years

Gunnell is from East Windsor Township, New JerseyPlayer Profile
Boston College and was a standout at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. In high school, he made 115 receptions for 2,200 yards and 38 touchdowns. He also returned three kickoffs and two punts for touchdowns. He played for head coach Chappy Moore, and was on the school's basketball and track teams.

College career

Gunnell set the career receiving yard record at Boston College, surpassing Pete Mitchell's. Gunnell broke the record on a 61-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter of his final game against USC in the 2009

Emerald Bowl The San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it w ...

. He finished with 2,459 receiving yards in his career surpassing Mitchell's 2,388 yards. In his final collegiate game Gunnell he had 130 receiving yards and one touchdown on six catches. He was also the active leader in catches, receiving yards, and punt return touchdowns in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. Gunnell was voted the Eagles Most Valuable Player by his teammates, the first time a wide receiver captain received the honor since 1990. His "dream" is to play professionally and is awaiting an invitation to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

. Gunnell was a senior team captain along with center

Matt Tennant Matthew H. Tennant (born March 19, 1987) is a former American football center for the National Football League (NFL). He attended Boston College. Tennant was considered one of the best centers available for the 2010 NFL Draft. He was selected b ...

and

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Mike McLaughlin.Dan Rowinsk
Seniors Set To Bid Adieu in San Francisco
December 26, 2009 WEEI Gunnell played under three head coaches start including Tom O'Brien and Frank Spaziani Gunnell played with

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

s Matt Ryan,

Dominique Davis Dominique Dion Davis (born July 17, 1989) is an American professional gridiron football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Davis played co ...

, and

Dave Shinskie David Michael Shinskie (born May 4, 1984) is an American football quarterback for Boston College. He was BC's starting quarterback for the 2009 season and the beginning of the 2010 season, but then lost the starting spot to Chase Rettig. Early ...

. His best season statistically was as a sophomore with Ryan as quarterback when he had 64 receptions for 931 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns. His senior year with 25-year-old freshman Shinskie he caught 54 passes for 750 yards, and 6 touchdown, plus another 5 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown against USC in the Emerald Bowl.

Professional career

On April 25, 2010, it was announced that Gunnell had signed with the

. However, just prior to the start of the 2010 season on September 3, the Chiefs released Gunnell along with 6 other players vying for roster spots. Gunnell was the final cut for the Chiefs and was placed on the practice squad.

Coaching career

Gunnell was a graduate assistant at Boston College, his alma mater. He coached at Marian High School in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 2014. Gunnell became the wide receivers coach for Boston College in the 2016 season. Gunnell was named interim head coach following the firing of

Steve Addazio Stephen Robert Addazio (born June 1, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He currently is the offensive line coach for Texas A&M University. Addazio served as the head football coach at Temple University from 2011 to 2012, Bos ...

at the conclusion of the 2019 regular season. For the 2022 season, Gunnell joined the Holy Cross football coaching staff as the Wide receivers coach and Pass game coordinator.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Holy Cross Crusaders bio

Boston College Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunnell, Rich 1987 births Living people American football wide receivers Boston College Eagles football coaches Boston College Eagles football players Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Kansas City Chiefs players Tufts Jumbos football coaches High school football coaches in Massachusetts Notre Dame High School (New Jersey) alumni People from East Windsor, New Jersey Sportspeople from Mercer County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople