Gennings Dunker should feel at home this summer in his first visit to the pastoral setting of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.
The third of three players selected by the Steelers on Friday night in the third round of the NFL Draft, the guard became a farm legend while playing at Iowa. Dunker is a multi-time winner of the Solon Beef Days Hay Bale Toss. Last summer, he threw a 50-pound bale of hay 14 feet, six inches.
Pittsburgh isn't expecting Dunker to win any blue ribbons at the county fair. However, they believe the 6-foot-5, 319-pounder can bolster the interior of the offensive line.
Dunker played a big part in Iowa winning the Joe Moore Award last season for having the nation’s top offensive line. He started 13 games and allowed just two sacks in 316 pass block snaps, then played in the Senior Bowl, where he impressed Steelers offensive line coach James Campen.
"You always look for guys that are first in line doing things that are challenging or different, like he did at the Senior Bowl,” Campen said. “He was first in line to go and do new drills and things like that. So, I'm sure there are some leadership qualities there, too.
"But we're very excited to have him and to add to the O-line room. We'll get him in here and look at him. I think at this point he'll be at the guard position, with tackle as his second position. But again, when you get players like this, you can always try to figure out which way he's going to go. So, competition is good in those areas. So, he'll probably end up playing a little bit of both, but primarily guard."
As a freshman in 2022, Dunker played in 10 games and then made his first collegiate start in Iowa’s win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Dunker then started in 13 games in 2023 and 11 games in 2024 after losing 35 pounds to improve his conditioning.
Dunker surrendered 11 sacks in 1,002 pass block snaps over his four seasons. He redshirted in 2021 after sustaining a foot injury during his senior season at Lena-Winslow High School in Lena, Ill.I
Dunker was an All-State selection as a junior, and Lena-Winslow won state championships in his freshman and junior seasons. Dunker also lettered in wrestling and track.
His brother, Gage, plays football at Upper Iowa University.
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