This Browns player was about to become a stagehand at House of Blues when his NFL dream came true

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The House of Blues is simply a edifice and barroom known for its unrecorded euphony on nan portion of Cleveland’s East 4th Street.

In early August 2024, Rex Sunahara was expected to commencement moving there.

At that point, nan Bay Village native’s pro shot profession arsenic a agelong snapper hardly existed. Sunahara’s practice-squad stints pinch nan Dolphins and Steelers had travel and gone, and aft a play successful nan XFL, Sunahara recovered himself backmost home.

“I’ve sewage to commencement reasoning astir immoderate different things here,” Sunahara thought to himself. “I don’t really cognize what I’m gonna do.”

An uncle told Sunahara astir nan occupation opening arsenic a stagehand astatine nan House of Blues, wherever he’d thief group up nan unrecorded shows. He geared up for his first time successful early August 2024.

Then nan Browns — nan squad he grew up rooting for — called.

Longtime agelong snapper Charley Hughlett was dealing pinch a insignificant wounded successful training camp. They needed different guy, and that opened nan doorway to Sunahara’s puerility dream.

Now Sunahara looks to found himself arsenic 1 of nan NFL’s premiere agelong snappers.

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Beginnings

As a Bay Village native, Sunahara grew up 20 minutes westbound of wherever nan Browns play their location games.

Sports ran successful nan family. He took portion successful hoops and shot increasing up, but shot ran faster than nan remainder successful nan bloodline.

His grandfather, Peter Rekstis, played assemblage shot astatine some Army (1960) and Cincinnati (1962-1963). His uncle, Chet Moeller, was an All-American beardown information for Navy (1972-1975) and was inducted into nan College Football Hall of Fame successful 2010.

Other uncles played for Youngstown State and yet sewage into coaching, giving a young Sunahara an up-close consciousness for nan game.

“You spell to these games and it’s for illustration I benignant of grew up successful it,” Sunahara said. “My uncles played and past coached too. I was astatine games connected Saturdays ... shot is conscionable what my family does, and I emotion it.”

Reed Sunahara, Rex’s father, alternatively leaned toward volleyball.

A two-time All-American that led UCLA (1982-86) to 3 NCAA titles, Reed yet sewage into coaching and landed nan caput gig for nan University of Cincinnati women’s squad betwixt 2000-11.

This brought Rex to Cincinnati for portion of his upbringing. It was location that he attended a Cincinnati Bearcats younker shot camp.

“It was for illustration a kids camp, and location were position groups,” Sunahara said. “It was for illustration nan specialists were present and nan quarterbacks were location and everything else. And I conscionable happened to beryllium astatine nan specialists one.”

He watched a Bearcats agelong snapper snapping nan ball. Sunahara tried it and quickly picked it up.

From there, his obsession grew.

Level up

Before nan 2014 season, Ronald Rutt took complete nan Bay High School shot program. The Rockets were coming disconnected a one-win season, and Rutt looked to his seniors to lead nan alteration of culture.

Among these seniors was Sunahara, who had moved backmost to Bay Village up of precocious schoolhouse and was a three-sport prima successful football, hoops and baseball.

Rutt says Sunahara was up for nan situation and led by example.

“A batch of times you’re stepping retired to believe aft a agelong time of school, and it’s benignant of reliable to get it going retired there,” Rutt said. “(Sunahara) conscionable benignant of ever was having fun, moving his butt disconnected and bringing different guys on pinch him.”

Standing 6-foot-6, Sunahara was utilized arsenic a wide receiver and free information pinch a activity ethic displayed successful large moments, during what would beryllium a historical play for nan Rockets. A premier illustration was their 2nd crippled against neighboring rival Westlake. Sunahara caught a game-winning 42-yard Hail Mary.

“He was personification that defenses really had to set to pinch his beingness retired location and his size astatine wide receiver,” Rutt said. “You couldn’t conscionable time off him unsocial pinch 1 area aliases he was going to make a play complete that kid.”

Sunahara was a apical contributor and did immoderate it took to make a triumph happen.

The elder star, however, didn’t stray acold from agelong snapping and was nan Rockets’ main agelong snapper, impressing Rutt.

“As a first-year caput coach, you benignant of return for granted erstwhile you’ve sewage a agelong snapper for illustration him, it was cleanable each time,” said Rutt, who coached nan Bay Rockets done nan 2024 season. “(The) assurance erstwhile you’re punting aliases kicking a section goal, that nan threat was ever going to beryllium correct connected nan money. Just really impressive.”

His play was contagious, and he helped lead nan Rockets to 8 wins and a location last appearance, earlier they fell to nan eventual state-champion Benedictine Bengals.

The accolades followed. Sunahara was a protect action connected nan All-Ohio Division IV 3rd team; and an All-West Shore Conference and All-Northeast District honoree connected some sides of nan ball.

Sunahara was fresh to play nan adjacent level.

A leap of faith

Originally, Sunahara aspired to proceed some shot and hoops coming retired of precocious school. His recruitment was fickle.

Rhode Island was nan only Division I schoolhouse which allowed him to proceed some sports astatine nan collegiate level. In autumn 2015, Sunahara converted to agelong snapper for nan Rams shot squad and walked-on to nan hoops team.

In football, Sunahara had 4 typical teams tackles done 8 games for a one-win Rams. The hoops squad posted 17 wins, but Sunahara logged 3 full minutes nan full season.

And he was homesick.

“It was 1 of those things wherever I was conscionable excessively acold away,” Sunahara said. “Too acold distant from location astatine Rhode Island and I was like, ‘I conscionable don’t really for illustration it here.’”

Sunahara near aft 1 twelvemonth and weighed his options. Either he’d return his talents elsewhere, aliases modulation to student life astatine Cincinnati aliases Cleveland State.

The Sunahara family took a picnic to Hawaii successful 2016, nan location authorities of Reed Sunahara, who now was coming disconnected his first twelvemonth coaching nan West Virginia women’s volleyball team.

Rex joined nan travel prepared to present nan news of his volition to participate nan transportation portal.

He brought these thoughts to his father. Reed past asked his boy a question.

“Why don’t you conscionable spell to West Virginia and spot what you tin do?” Reed asked.

However, location was nary danasiwa connection for him. The only measurement Sunahara would suit up for nan Mountaineers was by stepping on. It was either that aliases go his father’s volleyball squad manager.

He took a leap of religion and showed up astatine West Virginia’s 6 a.m. shot tryout. Reed drove him there. And successful nan end, Sunahara was nan past 1 opinionated and accepted an connection to locomotion on.

“There were 3 of america that sewage picked from there, and I deliberation I was nan only 1 that really finished,” Sunahara said. “It was benignant of crazy.”

Mountaineer friendship

Sunahara was a Mountaineer, but he wasn’t nan starting agelong snapper.

That occupation belonged to Nick Meadows going into Year 5 of coach Dana Holgorsen’s tenure.

Sunahara, however, didn’t awkward away. He took to being Meadows’ backup and waited his turn, while besides learning from nan starter.

“The kid worked his a--off each azygous time and that was nan competition,” Sunahara said of Meadows. “He was going to hit you, and it was conscionable a matter of really he was going to hit you.”

Meadows successful move besides realized Sunahara’s imaginable arsenic a agelong snapper.

“I deliberation honestly, astir apt wrong nan first week of him being there,” Meadows said. “I could spot his potential, one, pinch his size and ability, but two, pinch his activity ethic and consistency. I could spot that he had it successful him.”

Meadows led by illustration pinch his mentation for perfection. He made Sunahara his pupil, and showed him what it’d return to make it successful Morgantown.

“Every azygous day, I wouldn’t spell disconnected nan section until I had, opportunity for example, 10 to 20 cleanable snaps successful a row,” Meadows said. “If location was 1 bad one, I had to restart and I would person to do 10 more. I wouldn’t time off nan field.”

Through their competition, they built a bond.

“He held that position to a standard,” Sunahara said. “He held our full group to a standard. That is what I wanted to be. It was what I wanted to execute ... I wouldn’t person been capable to do it without him.”

Meadows graduated aft nan 2017 season, and it was Sunahara’s turn. He became a instrumentality favorite, played nan full play and landed 4 tackles connected typical teams.

To immoderate extent, he thought that was it.

“I ne'er thought astir playing successful nan pros,” Sunahara said. “I was like, ‘I conscionable want to play varsity shot and past I want to play connected Saturdays, move connected and past conscionable proceed to do that.’ ”

Little did he cognize wherever his adjacent section would lead him.

Big leagues calling

Sunahara didn’t cognize he was connected nan NFL radar.

“I was told by 1 of my coaches, ‘You’re getting a batch of looks’. And I was like, ‘Looks for what?’ ...

“ ‘A batch of group deliberation that you tin play successful nan NFL,’” Sunahara said.

He capped his elder play pinch invites to nan 2020 NFLPA Collegiate All-Star Game and 2020 Hula Bowl All-Star Game, and was a semifinalist for nan Patrick Mannelly Award, fixed to nan nation’s apical agelong snapper.

However, this wouldn’t lead to a action successful nan 2020 NFL Draft.

Practice squad stints pinch nan Dolphins and Steelers didn’t lead to much. Sunahara joined nan XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas for nan 2023 season, earlier receiving a training campy induce from Pittsburgh that aforesaid year.

That led to nothing. Sunahara returned to San Antonio nan adjacent twelvemonth arsenic nan squad transitioned to nan UFL, but he wasn’t playing much.

Sunahara recovered himself backmost location successful Bay Village and faced nan thought of life aft football.

“I didn’t perceive anything,” Sunahara said. “I was virtually sitting astatine location ... I didn’t perceive thing until August.”

Dreams turned reality

Sunahara geared up for his first time astatine Cleveland’s House of Blues successful August 2024.

He was short connected rate and opportunities from nan pros, and looked to make immoderate money successful nan meantime.

“I conjecture you would telephone it a stagehand ... conscionable break down and group up stages for nan concerts astatine nan House of Blues,” Sunahara said. “And that was really astir it. (I) was conscionable going to do that astatine nights and fig it retired from there.”

Then nan Browns called.

Hughlett hadn’t missed a azygous crippled since becoming Cleveland’s starting agelong snapper successful 2015, but now he was wounded and they needed personification else.

Sunahara signed connected Aug. 8.

But this wasn’t conscionable immoderate team. This was nan Browns. Sunahara grew up a fanatic. He moreover attended games while he was trying to spell pro.

In 2021, erstwhile cornerback Denzel Ward logged a 99-yard pick-six successful Cleveland’s Week 9 roadworthy triumph complete Cincinnati, Sunahara was there.

In 2022, erstwhile nan Browns suffered a Christmas Eve nonaccomplishment to nan Saints successful what became nan coldest regular-season location crippled successful franchise history, Sunahara was successful nan epistaxis seats pinch friends.

He now had nan chance of a life to play successful nan orangish and brown.

Replacing familiarity

Sunahara was portion of a bid of bookkeeping roster moves during nan autumn of 2024. He’d beryllium a believe squad member, past get waived, past get placed backmost connected nan roster, and truthful on.

Sunahara wasn’t signed to nan progressive roster until Oct. 9, aft Hughlett was placed connected nan injured database pinch a rib injury.

It was Sunahara’s 28th birthday, and he received nan news from Browns typical teams coach Bubba Ventrone.

“I benignant of knew that it was happening,” Sunahara said. “Bubba texted maine and was like, ‘Hey, are you fresh to go?’ Just replied, ‘Hell yeah,’ and was fresh to go.”

Sunahara’s first profession NFL commencement was successful Week 6 versus nan eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

“It was scary,” Sunahara said. “It was 1 of those things wherever you effort to return it each in, but besides recognize you sewage a occupation to do. It was surreal.”

This besides marked nan changing of nan guard.

Sunahara was Cleveland’s starting agelong snapper nan remainder of nan 2024 season. Hughlett has not played different down for nan Browns and was released aft nan play ended.

Hughlett had 2 years remaining connected a four-year, $5.7 cardinal statement hold signed successful October 2022. Dating backmost to 2015, he had played successful 152 consecutive regular-season games and was nan team’s second-longest-tenured personnel down near defender Joel Bitonio.

The Browns were taking a chance pinch Sunahara, who understood what came pinch replacing Hughlett.

“Charlie was 1 aliases is still 1 of nan champion to ever play nan position,” Sunahara said. “The truth that I was capable to beryllium present pinch him and study from him each day, was thing that is portion of nan logic that I’m capable to do this. He’s a pro’s pro.”

Carving his ain path

He has stepped up to nan situation successful 2025 and contributed to immoderate of nan Browns’ apical highlights this season.

That includes Andre Szmyt’s 53-yard game-winning footwear successful Week 3, erstwhile Sunahara made nan pivotal threat for Corey Bojorquez to spot down for Szmyt.

Pro Football Focus has fixed him an 84.8 wide typical teams people this season, nan champion among each NFL agelong snappers.

He’s had 7 typical teams tackles, including 1 connected Chimere Dike, nan NFL’s apical kickoff returner, successful nan Browns’ Week 14 nonaccomplishment to Tennessee.

With his first afloat complete play coming to an end, Sunahara is conscionable enjoying nan ride.

He sometimes catches himself looking up to nan nosebleeds wherever he erstwhile sat watching nan squad he plays for now.

“Corey and Andre get tired of maine talking astir that stuff,” Sunahara said. “I conscionable retrieve sitting up there, they’re like, ‘Cool’. They get irritated pinch it, but it’s fun, it’s a portion of my travel and story.”

But Sunahara besides looks to carve retired his ain way arsenic nan franchise agelong snapper, for his hometown squad.

“Make my ain measurement and make this position my ain and do things a small spot different,” Sunahara said. “If it works, it works. I’m conscionable excited to beryllium capable to proceed to forge that path.”