Chalk Talk Episode #12: Don’t Get into a Football Trivia Challenge with Cincinnati Bengals Defensive End Jeffrey Gunter. You Will Not Win.
Name an NFL team from 1974 and 23-year-old Jeffrey Gunter will start spewing off player names, statistics and more. That’s what happens when you watch NFL Network every weekend as a child instead of cartoons. You put yourself in a position to know a lot about football and to make it to the NFL, despite the societal odds that may be against you.
See, Jeffrey Gunter – who just completed his rookie season as a defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals – spent most of his youth overlooked, underrated and under-recruited. His mom told him he would go far, though, and kept pushing him to push himself. So, he did.
His senior year of high school, he switched from safety (a position he played his whole life) to defensive end. Though he was probably too skinny for that position at only 185 pounds, he was super scrappy – a trait that the scouts at Coastal Carolina University valued tremendously when they recruited him. Appreciating the opportunity he had received to get one step closer to reaching his childhood dream of playing in the NFL, and determined not to be red-shirted like everyone told him he would, Jeffrey showed up to college a semester early to ensure he could get on the field his freshman year and make an immediate impact.
He knows that hard work will always be seen, and that if you put yourself in the best position to succeed every single day of your life, at some point, you’re going to get a chance to show what you can do. In other words, you can’t control the situation you’re in, but you can control how you handle it. And Jeffrey sure has handled every situation with poise, professionalism and humility.
Listen to our Chalk Talk chat with him now to hear more about…
- What his first year in the NFL was like – and what he encountered on his wild journey to the NFL.
- How he and his buddies use the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
- Why he doesn’t regret putting his family first his whole life, even when it risked his football career.
- The biggest life lesson he’s learned and the advice he gives to other people who feel they’re not being given a fair shake – or that people don’t even know to look in their direction – whether in sports, business or life in general.
LISTEN NOW
Missed these past Chalk Talk episodes? Catch up now:
- Chalk Talk: Love the NFLs Next Gen Stats? This is How They All Come Together Inside the Command Center
- Chalk Talk Episode #2: Did You Know RFID Technology Was Used to Track Player Movements During 2022 NFL Combine Drills? Find Out What That Means for This Years Recruits (and Future Scouting Decisions).
- Chalk Talk Episode #3: NFL Pros Dwayne Johnson, Jr. and Chris Streveler Just Spent Three Weeks Working at Zebra. Find Out Why (and What It Was Like).
- Chalk Talk Episode #4: Its NFL Draft Time, and We Have Some Thoughts on How Things Will Play Out
- Chalk Talk Episode #5: The 2022 NFL Draft Was Proof That Anything Can Happen in Vegas
- Chalk Talk Episode #6: Former NFL Coach Sean Payton Talks about His New Team, as Well as What Excites and Frightens Him about the Next Chapter of His Movie-Worthy Story
- Chalk Talk Podcast Episode #7: NFL Legend and Football Operations Executive, Troy Vincent, Says Data Will Change What Players, Coaches, Officials and Scouts Do This Season. Find Out How.
- Chalk Talk Episode #8: Legendary Sportscaster David “Kap” Kaplan Just Wants Us All to Get Along and Live Life All In and He Has Some Ideas (and a Tattoo) to Inspire Us
- Chalk Talk Episode #9: NFL Pro and Life Literacy Coach Brandon Copeland Wants Us All to Start Normalizing Conversations Around Money and Meet New People. Here’s Why.
- Chalk Talk Episode #10: Legendary NFL Long Snapper Patrick Mannelly and Bernie’s Book Bank CEO Darrin Utynek Team Up to Share Stories of Unsung Heroes
Adam Petrus
Adam Petrus is currently the Business Development and Sales Lead for Sports & Entertainment at Zebra Technologies where he is responsible for growing Zebra’s hardware and software solutions across the world of sports and the entertainment industry. Prior to joining the sales team Adam co-managed Zebra’s game day operation of the NFL’s Next Gen Stats program and served as the project lead for the NFL’s Equipment Tracking Program, Virtual Locker. Adam has more than 15 years of experience within the sports and technology industry and has been working with Next Gen Stats since 2015. Previously, he worked in the front office of an NFL Football Club, served within the United States Intelligence Community supporting special operations to include two and a half years in Iraq and was a licensed and certified sports agent. Adam holds a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace University out of Berea, Ohio and attended the International Institute for Management & Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland where he earned a certificate in Business Management and Leadership.
As an active member of the community, Adam serves on the Baldwin Wallace University Carmel-Boyer School of Business Advisory Council, served on the Board of the Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary International Club and is a member of the Jacksonville JAXSports Council - a non-profit established to enhance and positively impact the quality of life and community pride, along with generating economic impact and growth through professional and amateur sports. An outdoor enthusiast, Adam enjoys running, paddle boarding, golfing and being an active parent alongside his wife Jenn to their daughters Olivia (7) & Peyton (5) and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Gunner and Nash.
Fun Fact:
"My first job in the NFL was at age 16 when I was hired by the Cleveland Browns Groundcrew. This position then led to a promotion into the front office when I was in college and a full-time role upon graduation."
