CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina's
Jeffrey Gunter was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2022 National Football League (NFL) Draft on Saturday.
With his selection as the 252nd overall pick, Gunter becomes the ninth Chanticleer to hear his name called in the NFL Draft.
With Gunter and his teammate,
Isaiah Likely (fourth round – 139th pick) both being selected in this year's draft, the duo mark just the second time in Coastal football's 19-year history that the Chanticleers have had two players taken in the same NFL Draft joining Lorenzo Taliaferro (fourth round – 138th pick) and Matt Hazel (sixth round – 190th pick) from 2014.
A three-time All-Sun Belt selection, earning first-team honors in both 2018 and 2020, and second-team recognition in 2021, Gunter was also named to the 2021 Phil Steele Sun Belt Conference All-Conference second team and the 2021 Pro Football Focus (PFF) College Football All-Sun Belt third team last season.
Gunter, who was invited to both the 2022 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl and played in the latter, was named to the 2021 Ted Hendricks Award watch list and tabbed a 2018 Blanchard-Rogers Awards finalist.
Last year in 2021, Gunter tallied 41 tackles, including 21 solo stops, 10.0 tackles-for-loss, 6.5 sacks, one pass breakup, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick.
In 2020, Gunter led the nation in forced fumbles with six on the year and finished the season tied for second on the team and fourth in the Sun Belt with 6.5 sacks on the season. He was also second on the team and seventh in the Sun Belt with 12.5 tackles-for-loss. The Durham, N.C. native, totaled 58 tackles, including 35 solo stops, one interception, one pass breakup, and 12 quarterback hurries on the season.
In his four seasons at CCU from 2017-18 and 2020-21, as he spent the 2019 season at NC State, Gunter recorded 174 total tackles, including 96 solo tackles. He also finished with 40.0 tackles-for-loss, 18.0 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, nine forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two blocked kicks.
His 18.0 career sacks rank second all-time in CCU history behind former teammate Tarron Jackson's 26.5 sacks, while his 40.0 tackles-for-loss also rank second in CCU's career annals behind only Jackson's 44.5. His 23 career quarterback hurries also rank second all-time in CCU's career record books.
In Coastal's single-season record books, Gunter is tied for third in most tackles-for-loss with 14.0 in 2018, tied for seventh with 12.5 in 2020, and 13th with 10.0 in 2021. He also is tied for sixth in most sacks in a single season with 6.5 in both 2020 and 2021, and is tied for the single-season record with fumbles forced with six in 2020.
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