Future NFL lineman Gennings Dunker joined FanSided ahead of the NFL Draft on behalf of Casey's, where Dunker's favorite — the Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza — officially returns on Wednesday, April 29. Crispy Fries will also officially launch across Casey's stores on the same date.
Where is Iowa Hawkeyes stalwart Gennings Dunker going in this week's NFL Draft? What will he be doing when he gets there? With so much up in the air, Dunker is approaching a weekend in flux at the place he knows best, doing what comforts him most.
"I'm doing [my draft party] at the Lena Brewing Company [in Lena, IL], a restaurant I worked at for a long time," Dunker told FanSided on Wednesday. "I worked for Ross Man Boss Man, I used to call him. I did anything he needed me to. I did a lot of random stuff."
"Anybody can come out. I wanted it to be an open community event that raises money for the football program. I was really fortunate to grow up in Lena and have a lot of great influences, like my high school football coaches and my bosses, and I just wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it. I know the draft party is kind of about me, but I don't want it to be. I want it to be about the time in Lena. I'll probably be hiding somewhere."
That selflessness is what makes Dunker's newfound viral fame - away from the gridiron, where he's a sturdy warrior - somewhat tougher to parse. Dunker is the man who wants to eat Casey's Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza with his dad in a corner of his own draft party. He's the kid who grew up pulling for the Hawkeyes and barely paid attention to the NFL, in awe of Kirk Ferentz within his own locker room. He's not the guy who's comfortable posing at O'Hare Airport, showing off his flowing locks. But his magnetism is undeniable. And these are the kinds of things that sometimes happen to people who are exceedingly comfortable in their own skin.
"At the combine, you meet all these coaches, and you can prepare as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you're going to end up in the room with an NFL head coach that you grew up watching. So you see 'em, and you're like, holy smokes, this is crazy," Dunker recalled.
Iowa Hawkeyes OL Gennings Dunker is willing to try anything to help interested NFL teams
Dunker was part awestruck, part viral sensation at the Combine, but one thing he made very clear was that he was and is amenable to anything these legendary coaches ultimately require of him.
While it's made him very popular ahead of Draft Day, it's also made it difficult for him to predict when he and his dad can put down their bacon cheeseburger pizzas and really focus on the event.
"The tough part is, I'm not a one-position guy, like a true center or a true tackle," Dunker said, summarizing recent conversations with teams. "I could play left guard, right guard, right tackle. I'm probably not gonna play tight end or something, but ... I can play so many positions."
"When I find out, everyone's gonna find out, too. I really have no idea."
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