Dunn: the irreplaceable Viking

The Portland State football team may never see another player like Charles “Chip” Dunn.

Dismiss the fact that Dunn is just 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds. The graduating senior from Pasadena, Calif. has placed his name in the PSU record books for a long time. Dunn was a four-year starter at the tailback position for Vikings football. He helped move PSU from a mediocre Big Sky football team to one of the elites in two seasons.

He stamped his name into the Big Sky scene after rushing for 1200 yards his freshman season and being named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year while also being the first PSU running back ever to rush for over 1000 yards in his first year. He was named to the second-team all-conference team that season. Add over 1500 yards for both his sophomore and junior seasons and he was on his way to breaking the PSU rushing record held by Curtis Delgardo his junior season. He was first-team all-conference for those two seasons as well.

His senior year numbers spoke for themselves. Dunn finished with 1844 yards on 302 rushes along with 21 touchdowns. He averaged 162.9 yards per game while being named co-player of the year for the Big Sky Conference and leading the Vikings to an 8-3 record and their first playoff appearance since joining the Division I-AA level.

Along with that, he was named to the Associated Press First Team All-America team and first team All-America team in the coaches association voting. He was also Second Team All-American in the Sports Network voting and he finished fourth in the nation for the Walter Payton Player of the Year Award. Think the mantle might be full? Add to that, he was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week four times this season as well as national Player of the Week four times for Division I-AA. He also played in the East/West game in Hawaii with seniors from all over the nation.

You could never find a teammate who would say a bad thing about him. He excelled in the classroom and will receive his degree in speech communication this spring.

Dunn carried his intellect on the field as well. You rarely saw a fumble from Dunn, and he might have been one of the best sure-handed running backs ever to play at PSU. One thing is for sure: Dunn will be completely irreplaceable on the field.