Eugene Peter "Gene" Knutson (November 10, 1932 – February 9, 2008) was an American football player.

As a senior at Michigan, Knutson was selected to play in the Hula Bowl College All-Star Game.

He earned seven varsity letters and won all-state honors in both football and basketball and was a hurdler on Beloit's state championship track team as a junior.

"[3] He sustained a broken leg in April 1951 while stepping off a curb, but he recovered in time for the 1951 football season.

[1] Knutson later recalled the first time he ran out of the tunnel into Michigan Stadium in front of 100,000 fans: "That was such a thrill to me, so exciting.

Unless you experience sitting in that locker room, getting dressed, warming up and then going out to that crowd and playing in that ballgame, you'll never know.

He taught and coached at St. Joseph's High School in South Bend, Indiana, before entering the insurance business.