Overview

Position: DL

College: Texas Tech

Class: Senior

Age: 23

 

Measurables

Height: 6’3 1/2″

Weight: 318 lbs.

Arm length: 33 1/4″

Hand size: 9 1/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 5.18 sec.

10-yard split: 1.79 sec.

Vertical jump: 21.5”

Broad jump: 100.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Good overall size and length. Hands are active and effective off the ball. Excellent vision while taking on blocks. Does a tremendous job stacking a blocker and keeping his eyes in the backfield to adjust for a tackle at the line of scrimmage. Very strong anchoring down as a two-gapper. Able to anchor himself if moved some versus a double team. Agile feet moving laterally while attached to plug up rushing lanes. Works down the line of scrimmage taking on a block and will be quick to disengage on his inside shoulder. Very quick using a swim move at the snap to tackle in the backfield. Impressive quickness to split blockers off the ball. Good quickness in general if given a clean path into the backfield. Very efficient spin move to free himself from a block and change direction after slanting the opposite way. Moves his feet well to create disruption in short-yardage situations. Strong finisher and can take down a ball-carrier with one arm. Very impressive nimbleness to tackle a ball-carrier trying to evade him in the backfield. Excellent feet changing direction at his size. Good pursuit hustle as the backside defender. Will hustle across the field with quality speed at his size. Shows he won’t back down when opponents get physical. Great awareness to recognize screen passes. Usually a nose tackle but saw snaps as a three-technique. Often drew multiple blockers rushing the quarterback. Able to drive opponents back on power rushes. Walks back smaller opponents as a rusher. Exceptional swipe move as a rusher. Strong hands up at the shoulders to get opponents off balance as a rusher. Strong pulldown move. Uses some shake into the rush. Wins hand fighting as a rusher. Has a rip move getting around opponents.

 

Weaknesses

Average explosiveness and lower half lacks definition/power. Was getting kicked out and trapped as a run defender by BYU’s more compact and quicker interior blockers (2025). Gets too upright both taking on blocks and as a rusher. Will stall out and keep his eyes on the quarterback rather than trying to generate a push. Needs to avoid hitting the quarterback late.

 

NFL comparison

Harrison Phillips

 

Conclusion

Overall, Hunter is a strong nose tackle with active hands and impressive agility for his role as a run stuffer on the interior. He projects to be a solid starter, but development is needed to have maximum impact versus quicker and more athletic NFL opponents.

 

Big Board ranking: #83 | Positional ranking: #7