The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Milestone on road to NFL just ahead
Scouting combine: South graduate Hunt hoping to impressive scouts in 40-yard dash
Kareem Hunt fumbled once in his Toledo career.
He carried the ball 856 times. That fumble was during his freshman season, and he recovered it.
As a senior at Toledo, he reportedly made a tackler miss 98 times, best in the nation.
In four seasons at Toledo, he rushed for a school record 4,944 yards.
As they say, the film doesn’t lie when it comes to Hunt’s exploits as an NFL Draft prospect.
Hunt is a realist. Even though there’s plenty of film on him as a college running back, NFL coaches and general managers will be watching and wondering how fast the Willoughby South graduate can run.
They will all find out soon enough this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, when running backs will be on display on March 3 at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Hunt and his powerful legs are set on registering a 40-yard dash time in the 4.4-second range.
That could help elevate Hunt from being a projected Day 3 pick to a possible second-round pick on Day 2.
A straight-line dash has Hunt confident in his abilities.
In high school, Hunt was a standout track and field athlete for the Rebels as a 100- and 200-meter and 4x100 relay sprinter. He was also a state qualifier in the long and high jump as a senior.
The Combine has long been joked as the “Underwear Olympics,” and that’s fine with Hunt.
“I’m always confident in my ability,” said Hunt in a phone interview from Florida, where he’s training at the IMG Complex in Brandenton, Fla. “I just want to show everyone that I’m a great athlete.”
Since early January, Hunt has been working with former Browns running back
Ernest Byner, who’s the running backs coach at IMG.
Hunt also has an Olympic long jumper and sprinter in his corner. Dwight Phillips is a four-time world champion in the long jump, and the 2004 Olympic champion. Working with Phillips has Hunt feeling as prepared as ever for what to expect at the Combine.
“I think a lot of people don’t think I’ll test that well, but I have a pretty good track history and track background. So I’ll think I’ll test very well,” said Hunt.
“It’s going back to the basics. Form running and just getting out of the blocks and exploding.”
While it was football only at last month’s Senior Bowl, where Hunt was voted one of the game’s MVPs after
rushing for more than 100 yards, the Combine presents a different experience for draft prospects.
Hunt won’t do all the drills. He’s set to run the 40-yard dash, do the vertical and broad jumps, plus the bench press drill (225 pounds as many times as possible). All the running backs drills are on his docket.
The biggest question he will answer is when he runs his 40.
“I’ve got a lot to prove in the 40 because I think a lot of people don’t think I have breakaway (speed),” said Hunt. “I want to show them that I’m pretty fast.”
If he posts a 40 time he’s satisfied with, Hunt said he likely won’t run at Toledo’s pro day, set for March 21.
“I believe I’ll run a good 40 time,” said Hunt. “I’m
not just banking on that. I feel I’ll do well in the vertical and broad jumps. I feel like I already opened some eyes at the Senior Bowl, but I can do a little more.”
Another question Hunt has to answer at the Combine is his weight. When he checked in at the Senior Bowl at 208, eyebrows were raised. But it clearly didn’t affect his practice time or game performance. He rushed for 118 yards in the game.
Still, many were wondering about Hunt’s drop of almost 10 pounds from his 215-pound playing weight as a Toledo senior. He attributed the weight loss to a new diet, and working hard in draft preparations.
“I’ll come in (at the Combine) at 213, 214 (pounds),” said Hunt. “I played the whole (2016) season at 215.”