Oklahoma State University Athletics
Player Profile: Kendall Hunter
October 18, 2010 | Cowboy Football
Oct. 18, 2010
By Sean Maguire
OSU Media Relations
Kendall Hunter was rated as a three-star high school recruit by national recruiting services, holding about six offers from FBS schools including Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas and Iowa State from the Big 12. He was expected to be a solid, run-of-the-mill Division I football player – good, but not great.
One thing in Hunter's repertoire that most overlooked, however, was his work ethic and willingness to do whatever it took to be the best he could be.
“I always just work hard and do whatever I can do to help the team,” Hunter said.
After becoming an immediate weapon in the offensive attack when he arrived on the OSU campus, no one involved in Cowboy athletics doubted Hunter's ability.
As a freshman, Hunter rushed for 696 yards on only 107 attempts, solidifying his spot as a key running back entering his sophomore season.
His success only increased into his sophomore campaign, when he put together an impressive list of accomplishments. In 2008, Hunter was the Big 12 rushing champion by more than 30 yards per game, the nation's seventh-leading rusher at 119.6 yards per game and was named a first-team All-American by the FWAA.
Entering his junior year, Hunter was one of the premier backs in the country. No one could slow him down – no one on the field, anyway.
Tragedy still found a way to take its toll on him in the form of a nagging ankle injury.
It wasn't enough to keep the motivated 5-foot-8, 200-pound Tyler, Texas native completely off the field, but it was enough to severely limit his productivity for nearly the entire 2009 season.
“It was frustrating,” Hunter said. “To take time like that to recover from injuries is just frustrating to go through.”
The quick-footed Hunter still managed to show flashes of greatness, but the injury would not let him be the jaw-dropping running specialist that so many of the Cowboy faithful had come to love.
The 2009 season stats for the 2008 Big 12 running back of the year: 382 yards on 89 carries in eight games – more than 1,000 less yards than the previous year.
For most collegiate athletes, an injury with effects like that would alter their entire career path.
For Hunter, it was just another challenge to overcome when no one knew if he could do it.
“You don't know what you miss until you're out and you're not on the field,” Hunter said. “I just kept working hard, and now I'm really excited to be back at 100 percent. I'm ready to go.”
His coaches took notice of his desire to be back, too.
“Kendall really likes to play football,” said OSU head coach Mike Gundy. “Some guys at our level play the game, but they don't really love to play the game. Kendall loves to play football. It's important to him. When he didn't get the opportunity to do it last year, it made him hungry. He's been very excited about playing this year.
“That works in our favor, and it works in his favor. I'm not afraid to say that if Kendall stays healthy he will play this game a long time because he can make you miss, he doesn't run his mouth, he plays football for the right reasons and he's a tough guy.”
First-year offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen has also appreciated Hunter's hard working attitude.
“When you get set back with an injury you never know how they will respond,” Holgorsen said. “Some guys come back better but some guys don't, and I think that it shows what kind of character Kendall Hunter has. He is working harder, more energetic than ever, he smiles more than he ever has. He talks more than he ever has. I think there is a lot in store for that kid.”
Now that he's feeling 100 percent healthy, Hunter's numbers so far in 2010 leave no doubt that he's feeling like his Big 12 rushing champion self again.
In his first game of his senior year, Hunter recorded an outrageous 257 yards and four touchdowns on only 21 carries, with 208 of those yards coming in the first half before sitting out the vast majority of the second half due to a comfortable OSU lead over Washington State.
After a performance like that, everyone knew Hunter was back and his hard work had made him even better than he was.
Perhaps the greatest testament to Hunter's work ethic, however, is his performance in the classroom.
After a brief stretch out of high school of not knowing if he would qualify academically to play football at OSU, Hunter has certainly made the most of his time in school.
Hunter is not only on pace to graduate in four years with a degree in education, but he has also earned an OSU academic achievement award twice and been named to the Academic All-Big 12 team.
With a history of achieving his goals and his track record of accomplishing what he sets out to do, there are plenty of reasons to believe Hunter will make every effort possible to reach his goals in 2010, even if those goals have nothing to do with his own stats.
“We're all expecting to win the Big 12 Championship,” Hunter said. “That's our goal every year. Numbers will take care of themselves.”
The Cowboy senior knows it's his last chance to accomplish those goals at the collegiate level and, after last year he knows how quickly that chance can be taken away.
That's why he will do whatever he can to help his team this year.
“It's special because it's my last year here,” Hunter said. “This is my last time playing college ball so I'm trying to take advantage of every opportunity that I get.”
Anyone who knows Hunter has no doubt that he will.
