Erick Hunter has spent years proving individuals unsuitable. Now he’s doing it in Detroit
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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Since signing with Detroit in April, Erick Hunter‘s life has revolved round one place: the Lions‘ follow facility.
Most days start round 5 a.m. and don’t finish till about 7 p.m. The 23-year-old makes the journey from his lodge to follow, stays for further reps, research movie with linebackers play-caller Shaun Dion Hamilton and squeezes in further exercises earlier than heading again for the evening.
The routine is constructed round one objective.
After going undrafted out of Morgan State earlier this 12 months, Hunter is making an attempt to earn a spot on Detroit’s 53-man roster. He enters Saturday’s preseason finale in opposition to the Indianapolis Colts realizing it could possibly be his remaining probability to make his case earlier than roster cuts.
“My mentality is just, put it on tape. There’s nothing else to really talk about no more,” Hunter instructed Andscape. “Just put it on tape. I’m already dialed in at this point.”
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Hunter’s rise by the ball has been something however standard. A lifelong Washington Commanders fan, he performed offense as a excessive schooler in Waldorf, Maryland, and the COVID-19 pandemic restricted him to only two seasons on the sector.
He didn’t transfer to protection till getting to school, that means he’s performed linebacker for less than 4 seasons.
Despite the place change, Morgan State head play-caller Damon Wilson mentioned Hunter’s athleticism and skill to soak up teaching helped him change into one of many Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s high linebackers. Hunter was a cornerstone of the Bears’ protection as an upperclassman, being named first-team All-MEAC twice and incomes a finalist spot for the Buck Buchanan Award, introduced yearly to the highest defensive athlete in FCS the ball.
Hunter mentioned taking part in within the MEAC helped form the mindset that carried him to the NFL.
“Playing at an HBCU, mentality-wise, it helped, because you don’t have all the tools and all the resources and necessities that you might need to play at a super-duper high level there, and therefore it puts you in a stronger mentality,” Hunter mentioned. “It puts you in the mindset to just grind, go out and get it, and make it happen, no matter what hand or cards you were dealt.”
Wilson mentioned he knew Hunter was destined to sequence skilled the ball throughout his redshirt stretch in 2024 after a shoulder setback.
Although he couldn’t sequence, Hunter requested to decorate with the workforce and did so for each contest, taking part in warm-up drills and training youthful gamers on the sideline; all traits Wilson noticed would serve the linebacker nicely. As he redshirted, Hunter sat in on defensive coaches’ conferences and within the sales space throughout video games, which Wilson believes helped Hunter come again as a extra full the ball athlete the following stretch.
“When he had an opportunity to get back on the field, he was a lot more, honestly, hungrier, but he was a lot more knowledgeable,” Wilson mentioned. “He saw the game through a different lens just by having that time off. … He saw the mental work that we put in as well, and I think he really benefited from that.”
Returning to the Bears for his graduate senior stretch, Hunter typically stayed late sufficient that he was the final athlete within the constructing, typically locking up the power for director of the ball operations Gerald Huggins.
The further hours paid dividends — Hunter tallied 102 whole tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and one interception throughout his remaining marketing campaign in Baltimore.
And that very same lock-in mentality has adopted him to Detroit, the place the lengthy days on the Lions’ facility are much less of an adjustment and extra of an extension of the habits he inbuilt faculty.
“Some kids think they care, but he really cares about being great to the point where he would literally do the most to make sure that every little finite detail is taken care of,” Huggins mentioned. “He would come visit [me in my office], and he would just be up in there till it’s dark outside and watching film, and then we just would talk about what scouts are looking for and other linebackers that they’re comparing them against. He just was so determined and cared so much. You just got a root for a kid like that.”
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At the HBCU Combine in March, Hunter impressed scouts together with his athleticism and flexibility. He additionally met with all 32 NFL groups. Measuring at 6-foot-2, 224 kilos, the 23-year-old ran a 4.48-second 40-yard sprint, which might’ve been the third-fastest amongst linebackers on the NFL Combine.
“You can rank his athleticism with other linebackers in the NFL, he’s right up there,” Huggins mentioned. “If you want to go pound for pound, number for number, his athleticism and the ability to process information, understand and learn and study like a pro, it was night and day.”
After going undrafted within the 2026 NFL Draft, Hunter emerged as a precedence undrafted free agent, drawing curiosity from dozens of groups instantly after the draft.
But Detroit stood out to him due to its successful tradition and the clear imaginative and prescient the teaching employees had for his growth, significantly after Hamilton outlined his plan for Hunter’s rookie 12 months. For Hunter, the chance to affix a workforce with reliable playoff aspirations made the Lions a straightforward alternative. Wilson was happy when he noticed Hunter signed with the Lions.
Detroit Lions linebacker Erick Hunter (48) celebrates after recovering a fumble throughout the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason the ball contest between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions on Aug. 22 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
“I think that’s a good fit for him, not just schematically, but you know, personnel-wise and everything,” Wilson mentioned. “He’s going to get his turn. He’s going to get his turn, and he has an opportunity. One thing we always talk about is taking advantage of your opportunities. He’s in camp, so he has an opportunity. He’s, so far, taking advantage of it, and at the end of the day, his name wasn’t called on draft day, but it’s called when that 53-man roster is finalized; that’s the ultimate goal.”
Hunter mentioned the primary week of OTAs was about getting again into the rhythm of taking part in the ball after spending months centered on mix preparations. And over the previous few weeks of OTAs, Hunter has been challenged every day by Hamilton and Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, who has pushed him all through practices and preseason video games.
“It’s nice to have coaches that you know just care about you and want to see the best out of you,” Hunter mentioned. “I definitely feel like I get that from Coach Ham and Coach Shep, so I definitely appreciate them and, you know, everything they’re pouring into me right now.”
Hunter mentioned he tries to not make the identical error twice, utilizing every rep as a lesson whereas leaning on veterans akin to Trevor Nowaske, Damone Clark, Devin White and others within the linebackers room as he adjusts to the calls for of the NFL.
“I just try to take a page out of their book and just use it to my advantage and innovate whatever they can give me,” Hunter mentioned. “Whether it’s recover or defensive progressions on the field or how they eat their breakfast or what they go home and do at night, I like all those different things. I just try to pick everybody’s brain and just see what’s the best tool for me.”
Since the beginning of OTAs, he has leaned on his former faculty teammate and Minnesota Vikings defensive finish Elijah Williams all through the predraft course of, looking for recommendation and perspective as a result of Williams adopted the identical path a 12 months earlier as an undrafted rookie making an attempt to make the roster. Hunter mentioned Williams’ easy strategy helped him keep grounded and keep away from overthinking the method.
“It’s going to sound crazy, but I say this best advice from him came back in probably July when I was talking to him between OTAs and a training camp. … He said, ‘It’s just football, man.’ I don’t know why, [but] that stuck with me,” Hunter mentioned. “It’s the same game I’ve been playing since I was a kid. ‘It’s just football,’ so, and that’s literally how simple it was.”
Through preseason and coaching camp, Hunter has performed weakside linebacker and tallied some snaps on particular groups. In his first preseason outing in opposition to the Bengals, Hunter tallied 4 tackles. In the second contest in opposition to his hometown workforce, the Commanders, he primarily performed on particular groups and recovered a fumble, capturing the eye of the Lions’ defensive coordinator.
“He’s just a superior athlete for the position, especially the guy’s background as a DB, so that stuff’s going to transition well for him in the league,” Sheppard mentioned. “It’s just the physicality, the box stuff that he needs to develop, which he will. He’s done a tremendous job. He’s off to a fast start, so I’m very optimistic about him.”
While the transition to the NFL stays a studying course of, Hunter believes he can present depth at linebacker and change into a dependable particular groups contributor if he earns a roster spot.
“I’m going to be a player that’s going to run around the field, fly around, be fast, and poised in chaos. At the end of the day, I’m a football player, and that’s as big as I can say it,” Hunter mentioned. “Like, you’ll enjoy watching me play, especially when the game slows down. I’m going to just speed up even crazier, and go to a whole new level. It’ll be a sight to see.”
Mia Berry is the senior HBCU author for Andscape and covers every little thing from sports activities to student-led protests. She is a Detroit native (What up Doe!), long-suffering Detroit sports activities fan and Notre Dame alumna who randomly shouts, “Go Irish.”
