Justin Scott Parker Hunter (born May 20, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

. Hunter was selected by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the second round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Hunter spent three seasons with the Titans before being released prior to the 2016 season. During the 2016 regular season, Hunter played in one game with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

before spending most of the season with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He then spent the next two seasons with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. Hunter is a world-class

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er, and represented the United States at the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships.

Early life

Hunter was born in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. He attended Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach where he played

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and ran track for the Ocean Lakes Dolphins. As a junior in 2008, he caught 34 passes for 545 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a senior in 2009, he caught 46 passes for 714 yards and nine touchdowns. He was ranked as the eighth best wide receiver recruit and 75th best overall prospect in his class by Rivals.com. As a track and field athlete, Hunter was an accomplished jumper. He was ranked by ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' as the third best

er, seventh best

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er and fourteenth best

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

er. He won Virginia state titles in long jump and high jump and settled for second place in the triple jump. His best long jump, 25'10¾", qualified him for the

IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the yea ...

College career

Hunter enrolled in the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, where he played for the

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Vols," "UT" and "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 132 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 870–415–53 ( ...

team from 2010 to 2012 and competed for one season on Tennessee's track and field team. As a true freshman in 2010, Hunter started two of 13 games and had 16 receptions for 415 yards and seven

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, averaging a team-leading 25.9 yards per catch. His first touchdown reception was a 35-yard reception that came on a fourth-down play against

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Coming off the bench against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, he caught four passes for 110 yards. In his second career start against the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

, he caught three passes for 114 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. He was named to the Coaches' All- SEC Freshman Team. In track and field, Hunter set a Tennessee freshman record with a long jump measuring 26'1½". He was named a First-team All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the event and was also named to the SEC Indoor All-Freshman Team. Hunter started the first three games of his sophomore season in 2011 before tearing his ACL on his first catch in the game against Florida, which caused him to miss the rest of the season. The injury also forced him to quit competing in track and field after one season. For his limited season, he had 17 receptions for 314 yards with two touchdowns. He caught 6 passes for 146 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown, against

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

in the first game of the season. Against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, he caught 10 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. At the time of his injury, he was leading the SEC in receptions per game and receiving yards per game. Hunter started all 12 games in the 2012 season, and caught 73 passes for 1,083 yards and nine touchdowns. He was third in the SEC in both total receiving yards and receiving yards per game. His total of 73 catches was the second-highest in school history for a single season (

Marcus Nash Marcus Nash may refer to: *Marcus Nash (American football) (born 1976), American football wide receiver *Marcus Nash (actor) (born 1994), Scottish actor *Marcus Nash (skier) (born 1971), American Olympic skier {{hndis, Nash, Marcus ...

had 76 in 1997). In the season-opener against N.C. State, he had nine catches for 73 yards. Against

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, he caught nine passes for 181 yards, his eighth career game with more than 100 yards receiving. After the 2012 season, he was named to the Coaches' All-SEC Second-team. On January 9, 2013, Hunter, along with college teammates

Cordarrelle Patterson Cordarrelle Patterson ( ; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed "Flash", is an American professional American football, football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). As a versatile utility player, he is also ...

, Tyler Bray, and

Darrington Sentimore Darrington Sentimore (born February 17, 1990) is a former American football defensive lineman. High school career Sentimore was a standout athlete at Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana. Under head coach Stephen Robicheaux, Sent ...

, announced his intention to leave college early and declare for the

Statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of Tennessee, Hunter was projected by the majority of NFL analysts and scouts to be a first or second round pick. He received an invitation to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

and completed all the required drills except for the three-cone and bench press due to a shoulder and calf injury. On March 20, 2013, he participated at Tennessee's pro day and performed the broad jump, three-cone drill, and vertical for scouts and representatives. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams attended including the Pittsburgh Steeler's head coach

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...

and offensive coordinator

Todd Haley Richard Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach who most recently was head coach for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). From 1997 to 2006, he had stints as the wide receivers coach of th ...

to scout Justin Hunter,

, Tyler Bray, and eight other prospects. He was ranked as the second best wide receiver prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and the third best wide receiver by NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock Sr. (born August 14, 1958) is an American former professional football executive and player in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a safety with the New York Giants. After his playing career, he was a draft ...

Tennessee Titans

2013

The

selected Hunter in the second round (34th overall) of the

. He was the fourth wide receiver selected in the 2013 NFL draft. On June 13, 2013, the Titans signed Hunter to a four-year, $5.42 million contract with $3.43 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.32 million. Hunter entered the regular season as the Tennessee Titan's fourth wide receiver on their depth chart, behind veterans

Kenny Britt Kenneth Lawrence Britt (born September 19, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was selected by the ...

, Nate Washington, and Kendall Wright. On September 22, 2013, he recorded his first career NFL reception on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jake Locker that was the game-winning score in a 20–17 win over

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. He caught his second career pass for a 16-yard touchdown against the New York Jets the following week. On November 24, 2013, Hunter caught a season-high six passes for 109 receiving yards, and a 54-yard touchdown during a 23–19 victory over the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. During a Week 14 matchup against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, Hunter caught four passes for 114-yards and a touchdown in a 28–51 loss. He finished his rookie season with a total of 18 receptions for 354 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 14 games as the Tennessee Titans finished with a 7–9 record.

2014

Hunter entered training camp in competing with Marc Mariani and

Dexter McCluster Dexter Marquise McCluster (born August 25, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, and San Diego ...

to be the Tennessee Titan's third wide receiver on their depth chart. Head coach

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...

named him the third wide receiver to begin the regular season, behind Kendall Wright and Nate Washington. On October 5, 2014, Hunter made his first career start and caught three passes for a season-high 99 receiving yards and scored his first touchdown of the year on a 75-yard pass from

Charlie Whitehurst Charles David Whitehurst Jr. (born August 6, 1982), is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, and was selected by the San D ...

. The

went on to lose 29–28 to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

During a Week 8 matchup against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, he caught a season-high four passes for 31 receiving yards and scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Zach Mettenberger, as the Titans were defeated 16–30. On November 30, 2014, Hunter suffered a

lacerated A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...

spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...

on the first play of a 45–22 loss to the Houston Texans. He was hit by Texan's safety Danieal Manning and the pass was intercepted by

Johnathan Joseph Johnathan Lee Joseph (born April 16, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and was selected by the Cinci ...

. The injury caused him to miss the remainder of the season. He finished his second season with a total of 28 receptions, 498 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in eight starts and 12 games as the Tennessee Titans finished the season 2–14 in their first season under Ken Whisenhunt.

2015

Throughout training camp in , Hunter faced stiff competition for the vacant starting wide receiver position left by Nate Washington. He lost the job to veteran

Harry Douglas Harry Douglas IV (born September 16, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardin ...

and was named the third wide receiver on the depth chart ahead of

Hakeem Nicks Hakeem Amir Nicks (born January 14, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and was selected by the Ne ...

Jacoby Ford Jacoby Ford (born July 27, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft. He was also an accomplished tra ...

, and rookie Dorial Green-Beckham. On October 18, 2015, he caught three passes for a season-high 54 receiving yards during a 38–10 loss to the

. During a Week 9 victory over the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, Hunter caught his only touchdown of the season on an eight-yard pass from rookie

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

. He finished the 34–28 overtime victory with three receptions, 17 receiving yards, and a touchdown. The following week, he caught a season-high four passes for 47 receiving yards, but had to leave after suffering an apparent ankle injury during a 27–10 loss to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. On Monday, November 16, 2015, Hunter was added to the season-ending injury reserve list after having surgery the day before to repair a fractured ankle suffered previous game against the Panthers.

2016

After returning from a fractured ankle, Hunter entered training camp competing to be the Titans third option at wide receiver with Dorial Green-Beckham and Andre Johnson. The Titans waived Hunter on September 2, 2016.

Miami Dolphins

The

claimed Hunter off waivers on September 4, 2016. On September 11, 2016, he appeared in his only game with Miami, as they lost 12–10 to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. On September 15, 2016, he agreed to take a $387,389 pay cut in order to stay with the Dolphins. He was released by the team on September 28, 2016.

Buffalo Bills

Hunter was claimed off waivers by the

after Sammy Watkins was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on September 30, 2016.

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching positions w ...

named him the team's fifth wide receiver on their depth chart behind Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, Greg Salas, and Walter Powell. Hunter made his Buffalo Bills debut on October 9, 2016, against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

and caught a four-yard touchdown pass from

Tyrod Taylor Tyrod Di'allo Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Baltimore Rav ...

. The following week, he made his second reception and scored a touchdown on a 30-yard reception from Tyrod Taylor as the Bills went on to defeat the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

45–16. On November 27, 2016, Hunter caught a game-winning 16-yard touchdown pass from Bills quarterback

and helped the Bills defeat the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

28–21. He finished his only season with the Buffalo Bills with a total of ten receptions, 189 receiving yards, and four touchdown receptions in 12 games and five starts.

Pittsburgh Steelers

2017

On March 15, 2017, the

signed Hunter to a one-year, $855,000 contract that includes a signing bonus of $30,000. Hunter entered

Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...

training camp competing for a backup wide receiver position against Sammie Coates, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cobi Hamilton,

Demarcus Ayers Demarcus Ayers (born July 7, 1994) is an American college football coach. He is the offensive quality control coach at North Texas Mean Green football, North Texas. He is a former professional gridiron football player who was a wide receiver in ...

Eli Rogers Eli Lamar Rogers (born December 23, 1992) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Early lif ...

, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. He was named the sixth wide receiver to begin the regular season, behind

Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...

, Martavis Bryant, Heyward-Bey, Smith-Schuster, and Rogers. Hunter was a healthy scratch for the first three regular season games. On October 1, 2017, in Week 4, Hunter made his official Steelers regular season debut and finished a 26–9 victory over the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

with one reception for five yards. On December 25, 2017, Hunter caught his first touchdown as a member of the Steelers on a five-yard pass by quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

in their 34–6 win against the

2018

On April 5, 2018, the Steelers signed Hunter to a one-year, $870,000 contract with a signing bonus of $30,000. He played in five games, recording three catches for 21 yards before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 13. He was placed on injured reserve on December 4, 2018.

Personal life

On July 20, 2015, Hunter turned himself in to the Virginia Beach police department following a large bar fight which occurred on July 3 in Virginia Beach. He was arrested and held without bond. He was later found not guilty of misdemeanor assault and battery on September 15, 2015. On January 28, 2017, Hunter and his long term girlfriend, with whom he has three children, became engaged.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Justin 1991 births Living people American football wide receivers Buffalo Bills players Miami Dolphins players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Virginia Beach, Virginia Tennessee Titans players Tennessee Volunteers football players Track and field athletes from Virginia