Antonio Christopher Hunt (born November 24, 1985) 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

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for two seasons with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of 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). Hunt 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

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

and was selected by the Eagles in the third round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. He also played one season in the

Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League (AFL) is a professional American football league in Austria. The league comprises six teams, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation. It plays by rules based on those of the U.S. National Collegiate Athl ...

(AFL) in Europe.

Early life

A standout player at T. C. Williams High School in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, Hunt rushed for more than 2,000 total yards and also played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, and even punted. He was named the Alexandria Sportsman Club Player-of-the-Year in 2002–03.Default - Penn State University Official Athletic Site
He was also a stalwart on the

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team, finishing eighth in Virginia in the discus as a junior. Hunt originally made a verbal commitment to play football at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, but instead signed a letter-of-intent with

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

upon learning of

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning consensus All-American honors twice and winning the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Bush is wide ...

's commitment to the Trojans.

College career

Hunt finished his Penn State career 2nd all-time in career rushing yards with 3,320 yards and first all-time with 654 carries (5.08 avg.)

A

Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...

candidate in 2006, Hunt became only the fifth

Nittany Lion The Nittany Lion is the eastern mountain lion mascot of the athletic teams of the Pennsylvania State University, known as the Penn State Nittany Lions. Created in 1907, the "Nittany" forename refers to the local Mount Nittany, which overlooks ...

to rush for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and the fifth to rush for more than 3,000 career yards

He was named

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Offensive Player of the Week after a career-best 167-yard rushing game versus

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Hunt led Penn State in rushing during the 2005 and 2004 seasons, amassing 1,047 and 777 yards respectively, earning the nickname Tony "Big Game" Hunt. At the outset of his college career, Hunt was overshadowed by fellow running back Austin Scott, who was considered the more promising recruit, having broken many

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

high school football records. Despite this, Hunt won the starting running back job through his work ethic, and by virtue of being a better pass blocker than Scott

Hunt was also named the MVP of the 2007

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

on January 27, 2007, after leading all running backs in total yards. Hunt was also named the 2007 Outback Bowl MVP.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Hunt was selected by the

, 90th overall, in the 3rd round of the

. Critics and fans alike thought the move would finally give

Brian Westbrook Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of ...

the short-yardage back he always wanted. In his rookie season, however, Hunt saw limited playing time behind

Correll Buckhalter Correll Buckhalter (; born October 6, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Nebraska Cor ...

managing just 16 carries and one touchdown. After the Eagles acquired

Lorenzo Booker Lorenzo Adarryll Booker (born June 14, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He play ...

from Miami, he was pushed to fourth on the depth chart ahead of only

Ryan Moats Ryan Moats (born December 17, 1982) 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. Unquali ...

. The Eagles had traditionally only kept three. On August 18, 2008, the Eagles official website confirmed Hunt would get reps at fullback after

Jed Collins Jedidiah Gabriel Collins (born March 3, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2008. After playing ...

, Jason Davis and

Luke Lawton Richard Luke Lawton (born August 26, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college fo ...

failed to secure the job, and Hunt's impressive preseason game against 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 ...

which he broke a 51-yard run. He was unofficially named the Eagles' starter after the other three full backs were released. Hunt was released from the Eagles on October 14, 2008. Though credited for his willingness to switch positions as well as make plays on special teams, the team decided to sign the more experienced

Kyle Eckel Kyle Richard Eckel (born December 30, 1981) is an American former professional football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and won Super Bowl ...

to play full back after Eckel was released by the Patriots a week prior.

Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna

In March 2011, Hunt was signed by the

Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna The Vienna Vikings is a professional American football club based in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well as be ...

, an American football team in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. He rushed for 413 yards on 88 carries and seven TD's in the 2011

season.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Tony 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Alexandria, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia Players of American football from San Antonio American football fullbacks Penn State Nittany Lions football players Philadelphia Eagles players American expatriate sportspeople in Austria American expatriate players of American football T. C. Williams High School alumni Austrian Football League players Vienna Vikings players