DMN's K. Sherrington Writes About SMU & Margus Hunt!

[MrMustang1965]

UNIVERSITY PARK – On the scale of Texas tall tales, Margus Hunt's story rates as the most outlandish since Hakeem Olajuwon curled out of a cab in front of the University of Houston nearly 30 years ago.

Here's a quick synopsis: World-class shot put and discus man from Estonia – everything he knew about football came from playing Madden NFL – comes to America hoping SMU will revive its track program, only to help lead SMU football out of the wilderness instead.

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Come to think of it, I'm not so sure what's harder to believe:

SMU football coaches discovering a 6-8, 267-pound NFL prodigy pulling up their weight room by its piers last fall;

Or June Jones, apostle of the Run and Shoot, winning on defense and special teams;

Or SMU seemingly on the verge of its first bowl invitation in a quarter century.

If this is what you thought you were getting when Jones signed on before last season, you've been reading a little too much of Where the Wild Things Are.

For better or worse, Jones doesn't try too hard to tame expectations. In many ways, he's like another pass-happy, shoot-from-the-lip coach, Mike Leach. You never know where either might lead you in conversation.

Or on a football field, for that matter.

For instance, if SMU beats UTEP today, a win that would make the Mustangs bowl-eligible, Jones has practically guaranteed that his buddies back in Hawaii will have everyone over for Christmas Eve.

Few could have imagined this scenario after SMU put up back-to-back 1-11 seasons, Phil Bennett's last and Jones' first. When Jones' hand-picked quarterback, Bo Levi Mitchell, went down midway through the season and freshman Kyle Padron stepped in, no one saw this coming.

Except Jones, of course. As a reference, he cites a game from his 2003 season at Hawaii. He pulled his record-setting quarterback, Timmy Chang, who'd been playing pitifully against Alabama, and replaced him with a kid, Jason Whieldon, who'd never played. All he did was rally Hawaii to a 37-29 victory.

And your point, June?

"Our back-up quarterbacks get more reps in practice than any program in America," he says.

When asked how many reps, Jones pulls out his practice log and starts counting.

"Thirty-two out of 68 plays," he says.

Out-of-the-box coaching certainly helps, but unbridled athleticism doesn't hurt, either. This is where, improbably, Hunt comes in.

A double winner in discus and the shot at the 2006 Junior Olympics, Hunt enrolled at SMU on his own dime to work with Dave Wollman, the renowned throwing coach. Wollman raved about Hunt's "ridiculous" acceleration rate and "lightning-fast" feet and a strength level – he benches 420 pounds and squats 600 – "higher than anybody I've ever had."

Word soon got around the athletic offices. When SMU didn't reinstate men's track and field last year and Hunt was deciding whether to transfer to Texas-Arlington or go home, Dennis McKnight, SMU's special teams coach, suggested football as a reasonable alternative.

Jones put Hunt at defensive end, where he's still a work in progress. But in nine games on special teams, he's blocked a ridiculous six kicks, two off the NCAA record. His success has fed special teams fervor resulting in eight blocks, several of which directly impacted the outcome of three games, including last week's win over Rice.

Besides the benefit of standing 6-8, Hunt is so good at blocking kicks because he's powerful enough to push the line and athletic enough to actually see the ball. In other words, he ain't just sticking his hand up.

He's become such a force that teammates mimic his Terminator-like accent.

Are they any good, Margus?

"No," he says. "Not quite."

Well, they might have the spirit down pat, anyway. Jones calls Hunt "one of the most powerful guys, leverage-wise, I've ever seen," and predicts, should he remain healthy, that Hunt will be a first- or second-round pick some day.

Until then, he remains a rather large part of a whopper of a tale. And you thought they weren't allowed to tell those on the Hilltop anymore.

[Mestengo]

he ain't just sticking his hand up.

[expony18]

[SMU2007]

1st or 2nd round pick? Incredible

[Statler]

Hey I know I am a broken record, but I was watching Rocky IV the other day (I have a really boring life) and Margus reminds me of Ivan Drago. I still say we need to play the line, "You will lose."

[BIGHORSE]

Hey I know I am a broken record, but I was watching Rocky IV the other day (I have a really boring life) and Margus reminds me of Ivan Drago. I still say we need to play the line, "You will lose."

And "I must block you" is a good one too.

[SMU 86]

Good article. Let's give Kevin some hits over there for writing this.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... a73ce.html

[Pony_Fan]

isnt this the 2nd article written about him? Thought we've already seen this from another columnist.