Margus Hunt

[Pony81]

After Kyle Padron, the player that showed the most progress this season and has the brightest future is Margus Hunt.

I saw multiple double teams on the guy which is the ultimate compliment. I saw him bull rush, swim move, and stunt the OL. He looked incredibly agile and athletic. He was so disputive to the Nevada offensive flow.

I know he has had a stellar season on special teams but his development as a DE has been incredible.

I think we are watching a future 1 or 2nd round NFL draft pick if he stays healthy.

With him and Taylor Thompson, I see hope that we can hang with the TT and TCU's of the world.

[sail420s]

They completed a pass where Banjo popped the receiver. That pass only was thrown because Margus was held. He would have had another sack. I dvr'd the game and watched it again. Horrible no call. I also noticed all of the double teams on him.

[SMU21TCU10]

Margus was held a lot ! All the men in my family were yelling about it on several plays! He really did look like he is really starting to get it.

On the rivals.com forum (the actual rivals forum not the ponypride one) There was a thread today asking what freshman on your team has the most pro potential. I of course made a post about MH and his 7 blocks and 2.5 sacks as a backup having put on a helmet for the first time in August! Not to mention the fact he is 6'8" 270 pound and is fast!

Just checked my post about Hunt and a Miami fan pointed out that I forgot about Padron on that list! He is right!

[SMUSA2013]

It is awfully early to be talking about these guys 1st or 2nd rounders... but of course I can't deny I feel the same way. If they continue to develop and play like they did this season, they have all the intangibles to be pros in the future. Both of great size and speed and great technique, cannot wait for the future and am already looking forward to the TTU game next fall. It is going to be a battle. Great win and great season.

[Oliver]

I also felt Margus was being held a lot, and that it went unnoticed, but I quickly got over it seeing that we were up so big the whole game.

[MiracleOnMockingbird]

He looked like a bona fide pass rusher in this game, really pushing the pocket!

After being no real factor against Tulane.

It will be great to see him after he has another spring practice under his belt.

[koolherc]

JJ said in an article in one of those gameday Daily Mustang papers that he's sure Hunt will be a 1st or 2nd round pick when his career at SMU is all said and done

[PoconoPony]

I thought many teams simply let Margus run himself right out of plays for most of the season. This was particularly noticeable against Marshall where they would let him make his move then just push him in the direction he had taken which was with power and too much speed. This happened time and again and the coaches were working on the side line with him on this issue. Missing was his football instinct to see what has actually happening and adjust his rush or to the situation. It seemed that he was under much better control against Nevada and was actually positioning himself to make plays. I know this is all part of the experience factor and think he will actually be a considerable DE force next season which should really help Taylor Thompson who got most of the double/triple teams this season.

[mustang musashi]

I thought many teams simply let Margus run himself right out of plays for most of the season. This was particularly noticeable against Marshall where they would let him make his move then just push him in the direction he had taken which was with power and too much speed. This happened time and again and the coaches were working on the side line with him on this issue. Missing was his football instinct to see what has actually happening and adjust his rush or to the situation. It seemed that he was under much better control against Nevada and was actually positioning himself to make plays. I know this is all part of the experience factor and think he will actually be a considerable DE force next season which should really help Taylor Thompson who got most of the double/triple teams this season.

of course, the guy is going to go through some growing pains, its expected of a guy who hasnt played football until this past august.... while at UH, JJ turned a basketball player into a bonafide DE that got drafted... lol He came in at 210lbs... blew up to 275 i think, could be more or less but around there.... He turns Dlinemen into RBs, Keliikipi and Mauia... So it comes to no suprise that hes got Margus Hunt...

but im am curious as to hear the story on margus hunt, who scouted him, how did they get him to play football, what was it like before he started playing, was he a natural from the start??

[that's great raplh]

the wolfman's brother

[kent dorfman]

I thought many teams simply let Margus run himself right out of plays for most of the season. This was particularly noticeable against Marshall where they would let him make his move then just push him in the direction he had taken which was with power and too much speed. This happened time and again and the coaches were working on the side line with him on this issue. Missing was his football instinct to see what has actually happening and adjust his rush or to the situation. It seemed that he was under much better control against Nevada and was actually positioning himself to make plays. I know this is all part of the experience factor and think he will actually be a considerable DE force next season which should really help Taylor Thompson who got most of the double/triple teams this season.

of course, the guy is going to go through some growing pains, its expected of a guy who hasnt played football until this past august.... while at UH, JJ turned a basketball player into a bonafide DE that got drafted... lol He came in at 210lbs... blew up to 275 i think, could be more or less but around there.... He turns Dlinemen into RBs, Keliikipi and Mauia... So it comes to no suprise that hes got Margus Hunt...

but im am curious as to hear the story on margus hunt, who scouted him, how did they get him to play football, what was it like before he started playing, was he a natural from the start??

Margus Hunt has his own Wikipedia page. He is already a world renowned discuss thrower but he came to SMU to work with a world renowned track and field coach. But the thing is we don't have a track and field program at SMU anymore and Margus was getting a bit frustrated with the progress of his training. He was therefore in a bit of a bind: he wanted to stay here, from what I understand and continue his training, but not being on an athletic scholarship, he had to find a way to stay in school over here or else he was going to have to return to Estonia. So someone suggested that he might want to try football. They brought him over to the football coaches. Our strength coach Vic Viloria put him through some strength, speed and agility drills and the results were astonishing. So we got him a helmet, some pads, and a scholarship and BAM....we have a freakishly athletic 6 foot 8 inch, 270 pound DE who made a huge impact this season despite the fact that he has never played football before.

[kent dorfman]

Now about Margus being a natural: he initially made a big impact by blocking several, and I mean something like 8 FG's and XPAT's (at least one of which were returned for TD's by CB Bryan McCann). He's 6 ft 8 and can get up in the air so with that and his wingspan we lined him up right on the ball, he'd jump up and be like a human wall.

But the Hawaii Bowl was the second time, with the first time being the Houston game, where he looked like a bona fide pass rusher. I think what the 4 weeks off did for Padron at QB, that's what the extra time did for Hunt as a defensive lineman.

He's also a bit of a showman: after one blocked kick he can to the middle of the field, looked at the SMU sideline and pointed to the sky. He did this with the ball one time too and it was like "this is my gift to you!" Awesomeness.

[ponyscott]

Just a quick notice that he did get held but he also needs to work on splitting those D-teams with his techniques and he tends to stop prematurally on his pursuit of the QB. He needs to really bust [deleted] and continue his pursuit until the whistle. I saw a few times that if he works a little harder he may have influenced a few more plays.