Allen Park — Down by 38 points in an outing Morgan State would eventually lose by seven touchdowns, freshman linebacker Erick Hunter took off down the field from his alignment at gunner, evaded any would-be blockers and immediately stymied Tulane return man Jha’Qu Jackson for a 0-yard gain.
That’s what Hunter first remembered when asked to describe his favorite play on special teams from his five seasons with the Bears.
But then Hunter corrected himself, recalling a sequence from last season when a teammate blocked a field goal against Norfolk State. Hunter scooped up the miss as the first-half clock expired and raced down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown, a pivotal play in what’d wind up as a 35-28 win.
Hunter, an undrafted rookie who signed with the Detroit Lions shortly after April’s draft, recorded 559 snaps on special teams at Morgan State, seeing reps on both sides of kickoff and punt, as well as field goal. That was despite Hunter serving a significant role on defense, making 39 starts across 45 appearances.
“Special teams, I would say, is lowkey a slept-on phase of the game,” Hunter said Sunday. “It wins games, and loses games, as well.”
If Hunter is to stick with the Lions coming out of training camp, whether that be on the 53-man active roster or 16-member practice squad, he’ll have to make noise on special teams, something coordinator Dave Fipp is expecting to see once Detroit’s exhibition schedule opens at the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday.
“It’s just like anything else, a lot of it is just finding out what’s inside of a guy,” Fipp, asked how he evaluates talent on special teams, said in a recent interview with 97.1 The Ticket. “How hard is he willing to strain when it gets difficult, and can he match up with a guy? … You put them in drills like that and you just let them really decide who’s making the most plays. Those guys who stand out, like for us, Erick Hunter, linebacker, I’d be shocked if this guy doesn’t have a million tackles in the preseason.”
Hunter posted a productive season at Morgan State in 2025, leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in total tackles (102) and earning FCS All-American honors as a member of Phil Steele’s third team. Hunter added 14 tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.
Sticking it out at Morgan State, Hunter’s only Division I offer, didn’t provide the clearest path to the NFL. Hunter wasn’t invited to the league’s annual scouting combine in February, instead forced to flex his above-average athleticism at the HBCU Showcase, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds and had a broad jump of 10 feet, 10 inches.
Those results would’ve ranked third and second among linebackers at the combine, respectively.
“I’ve only played with four teams my entire football career, my youth football team, my high school team, my college team and now the Lions,” Hunter said. “I’m a loyal guy, that’s who I am, that’s how I’ve always been. … I knew I could make it happen and get here through Morgan State.
“It was the hard way, but I chose hard on purpose.”
The differences between Morgan State and the Lions are immense, something Hunter isn’t shying away from. But he believes he’s capable of making it at the NFL level, pointing to his athleticism and coverage traits as a couple of his difference-making attributes.
Hunter put some of those skills on display Friday, intercepting a pass thrown by quarterback Jared Goff and intended for tight end Sam LaPorta in the back corner of the end zone. Hunter, in man coverage, wasn’t pleased with his initial attempt at sticking with LaPorta off the line of scrimmage. But he recovered and got his head turned around in time to snatch the pass out of the air.
Three days later, Hunter made another play in coverage, popping tight end Jackson Meeks on a short throw over the middle, aggressively separating the ball from the pass-catcher.
“I feel like I can guard any running back or tight end across the board,” Hunter said. “I’m a big sideline-to-sideline guy, a speed guy. That’s what I hang my hat on.”
Cracking Detroit’s roster will be tough for Hunter. The Lions have 10 other linebackers competing for reps, and Hunter, as an undrafted free agent from a small school, started at or near the bottom of the pecking order. But he’s caught the attention of Lions coach Dan Campbell, and if he keeps standing out on special teams while also taking advantage of the opportunities he gets on defense, he can merit continued investment into his development beyond roster cutdowns.
“His deficiencies come because he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know yet, just from where he came from. … That comes sometimes playing with a smaller school,” Campbell said of Hunter. “But man, he’s athletic, he takes notes, he listens, he works his tail off in practice. He’s another one of those guys who makes plays every day, and he certainly makes plays in special teams. Every day, he’s making a block or he’s making a tackle.
“You just see growth on defense, you see growth. We like him. … We’re excited to see him play.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions UDFA linebacker gaining momentum ahead of preseason opener
Reporting by Richard Silva, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Richard Silva, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
