Margus Hunt (born July 14, 1987) is an
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
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 ...
who is a free agent. He was drafted by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
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 ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
SMU. He also played for the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
and
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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
.
Before taking up
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, Hunt competed in the
discus throw
The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...
and
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
, and was the former world junior record holder in discus throw. At , he is one of the tallest players in the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
.
Early years (track and field)
Hunt grew up in the small town of
Karksi-Nuia
Karksi-Nuia (before 1987 ''Nuia'') is a town in Mulgi Parish, Viljandi County, southern Estonia close to the Latvian border. The nearest villages are Univere to the west, Polli and Karksi to the north, and Kõvaküla to the south.
History
Kark ...
and took up
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
because "there wasn’t much to do". After trying
decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
he decided to concentrate on the throwing events –
discus,
shot
Shot may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard
*''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck
*'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy
* "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus
* ''Shot'' (2017 f ...
and
hammer throw
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...
. Hunt started training with
Aleksander Tammert
Aleksander Tammert (born 2 February 1973) is an Estonian discus thrower.
Athletics career
Tammert competed at the 2004 Olympics and originally finishing fourth, but as gold medal winner Róbert Fazekas was disqualified, Tammert received the bro ...
, an Olympic bronze medalist in discus throw from the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. Hunt competed in hammer throw at the 2003 World Youth Championships and discus at the
2004 World Junior Championships, placing eighth and sixth respectively.
In 2005, he won his first title at the
European Junior Championships in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, throwing 62.19 metres (Championship record) with the 1.75 kg discus.
In 2006, at the
World Junior Championships in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
Hunt established a new
world junior record of 66.35 metres with his first throw in the qualifying round. In the finals, Hunt improved his own world junior record to 66.68 m in the fourth round and then 67.32 m in the sixth and final round.
Three days later he won the gold medal in the
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
at 20.53 metres in the final, beating the closest competitor by 39 centimetres. Hunt became the first athlete to win the gold medal in both shot and discus at the World Junior Championships, outperforming
Rutger Smith
Rutger Smith (born 9 July 1981 in Groningen) is a retired Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands ...
of the Netherlands who won a gold and a bronze in 2000. His winning distance of 20.53 m was a national junior record with the 6 kg shot.
His personal best
hammer throw
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...
result is 64.89 made on March 28, 2008 in
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...
.
His personal best
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
result is 17.98 made on March 22, 2008 in
Waco
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
.
His personal best with the senior 2 kg discus is 61.33 meters made on July 6, 2010 in
Viljandi
Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...
.
College career
Hunt left Estonia for
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
in 2007 in order to train with
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
track and field coach Dave Wollman,
and he began attending SMU part-time. However, by the time he arrived at SMU, the university had dropped its men's track program. Hunt wanted to keep working with Wollman, who had previously worked with an Estonian discus thrower, 2004 Olympic bronze
Aleksander Tammert
Aleksander Tammert (born 2 February 1973) is an Estonian discus thrower.
Athletics career
Tammert competed at the 2004 Olympics and originally finishing fourth, but as gold medal winner Róbert Fazekas was disqualified, Tammert received the bro ...
, and Wollman decided that Hunt's size and athleticism could earn him an
athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...
playing for the
SMU Mustangs football
The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team representing Southern Methodist University (SMU) in University Park in Dallas County, Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the American ...
team.
When Hunt tried out for football, his physical power, combined with a 4.7-second
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
, led Mustangs head football coach
June Jones
June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 19 ...
to offer him a scholarship,
and he began attending SMU full-time in 2009. He then played for the
Mustangs
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
for the next four seasons. On October 12, 2009, Hunt was named the
Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
Special Teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
Player of the Week. On November 7 Hunt broke the school record for blocked kicks in a season when he blocked an extra-point try and a field goal against
Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
. In his first 14 games at SMU he blocked eight kicks, putting him in the top 10 in blocked kicks among all NCAA players. He was named the MVP of the
2012 Hawaii Bowl
The 2012 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game held on Christmas Eve 2012, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The eleventh edition of the Hawaii Bowl, sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, began at 3:00 p.m. ...
. He almost broke the NCAA's all-time record for blocked kicks (19), but eventually finished college career with 17 blocks, the second highest in that account.
For nearly 10 years, Bruce Feldman, a writer for ''CBSSports.com'', has annually compiled what he calls a "Freak List" of the 10 college football players he considers the most freakish athletes. In 2012, Hunt was on top of his list. According to Feldman, Hunt "sounds like a
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
football creation"—despite his wingspan, he is able to bench press 35 times, and has also cleaned and snatched . Hunt also boasts a vertical jump. Wollman predicted that Hunt would have 45 repetitions and a 4.6-second
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
at the 2013
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 Footba ...
.
Hunt did, in fact, run a 4.60-second
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
and did 38 bench press repetitions while posting a vertical leap of at the 2013 combine.
Professional career
Cincinnati Bengals
On April 26, 2013, the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
selected Hunt in the second round, 53rd pick overall, 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 ...
. Bengals defensive coordinator
Mike Zimmer
Michael Zimmer (born June 5, 1956) is an American football coach for the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Prior to this, Zimmer was with Jackson State Tigers football, Jackson State, both college programs being led by Deion Sande ...
compared him to Bengals defensive end/linebacker
Michael Johnson at a post-draft news conference, explaining that both players were very raw coming out of college but had the potential to be great.
On October 6, 2013, Hunt made his debut in NFL, when the Bengals beat the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
13-6. He played in 10 games and was inactive the other six. He totaled four tackles, a shared sack and seven quarterback pressures as the Bengals won the
AFC North
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL s ...
.
Hunt totaled seven tackles and one sack in 12 games in 2014 as the Bengals went 10-5-1 and again made the playoffs.
Hunt was anticipated to have a breakout season in 2015. He did not, and totaled only 2 tackles and no sacks in 7 games for the Bengals.
Indianapolis Colts
![Alex Smith 2018 vs Colts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Alex_Smith_2018_vs_Colts.jpg)
On March 13, 2017, Hunt signed a two-year contract with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. In his first season with the Colts, Hunt totaled 29 tackles and a sack.
In Week 1 of the 2018 season, Hunt had two sacks against his former team the Bengals, nearly totalling the 2.5 career sacks he had coming into the game. In Week 3 against 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
, Hunt recorded four tackles, including a sack, and recovered his own forced fumble. Through three weeks, Hunt was leading the league in tackles for a loss with eight. He started 15 games in 2018, recording 30 combined tackles and five sacks.
On March 5, 2019, Hunt signed a two-year, $9 million contract extension with the Colts.
The Colts released Hunt on March 16, 2020.
New Orleans Saints
On May 1, 2020, Hunt signed a one-year contract with 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 for the team's week 1 game against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
, and reverted to the practice squad on September 14. He was elevated again on September 21 for the week 2 game against the
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...
, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. He was promoted to the active roster on September 26, 2020. On October 12, 2020, Hunt was released by the Saints.
Cincinnati Bengals (second stint)
On October 19, 2020, Hunt signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was placed on the reserve/
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
list by the team on November 9, 2020, and was activated on November 20.
Arizona Cardinals
On August 11, 2021, Hunt signed with the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. He was released on August 31, 2021.
Chicago Bears
On September 8, 2021, Hunt was signed to the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
practice squad. Hunt was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster on September 18, 2021 for the week 2 game against the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
at
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...
in Chicago, as well on September 25, 2021 for the week 3 game against the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in Cleveland.
He was promoted to the active roster on November 23.
Career statistics
''Source
NFL.com'
Achievements (track and field)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Margus
1987 births
Living people
American football defensive ends
Arizona Cardinals players
Chicago Bears players
Cincinnati Bengals players
Estonian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Estonian male discus throwers
Estonian male hammer throwers
Estonian male shot putters
Estonian players of American football
Indianapolis Colts players
New Orleans Saints players
People from Karksi-Nuia
SMU Mustangs football players