Margus Hunt, DE, SMU Mustangs: 2013 NFL Draft Player Profile

Jan 26, 2013; Mobile, AL, USA; Senior Bowl north squad defensive lineman Margus Hunt of SMU (96) against the Senior Bowl south squad during the first half of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Height: 6’8″

Weight: 277 pounds

Position Rank:

Drafted By:

40 Yard Dash:  4.60

Bench Press:  38

Vertical Jump:  34.5″

Broad Jump:  121″

2012 Statistics

Career Highlights (via SMU athletic site)

Named the No. 1 athletic “freak” in college football by CBSSports.com

Junior (2011): Named All-C-USA honorable mention… Was a dominant force in the BBVA Compass Bowl win, notching three sacks and five total tackles… Had 28 tackles, including 7.5 for loss on the year… Had a team-high four blocked kicks on the year… Blocked a pair of PATs in the season opener at Texas A&M… Recorded blocked field goals against UTEP and Northwestern State.

Sophmore (2010): Started in 13 games at defensive end… Named to All-Conference USA honorable mention… Recorded three sacks, 45 tackles and 6.5 TFLs… Blocked three kicks… Notched two pass breakups and a hurry… Registered a sack and pass deflection against UAB… Notched three tackles and a sack at Rice… Blocked field goals at Texas Tech and Tulsa… Notched five tackles and two TFLs at Navy… Tallied half sacks against Marshall and at East Carolina… Blocked a PAT in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Freshman (2009): Set a new NCAA record with seven blocked kicks on the year, coming within one block of the NCAA record… Nearly doubled the old SMU record of four… Named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking two field goal attempts in SMU’s 28-21 win over defending C-USA Champion East Carolina, one of which led to a 65-yard touchdown return… Named honorable mention All-C-USA by the league’s coaches… Earned a pair of ESPN Helmet Stickers on the year… Played in all 13 games… Improved throughout the season, making his biggest impact later in the season… Had four tackles at Marshall… Notched a sack in SMU’s Hawaii Bowl win.

Prep: Has been enrolled at SMU since the fall of 2007, training privately with SMU’s world-renowned track & field coach Dave Wollman; Prep: Won gold medals in both the shot and the discus at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, becoming the first junior athlete ever to win a shot/discus gold medal double… The current world junior record holder in discus throw.

Personal: Majoring in Business.

Scouting Report/Player Notes

Margus Hunt is one of the more freakish athletes in the entire 2013 NFL Draft, regardless of position. If you could put LeBron James in the Scouting Combine, he’d put up similar measurables to Margus Hunt, and I’m not stretching much there. Hunt backed up his height/weight/speed combo at SMU by blocking a ridiculous number of kicks and punts, as well as racking up eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss as a senior. Hunt came to the US from Estonia, where he was a track and field star before trading the discus for a pair of cleats. I think Hunt has the chance to be a dominant defensive end in the NFL if he gets in with some good coaching. The major knock on him is that he is still pretty raw, and will turn 25 years old as a rookie.

Video Highlights (via YouTube)