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Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter names inspiring figures behind his football career
By Crissy Froyd
Published:
Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week following up his performance in the 24-10 win over Kentucky. He was an essential piece to the Tigers’ offensive success, posting 278 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 carries.
He averaged 12.1 yards per attempt and also had 4 catches for 19 yards in the victory. Hunter said being “tired of losing” put a chip on his shoulder heading into the game, but he’s got some other inspiring figures behind what he does, as he revealed on The Paul Finebaum Show.
One of them is his grandmother.
“My grandmother, she was a big part of me starting football,” Hunter said. “She started me out playing little league football because I was always running around the house doing stuff I wasn’t supposed to. So, she said that I have got to be in some active sport. Just to calm me down.”
Jarquez Hunter of @AuburnFootball won SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors after a dominant performance vs Kentucky. He credits two people for inspiring his football career: Grandma & Walter Payton pic.twitter.com/EkluXTYbz7
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) October 29, 2024
Looking at figures on the football field, the great Walter Payton serves as one of Hunter’s biggest idols.
“I used to love watching YouTube videos off him, how hard he worked, how hard he did things like go to practice. How hard he was to bring down on the field,” Hunter described. “His work ethic just inspired me to be the player that I want to be in the future and who I want to be today.”
Hunter will be one to watch moving forward as a potential 2025 NFL Draft sleeper.
Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.
