NEW ORLEANS – Cornell and Houston Christian don’t exactly scream Georgia and Alabama, where media training is a basic requirement. Yet, Eagles rookie Jalyx Hunt seems to fit right in among the hoopla and media craziness that surrounds the Super Bowl.
“You pray for things, so I feel as if I’m prepared,” he said on Wednesday, days away from when the Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome. “I’ve always gone out of my way to make sure I’ve carried myself in a certain way because I knew I’d be in moments like this. So, it’s not anything too big or anything frightening in any way.”
Hunt could be called “the other” rookie, in the shadow of the two defensive backs picked ahead of him, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. A third-round pick who began his career as safety at Cornell before a growth spurt forced a move to defensive end/linebacker at Houston Christian, it took some time for his role to grow, but it has and really took off when Brandon Graham suffered a torn triceps on Nov. 24.
“It’s coming along,” he said. “I’m excited about (his role). Still working on setting the edge, but we’re a physical team and we like to get after the quarterback so just falling in line with everybody.”
In three playoff games, Hunt has made eight tackles, six solo, with a sack and a quarterback hit.
“He’s really improved; a lot,” said defensive end Josh Sweat. “He’s a young player and you can still see the rawness in. He’s gonna be good. He’s good already, and we clearly trust him to get his snaps.”
Hunt said he has learned a lot in his rookie season, and more than just refinishing technique and working on expanding his pass rush repertoire. He has seen first-hand what it takes to get to a Super Bowl, something he has done in his first season after so many players who have come through the league, and who are in the league now, have never done.
“It’s weird,” he said. “It’s crazy, like, I know a couple of the guys who haven’t made it, and this year has shown me what it takes from a whole team perspective, and now I know why teams have big names, great athletes, and still don’t figure out, and it’s because your entire team needs to be so dialed in. Things have to go right when they need to go right for you.”
Hunt gave an example of the team portion of hat he has learned.
“There’s definitely times in a season where you just wanna go through the motions, but that’s what separates the teams in my opinion,” he said. “It’s what I learned, especially around that week 10 mark, halfway through the season, that everybody is starting to fall into place. This is where you find which team is gonna dominate, and which teams are struggling, so just knowing how to get through that slump has shown me a lot.”
Life in the NFL moves fast, so Hunt’s lessons now should help keep the Eagles strong as some of their veteran players, such as Darius Slay and Brandon Graham, move on.
“It takes a lot of work,” he said, “a lot of dedication, a lot of sacrifice.”
