Husky Roster Review: Hunter Already Feels Comfortable in Husky Stadium

Last season, Jeremiah Hunter ran into the east end zone Husky Stadium, looking over his inside shoulder with University of Washington cornerback Thaddeus Dixon draped all over him. Once the ball was in the air, the California wide receiver rotated his body in the other direction and made a sensational one-handed grab while falling backward.

Dixon could only sit there on the turf on that late September day, pondering what else he could have done to prevent the 7-yard touchdown pass to Hunter early in a game the Huskies won convincingly at 59-32.

These two still go at it in a furious manner, except now they're UW teammates and everything takes place in practice. Hunter has gone over to the dark side, one where he dresses in a deep purple jersey. After four seasons at Cal, he's come to Seattle to play in a pro-style offense and try to improve his NFL chances.

So far, so good. In 15 spring football practices, he showed himself to be a solidly built receiver at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds who's not afraid to use his body to create separation and go up in traffic and get the football.

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Jeremiah Hunter slips past UW cornerback Leroy Bryant. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Interestingly, Jedd Fisch's Husky coaching staff made Hunter run with the No. 2 offense for half of spring ball, left to learn their various techniques before he was elevated. It didn't matter that, with his 143 career receptions, he had twice as many as the next guy on the UW roster, in this case Giles Jackson.

Hunter comes from Fresno, California, which for him was a wide receiver mecca. At Central High School, he played alongside Xavier Worthy, a Texas pass-catcher who last month went to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 28th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft. He played against Jalen McMillan, who made the jump from Fresno's San Joaquin High to the UW to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month as a third-round pick. Hunter wants to join them.

While McMillan and Worthy were preparing for their teams to face each other in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, Hunter committed to the UW from the transfer portal. However, things would get very complicated for him before the deal was done.

Hunter arrived in Montlake for an official visit only to learn that then-Husky coach Kalen DeBoer had accepted the Alabama job and the receiver was sent home. Jedd Fisch's staff was able to secure the pass-catcher's services in the end.

"It was either here or Arizona," Hunter said of his best portal options. "It just so happened that the Arizona coaching staff came up here and everything worked out, so I stayed."

And why not? After all, he already knew his way to the end zone and six points in Husky Stadium. It's time to make it a regular habit.

JEREMIAH HUNTER FILE

What he's done: Hunter is an experienced, veteran player who joined the UW after playing in 33 games at Cal and starting 23. Nothing should faze him as he plays a fifth college football season in Montlake.

Starter or not: After having to earn a first-unit role in the spring rather than have it handed to him, Hunter will take the field this fall with a starting UW receiving corps that consists of sophomore Denzel Boston, fellow senior Giles Jackson and him, all running routes for Mississippi State transfer quarterback Will Rogers. There's no reason to think they won't be good.

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