In 2020, contained in the clang-and-clatter of Neshoba Central Excessive’s powerlifting fitness center, Jarquez Hunter’s coach laid down a dare: squat 645 kilos on three counts.
With a nod and fast coat of chalk, Hunter went to work. Challenges don’t faze him.
At a Mississippi water firm three years prior, Hunter’s co-workers coaxed him right into a pickup basketball recreation. Nonetheless in his button-down shirt and cowboy boots, the 5-foot-9 Hunter went airborne. And dunked.
In those self same boots, the Rams’ rookie operating again accomplished extra delicate assessments: He patiently broke and nurtured a horse that he ultimately rode throughout Auburn’s campus.
“Keep true to the factor you’re doing,” Hunter stated.
On Saturday at SoFi Stadium, Hunter made his NFL debut in a preseason recreation towards the Dallas Cowboys, Lining up behind quarterback Stetson Bennett, he took a handoff on a third-and-six play and mimicked a sprinter stealing a head begin — his shoulders low and knees churning. Hunter knifed by way of the protection and broke for an 11-yard achieve.
“That was a fantastic run,” stated Rams coach Sean McVay. “He’s knocking guys again and ending ahead the place what is perhaps a four-yard run finally ends up being an eight-yard or seven-yard run.”
That bruising fashion helped Hunter rush for 3,371 dashing yards and 29 touchdowns in 4 seasons at Auburn. The Rams chosen Hunter within the fourth spherical of the 2025 NFL draft, including him to a operating again corps that options starter Kyren Williams and second-year professional Blake Corum.
“He’s undoubtedly laser-focused on what you’re saying,” Rams operating backs coach Ron Gould stated throughout coaching camp.
Or, as McVay illustrated it: “He can stare a gap by way of you.”
Gould dubbed Hunter’s velocity as his “tremendous energy,” a present confirmed by a 4.44-second 40-yard sprint. However Hunter’s means to twist defenders out of place mid-chase is his calling card. Proof? He amassed 278 yards in 23 carries final October towards Kentucky.
“Since I used to be in center faculty rising up, I did a whole lot of squatting,” Hunter stated. “I do a whole lot of leg exercises. I run hills and pull sleds. That’s actually how I get the ability in my legs.”
Rams linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr., a fellow rookie, performed towards Hunter thrice at Arkansas earlier than Paul transferred to Mississippi. Each matchup towards Hunter’s Tigers, Paul stated, was the identical headache.
Rams operating again Jarquez Hunter is tackled by the Dallas Cowboys protection throughout a preseason recreation Saturday at SoFi Stadium.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Occasions)
“We knew he ran laborious,” the Rams linebacker stated. “We knew he was laborious to deliver down. We knew he had velocity. Excellent in move [protection]. … Man, he’s very harmful.”
However that hazard vanishes as soon as the pads come off. They’re changed by the endurance of a rustic boy.
Hunter, who additionally stashes celebration tips like leaping out of a swimming pool, grew up within the rolling greens of central Mississippi. And again residence, Hunter’s most loyal operating mate doesn’t put on pads. Hazard, a chestnut quarter horse with a white blaze down his face and a deep copper coat, was born the identical summer season Hunter first wore an Auburn jersey.
The colt was born whereas Hunter was driving residence for a brief break earlier than fall camp, its spindly legs nonetheless wobbly within the pasture.
The endurance to interrupt a horse, the stubbornness to work one till it trusts you, the dawn-to-dusk dedication of tending to one thing that may’t communicate again — Hunter stated he swears all of it bleeds into his recreation.
“Whenever you’re on the market working with animals, you gotta keep true,” Hunter stated, “you gotta go together with the coaching. You continue to gotta work with them.”
That very same self-discipline exhibits when Hunter rides his ATV up a steep hill, hauls in catfish by hand, or waits patiently for a buck within the woods — and it’s the identical grit he’ll lean on as he pushes for a spot within the Rams’ operating again rotation.
For now, Hunter will line up once more Saturday towards the Chargers, with an opportunity to outpace the 41 yards he logged in 11 carries in his debut.
“Fairly first rate,” Hunter stated, “however it’s issues I bought to repair.”
As a result of for Hunter, the fixes are the enjoyable a part of challenges — whether or not it’s mending a missed block, pumping out one other squat or profitable the belief of a stressed colt.
Employees author Gary Klein contributed to this report.
