UK QB Commit DJ Hunter Could Always Throw a Deep Ball

Quarterback DJ Hunter is only a sophomore but didn't want to wait any longer to commit to Kentucky and offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan.

For as long as he can remember, Kentucky quarterback commit DJ Hunter of Knoxville has had a football in his hand and grew into loving football.

His father, Deveyon, started his collegiate career at Eastern Kentucky University before later transferring to two other schools.

“We tried basketball and a little bit of T-Ball but they just were not football,” the 6-1, 190-pound Hunter said. “Dad realized when I was about 6 that I had a chance to be pretty good. I could always throw the ball pretty far.”

Hunter, a sophomore, estimates he can comfortably throw the ball 60 yards now. He’s considered a dual-threat quarterback but says he is more on the “passing side” of the pass-run quarterback.

“The UK coaches came out to school to see me in early January. They wanted to see me and they offered (a scholarship) which surprised me a little bit. From then on they really recruited me hard,” Hunter said. “I already had other offers. My first offer came last summer from Virginia Tech.”

Hunter thought it was easy to tell that Hamdan was “really interested” in him quickly in the recruiting process.

“He told me I was the top guy on their (recruiting) board and I felt he was the coach that could get me to the next level,” Hunter said. “He is a good person and I just like him. I just felt Kentucky was the right place for me.”

Hunter and his father had talks last summer about committing early once the right offer came along. When the Kentucky offer came in January, that’s when the Hunters got serious about possibly committing even though he’s just a sophomore.

“My father has always been able to push me to make me better. He has been very hard on me at times,” Hunter said. “He always asks me if going to the next level is what I want and when I say yes then he tells me what I need to do to make that happen.”

He played his freshman season in Mississippi before the family moved to Knoxville where he played for Bearden High School last season. He completed 76 of 142 passes for 1,431 yards and nine scores and ran for three scores in eight games before a knee injury ended his season.

“I tore my ACL in November and am rehabbing now,” Hunter said. “I had surgery on Jan. 4. I have already been back working out in the weight room and I will be fully cleared for fall camp in late July.”