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Kendall Hunter to visit Saints

Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter is rising on draft boards and is scheduled to visit the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints, according to an NFL source with knowledge of the situation.

Hunter is also slated to conduct private workouts with the Denver Broncos, Saints and Patriots.

Per our source, Hunter is drawing consistent second-round grades from NFL teams and could go early in the second round.

Hunter has drawn several comparisons to Chargers all-purpose back and kick returner Darren Sproles(notes).

The 5-foot-7, 200-pounder ran between 4.53 second and 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine and ran a 4.52 at his campus Pro Day workout.

At the combine, Hunter registered a 35 1/2 inch vertical leap, a 10-02 broad jump and bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times. He ran a 1.52 in the 10-yard dash, a 4.21 20-yard shuttle and a 6.74 three-cone drill.

The two-time consensus All-American running back ranks fourth on the Cowboys' all-time rushing list with 4,181 yards and 37 touchdowns as he averaged 5.91 yards per carry for his career.

He was a unanimous All-Big 12 selection as well as an academic All-Big 12 selection.

Hunter was the runnerup to Justin Blackmon for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

The Texas native chose the Cowboys over Texas Christian, Iowa State, and Kansas State.

NFL source: Kendall Hunter to visit Patriots, Eagles, Buccaneers, Falcons, Chargers and Saints - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

Too small?

Quote:

Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma St.
Even as Oklahoma State's third rushing option behind Dantrell Savage and quarterback Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter had a very encouraging freshman campaign. He barely got over 100 carries, but Hunter averaged 6.5 yards per rush and found the end zone a total of five times. The 2008 campaign was the breakout year for Hunter. He was the team's main rusher and again averaged 6.5 yards per carry. However, this time he got 241 carries and reached the end zone 16 times on the ground. Hunter also started to emerge as a pass catching threat and added another touchdown on a reception.
At 5-8 and 190 pounds, Hunter is obviously smaller than an NFL team would like from an every down back. That would make him a change of pace back at the next level and NFL teams wanted to see if he could stay healthy throughout the 2009 season. He did not. In mid-September, Hunter suffered an ankle injury and only played in eight games. When he did come back from injury, Hunter was not at full strength and he ended the season with just 382 rushing yards on 89 carries.

The injury forced Hunter to return to school for his senior season and he has had great success. Not only has he stayed healthy for the first ten games of the season, but he has put up some superb numbers. On 226 carries, Hunter has rushed for 1,356 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has been less involved in the receiving game this year, but he has returned some kickoffs and has proven that he can be a workhorse despite his small size. OSU's success this season has put Hunter back in the spotlight and his stock is quickly rising and he could be a second or third round selection.

2/10 Update: Hunter stayed healthy for the rest of the 2010 campaign and continued to be a very productive rusher. That boosted his draft stock a little bit, but it was his play during the Senior Bowl that jumped him up into a solid second round selection. Hunter did everything well during the week of practice, but it was perhaps his ability to block pass rushers that was most impressive. Many did not expect that skill out of a player who measured out at 5-7.

Payton loves his Senior Bowlers...

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03/15/2011 - Oklahoma State Pro day: Might the NFL have found the next Darren Sproles? It's possible. Oklahoma State RB Kendall Hunter, who measured at 5-foot-7 and 200 pounds, had a pretty good performance at the Cowboys' pro day Wednesday, working out on FieldTurf outdoors in front of representative from 20 teams. Still, some might knock him for not making drastic improvements in his 40-yard dash from the NFL Scouting Combine. He ran 4.53 seconds in the 40 in Indy, but on his home turf stayed relatively the same, running 4.52 with the wind and 4.58 against it. "I did pretty good overall at the combine, but I wanted to knock the 40 time down because I knew I could do better than what I did, so I came here and ran it," Hunter said. "I feel like I ran pretty well." Regardless of 40, I think this kid is a nice change-of-pace option at the next level. He showed a lot of quickness in position drills. He's a quick lightning bug guy, and I think he's a perfect fit in today's multiple-back system NFL. - Gil Brandt, NFL.com

can we get someone over 6' tall on this team....PLEASE!!!

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Originally Posted by Speedy Ron (Post 291232)

can we get someone over 6' tall on this team....PLEASE!!!

If you read my thread 8 of the top 10 RB's of all time were 5/10" and under. Nothing wrong with a short RB. I think it would be a good mix having a taller and shorter back in the mix. People laughed at me but tackling someone 6" shorter, the angles and approach to tackle them changes.

Not to mention "ducking" tackles. MJD, Sproles, Jahvid Best, Ray Rice... All hard to bring down.

The guys that have a low centre of gravity always seem to be the best RB's, as it's been said guys like ray rice and MJD are tough to bring down cuz there both so shifty and powerful.
This guy doesn't seem small, if he weighs in at 200lb's and can bench press 225 24 times, he's obviously a powerful guy, he's would be a good fit I'd say.

I agree. Those stats are pretty nice, but more importantly, I personally feel that a RB SHOULD be under 6". I don't necessarily think RB is around out top concern, but for the price that this kid could be had at, he's worth a look. The nice blocking and blitz pickup is invaluable also, and always a prime concern of mine.

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Originally Posted by BringTheWood (Post 291258)

Did you forget what happened last season?

We need another - more durable - option at RB.

5'7" does seem to be just a little too short however if he can take the punishment bring him on board.