Published March 13, 2012 - 11:59am
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SDS is continually counting down the top 25 players in the SEC for 2012, and we’re not stopping until we get to No. 1.
Justin Hunter – No. 16
Tennessee wide receiver Justin Hunter comes at No. 16 in the top 25 players for 2012 in the SEC. Hunter is an incredible athlete and receiver. And I do realize he has a long way to go in his recovery from his knee injury during the Florida game, but you cannot discredit just how well he showed up last year at the beginning of the season in those first two games.
Call me crazy but the SEC really hasn’t even scratched the surface of Hunter because he hasn’t even played in one full season, yet.
Hunter, who came to Tennessee as a Dooley-recruited guy, heads into his junior season after tearing his ACL last year in the third game against Florida.
Hunter is 6’4”, 200lbs or so, and he is as athletic as any receiver in the country. He is tall and rather lanky, but he makes up for it with his ability to go get the football and outrun defenders in the secondary.
Not only is Hunter a gifted football player, but as a freshman, he broke the Tennessee freshman record in the long jump at 26’ 1 ½”.
Even though Hunter only played in two complete games in 2011, he showed flashes of a sure-fire first-round draft pick this coming year. Hunter caught 17 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns. He was on pace for a record-setting season with the Vols, averaging 18.5 yards per catch and 104.7 yards per game.
Not only does Hunter have one of the best quarterbacks in the country throwing him the football in Tyler Bray, but he has one of the best wide receivers playing beside him in Da’Rick Rogers. The Rogers-Hunter combo is one of the best combos in the country for 2012.
If he can make a full recovery, I think Hunter could be a first rounder in next year’s draft, and he very well could be the best wide receiver in the country next year. However, I am a little cautious of his knee injury.
All in all, Hunter is ready to have a huge 2012.
JUSTIN HUNTER FEATURE:
