Lee

Hunter

Hunter (6’3/318) is a heavy-handed, two-gapping interior presence whose evaluation leans on run-game disruption over pure athletic upside, reflected in a modest 4.12 RAS with very poor explosion metrics. Hunter posted 80.9 overall and 84.5 run-defense grades in 2025, pairing that production with 26 pressures, 19 hurries, and 25 run stops, underscoring his ability to muddy interior rushing lanes. He wins with length and violent hands, consistently locking out and creating vertical stalemates versus double teams while showing enough lateral mobility to track the ball outside his gap. Hunter’s profile is that of a “slow-burn” pocket pusher, generating just 7.5 sacks across four seasons with limited burst and a lack of refined pass-rush sequencing. High pads and a narrow base sap his power at times, and his bottom-tier explosiveness testing (21.5” vertical) shows up when he struggles to convert leverage into backfield penetration. Hunter projects as a scheme-diverse 1-tech/2i nose capable of eating blocks and controlling A-gaps, with value tied to his consistency as a run defender rather than impact pass-rush upside.

There are reports starting to surface about Harin’s position at Auburn being in jeopardy. The turnover throughout the program does bring up red flags as over 20 players left the program and five assistants in the last year. Now with these reports of Harsin’s character are coming to light, one of the players who left Auburn took to social media to comment about his former coach. In a post on Instagram, former DL Hunter (6'4/321) said the reason why he left Auburn was he felt he wasn’t treated “good enough” and didn’t want to be treated “like dogs.” This doesn’t seem to be the lone sentiment as several current and former Auburn players have liked the post. This story is far from over and we’ll see if Harsin is one-and-done at Auburn.

Hunter (6'4/321) is among the players who were looking for a greener pasture after this season and at least for now, it appears he has found one. Hunter is set to transfer to join the UCF Knights, formerly ranked as the No. 81 overall player nationally in the 2021 signing class according to 247Sports. He did not suit up for the Tigers last season.

Hunter (6'4/321) was a four-star defensive lineman from the 2021 recruiting class and was the no. 12 defensive lineman in the class per 247Sports’ composite rankings. Hunter did not suit up for the Tigers in 2021, and is now one of 14 Auburn players to have entered the transfer portal since the 2021 season began. Likely in search of more playing time heading into 2022, Hunter should have a hot market in the portal. A native of Eight Mile, Alabama, Hunter had also received offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia, among other top programs during his initial recruiting process.

With Auburn having recently fired HC Gus Malzahn, there were some questions as to whether or not Hunter (6'5/292) would remain a commit. But the five-star defensive lineman is apparently “all in,” and he plans to sign his NLI to attend Auburn during the early signing period. Hunter made his verbal pledge to Auburn last December, and to hang onto him is big recruiting win for whoever is named the next head coach.

A couple days removed from knocking off rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl, Auburn HC Gus Malzahn and his staff picked up a big win on the recruiting trail. Hunter (6'5/292) holds offers from many of the nation’s top programs, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Oregon and Tennessee, but in the end it was Auburn that won out for his pledge. In an interview with 247Sports recruiting analyst Jason Caldwell, the Eight Mile, Alabama native cited Kevin Steele’s defensive scheme and how he’s felt when on campus as reasons for his decision to commit to Auburn this early in the process. Hunter won’t be able to immediately fill the void that will be left by projected first round draft pick Derrick Brown, as he still has one more year of high school, but this is a big recruiting win for Auburn.