The ankle injury that ended Jeremy Hunt’s junior season dealt a blow to his college recruiting but may have made him a better quarterback.
While he stops short of calling the injury and resulting surgery a painful blessing in disguise, the Oak Park and River Forest High School football star admits the aftermath has been positive.
“I definitely have had a lot of mixed emotions about getting injured,” Hunt said. “It was a very bumpy road afterwards, but with recruiting it’s taught me a lot.
“It’s taught me to be more patient. Quarterbacks have to be patient.”
Hunt and the Huskies were undefeated when he went down in Week 6 last season. Instead of languishing on the sidelines, Hunt spent the remaining games up in the press box with the OPRF coaches, a rare opportunity for a player. It was an eye-opening experience.
“I learned that our coaches are definitely a lot crazier than I thought, but I really learned what they were thinking,” Hunt said. “I actually learned the offense, the inside and out of it, and what they want to see out on the field and how they want the quarterback to play.”
Being an extra set of “eyes in the sky” was beneficial to both Hunt and the coaches, who solicited Hunt’s feedback.
It was OPRF head coach John Hoerster’s idea to have Hunt sit in the press box. The plan was not without risk since Hunt was not with his teammates and out of his element.
“Putting him up there takes him away from his guys and it’s an adult area, but he was able to learn a lot and soaked it all in,” Hoerster said. “He learned so much from being up there and seeing how the coaches’ brains work.”
While Hunt was playing well before the injury, he was not the Huskies’ main weapon and only just beginning to take a leadership role. Hoerster was concerned Hunt’s progress would be retarded while he rehabbed.
“The other thing was to make sure that he’s still a part of this because when you’re an athlete and you get hurt, you feel like you’re useless,” Hoerster said. “So I (invited him to) come up in the booth, tell us what you see from a player’s perspective.
“He was able to give us some feedback, too, and he was able to hear what was going on. He still stayed positive.”
In addition to getting a better understanding of the offense, Hunt got a different perspective from being in the press box. He was able to see plays develop and what defenses were doing.
“On the field I wouldn’t be able to see anything and in the coaches box I’d be able to really see what the coaches are looking for, hear what they say and see what they see out there,’ Hunt said. “It helped out a lot.”
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Hunt returned to action better than ever. The Huskies are undefeated with him under center the past two seasons, including 6-0 this year.
 Hunt has developed into one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the Chicago area, with some calling him the Huskies’ version of Cam Newton. But he styles himself after another NFL star.
“I do like throwing the ball,” Hunt said. “I love scrambling, looking for plays downfield, kind of like Aaron Rodgers.
“I love Aaron Rodgers, but if I have to run, I will run it. I’m not afraid to run the ball, but I’m also not afraid to drop back and throw the ball.”
The Huskies’ read-option offense allows Hunt to make decisions based on what the defense gives him. He is adept at running and passing, as he demonstrated during Friday’s 34-17 win over York.
Hunt rushed six times for 24 yards, highlighted by a 9-yard TD run to cap off the Huskies’ scintillating run of 20 unanswered points in the third quarter against the Dukes.
The savvy senior also completed 24-of-32 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
Hunt and Scott share bond
Senior wide receiver Jared Scott, who has battled his own injury woes, has seen great growth in Hunt.
“I definitely think he’s learned a lot,” Scott said. “He’s just been a student of the game, learning each day.
“Not only does he have the physical tools, he has the mental side as well and I think that’s what sets him apart from a lot of these other guys.”
Hunt has a kindred spirit in Scott, a two-sport star who missed the second half of the basketball season last winter after undergoing knee surgery. Both want to play in college but haven’t had any major offers.
“Definitely with us getting hurt, it was a humbling experience for both of us,” Scott said. “We’ve kind of learned from each other through that. It was definitely an eye-opener.”
While college coaches wait to see how Hunt performs this fall, Hoerster thinks it is only a matter of time before the offers start coming in.
“He’s a Division I football player in my mind,” Hoerster said. “If you describe to me what a Division I quarterback is, he checks all the boxes.
“He’s got a cannon for an arm, he’s got great feet, he’s mobile, he’s smart, he’s a leader, he’s got the size. But if he’s patient, something will happen.”
Something always happens when Hunt is on the field. He says he is still learning and needs to be more consistent, but Hoerster is thrilled with how Hunt bounced back from the injury.
“It was a really sad thing that happened but he totally made the best of it,” Hoerster said. “He’s a really bright kid.
“It’s nice as a coach to know that the guy you’ve got back there knows what you’re doing. He was in my leadership class last year and now he is my student assistant in that class.
“Ultimately we want these kids to come back and coach with us. I’d love for him to be back and coaching with me 10 years from now.”
While Hunt, who has a 3.0 GPA, aspires to a career in radio or television broadcasting, he isn’t thinking 10 years down the road, or even much about college yet. He and his teammates have some unfinished business as they strive to attain the high goals Hoerster has set for the program.
“The expectations are high,” Hunt said. “Everyone knows that the Huskies are going to be good. It’s what is going to happen later on in the season.
“That’s been the question for us every single year. (Hoerster) really has changed this program around, but I think it’s time for us to really take what he’s saying and push it to where it should have been the last couple years, past the second round of the playoffs.”