Brady Hunt shares what he hopes to bring to South Carolina's tight end room
After missing last season with an ankle injury, Ball State transfer tight end Brady Hunt is eager to pick up where he left off in 2022.
“I feel great. The ankle (has) been getting better every day,” Hunt said earlier in February. “I feel as close to 100 percent as I have since I last played. It’s been great ever since I got here. (I’m) just continuing to work and keep getting better.”
Before missing last season, the 6-foot-6, 249-pound tight end shined as a redshirt freshman in 2022, where he received several First-Team All-American honors.
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“I believe that I’m a three-down tight end. I feel like I’m somebody who’s gonna pop the big plays in the run game and in the pass game. I’m really just a guy who’s going to be out there and wherever they need me and make plays, whether that’s with the ball in my hands or without it.”
During that 2022 season, Hunt caught 46 passes for 498 yards and five touchdowns. His five touchdowns that season were tied for the 12th-most among all tight ends in college football during the regular season. That production is why he was named to the Mackey Watch List in 2023, which is an award given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end. It’s with that track record, along with the opportunity to work with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, that excites Hunt about the chance to play for South Carolina.
“You look at their receptions (by tight ends in 2023), they were second in the SEC behind Georgia who had Brock Bowers. He’s out of there now and that title is up for grabs. The way coach Loggains’ pro-style offense uses tight ends, I just feel like it’s a good fit for a tight end and an exciting offense to be in.”
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Hunt joins an extremely young tight end room at South Carolina. Aside from him and Joshua Simon, who appeared in all 12 games in his first season as a Gamecock, no other South Carolina tight end has started in a collegiate game before. Add in the fact that Hunt is a versatile tight end who can make an impact as a pass catcher, he could also help take some of the pressure off of USC’s wide receiver room, which has been going through a make over this offseason.
“The situation I was coming into was a situation where I could thrive. The program is headed in a direction where I think we can play at a championship level and that’s important to me. I want to be part of a team that has winning seasons and are playing for championships. I believe this is a place where that can happen.”
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Hunt’s arrival didn’t come without some uncertainty. Shortly before the start of this past semester, there were reports that Hunt was possibly heading to Texas A&M. Ultimately, the tight end stuck with his original commitment and arrived at Columbia right in time for the start of the second semester.
“The transfer portal is something that a lot of people still don’t really know how it works. I think I got caught up in a situation that I shouldn’t have been in in the first place. But I think God put me where I need to be and I’m exactly where my feet are and I’m excited to work here at South Carolina.”
A former high school quarterback, Hunt made the switch to tight end during his true freshman season in 2021 and appeared in two games. He comes to South Carolina with three years of eligibility remaining.
