W&J Linebacker Earns National Award
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- D3football.com announced its National Team of the Week, presented by Scoutware on Tuesday and Washington & Jefferson College senior linebacker John Hunter (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) was selected by the website.
Hunter was one of three linebackers honored, joining Rhodes’ Michael Shield and Louisiana College’s Richard Logan. He is the second W&J player to earn a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week this year as sophomore Jon Lowery (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) was chosen in week five.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker set a career high in W&J’s biggest game of the season Saturday with 15 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, during the Presidents’ 31-14 victory over then 13th-ranked Waynesburg. The win clinched the PAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs and the Presidents will play at Johns Hopkins in the first round Saturday in Baltimore, Md.
Hunter finished the regular season tied for the team lead with 82 tackles (T8th in PAC). Prior to this season, Hunter had seven career tackles.
He leads the Presidents with 12 tackles for a loss and is second on the squad with 3.5 sacks. Hunter has also produced nine pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one blocked kick and one interception.
Hunter has at least five tackles in every game this year. His 15 tackles in the PAC Championship Game were the most by a W&J defender since Neil Sorice ’12 garnered 17 stops in week two of last year versus Delaware Valley. Sorice, Hunter and David Gitlitz ’09 are the only Presidents since 2007 to record at least 15 tackles in a game.
In week one at Methodist (N.C.), Hunter’s 63-yard fumble return on the first series of the third quarter changed momentum of the game and W&J scored on the next play for a 17-0 lead which turned into a 23-6 victory over the Monarchs.
