Rams coach Sean McVay said Los Angeles found a lot to like about Hunter.
“You look at just the way that this guy played the game at a high level in an incredibly competitive conference,” McVay said, “with a lot of guys that were drafted and are playing on Sundays. He’s got the ability to go through you or to be able to run away from you. We got a chance to spend a little bit of time with him as a coaching staff on a Zoom call. He had a great demeanor about himself. But when you put the film on, he lights up and you can really feel his ability to have a recall and it means something to him. His security to be able to accept coaching and take accountability for some things that maybe he could improve upon.
“I think that the competitive stamina that you see, the production – you talk to a lot of coaches in that league that you have tremendous respect for, the way that they spoke about Jarquez and going against him and what he meant to that football team and the competitiveness that he really displayed. And he can hit home runs for you, too. You give him a vertical seam, he’s got the ability to run away from you. Some of the metrics that we have on him are really impressive. …
“So we were excited about him, and, obviously, Les and his group had a real appreciation for him. And then once the coaches laid eyes on him, there was collective buy-in.”
After running for 1,201 yards and eight touchdowns on 187 carries in 2024, including a 278-yard outburst in a 24-10 victory over Kentucky on Oct. 26, Hunter pushed himself to fourth on Auburn’s all-time rushing list with 3,371 rushing yards.
Kyren Williams anchors the Rams’ running game after consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He had 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns on 316 carries in 2024. No other Los Angeles player had more than 58 carries, a stat that was true for only three other NFL teams last season.
