Over the next few weeks of Eagles training camp, we’ll be catching up weekly with third-round defensive end Jalyx Hunt from Houston Christian. We’ll be tracking his progress as the small school product acclimates to life in the NFL.
Part 1: How many people at a practice?
Part 2: Learning from a former Pro Bowler
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By Jalyx Hunt’s feet sat a cup carrier full of water ice for his veteran teammates — green apple, blue raspberry, Swedish fish — and they were starting to melt.
As he walked off the field after the 11th practice of training camp, Hunt’s rookie duties were interrupted by a slow but steady line of kids looking for him to sign their footballs, posters and more.
“It’s cool,” Hunt said. “They don’t know who I am. Some do. A lot of the kids, they see a football player, I play for their favorite team, so it just works out.”
The NFL is a new world for Hunt after playing college football at Cornell and Houston Christian. During college, Hunt said he signed a grand total of two autographs. He signed way more than that on Sunday in the time it took for a cup of water ice to sweat.
NFL
Even though this is new for Hunt, he said he’s been practicing signing his autograph since he was 8 years old. He used to have around 12 different signatures but has whittled it down to two. Even if those kids on Sunday don’t know who Hunt is, the #58 next to his name ought to help.
“I’m throwing the number on there,” Hunt said. “Rookie year. I’m signing it, leaning into it. In the future it might change, it might not change.”
On Friday night, Hunt played in his first NFL preseason game and really tried to soak in the experience. Before the game, he walked around the field, listened to music during warmups and got to catch up with some folks he knew on the other sideline.
“It was amazing,” Hunt said. “It’s crazy running out of the tunnel.”
The added bonus was that Hunt’s parents were able to make the trip to Baltimore to see him play.
And Hunt didn’t disappoint. The third-round pick played 24 defensive snaps and another 12 on special teams. He had three solo tackles on defense and another on special teams.
“I think I did well for my first outing,” Hunt said. “Some things to work on, as always. But the effort was there, the intensity and everything. As long as I got that, I can build on it.”
It was an encouraging start.
“I thought Hunt did a little better than I thought he would, just based on practices,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “I think he's improving and he's coming. And I think he'll continue to improve.”
The best play of Hunt’s evening came in coverage when he peeled off his man to make a tackle in the open field. While Fangio downplayed the significance of Hunt’s experience at safety, Hunt said it definitely helps him in space.
But he also gets a ton of work dropping into coverage during practice too.
“Coaching and using my eyes,” Hunt said about his tackle. “I know that certain plays, that’s a common route. So If I’m getting a deep threat, I know I can look back inside and stuff like that. Picked that up from the vets actually. Bryce (Huff), he’s real good at it, getting in space. Just asking questions and learning.”
Through a few weeks of training camp, things seem to be going well for Hunt. He’s been turning some heads along the way and did it again on Friday night.
The next big challenge will come this week when the Eagles face the Patriots in New England in a joint practice before another preseason game.
“Oh yeah,” Hunt said. “They said it’s more fun than anything.”
Goal for next week: “Be more detailed. That’s it. Improve on what I need to improve on. I got the energy, effort and speed and everything. Just do it more refined.”
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