Knoxville’s Chris Hunter holds the winner’s trophy Nov. 17 from the annual Army-Navy Prep Game. Most freshmen at Army and Navy play for their schools’ prep teams before making impacts on the main rosters. (Photo: Chris Hunter/Twitter)
The first F-bomb drops just 12 seconds into Episode 1 of “Last Chance U” Season 3.
For those who have already watched the popular Netflix series, it should come as no surprise that the expletive came from the mouth of then Independence Community College football coach Jason Brown.
By the time the episode is one minute old, he has let eight more fly.
It’s a coaching style that can rub many the wrong way, including his assistant coaches and players.
And it’s a coaching style that Chris Hunter expected to get hit with this spring.
The former Austin-East star announced in mid-February on Twitter that he had committed to play for Independence, the subject of the third season (released Summer 2018) and upcoming fourth season of “Last Chance U.”
Weeks later, though, Brown announced his resignation over comments he had made to one of his players. Hunter later confirmed his commitment to Independence, despite Brown’s departure.
Hunter spent the first semester of his college career this past fall and essentially a month of his second semester at West Point (N.Y.) with Army football. Turned out, he and the Army football program weren’t a fit.
He returned to Knoxville in mid-February with bigger plans. Still, though, he had made it through the early mornings, yelling drill sergeants and basic training.
“I just didn’t like it. I tried to stick it out, because of the football,” he said. “I knew a lot of my family and friends and people close to me wanted me there. They thought it would be a great future and the best for me if I could complete it.
“I don’t think that was where I was best fitted.”
The Return… pic.twitter.com/ocVvGsRrUE
— ChrisHunter (@__chunter) February 18, 2019
‘I Felt Like It Was a Great Fit’
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Harper has aspirations of playing Power 5 football. Hunter was a linebacker by trade and verbally committed to Army prior to the start of his senior season (2017). He had received interest from UT-Martin, Tulane, Austin Peay, Liberty, Chattanooga and Appalachian State.
Coincidentally, the 2017 season was the same season Hunter made more of a name for himself. He became the choice to replace quarterback and Mr. Football finalist Darius Harper, who graduated and signed to play for Coastal Carolina.
Hunter led the Roadrunners to a 10-3 mark, falling to eventual state-champion Alcoa in the Class 3A state quarterfinals. He threw for 2,068 yards, ran for 678 more and accounted for 31 total touchdowns.
His academics were in fine order with a GPA over 3.0 and an ACT score well into the 20s.
At Army, he was slated to be a linebacker. Hunter wanted to prove himself on the biggest stage he could. Army afforded him the chance to do that since it was an FBS school.
“I felt like it (Army) would set me up for a great future,” he said. “A lot of the coaches, they were great recruiters and persuaded me.
“I like the uniforms. My official visit was great. I met a lot of guys who would end up going to the school with me (in 2018). I loved my linebacker coach. I loved my defensive coordinator. And I loved the campus when I went up there. I felt like it was a great fit.”
This was my way OUT of KNOXVILLE, now it’s about what I’m going to DO while I’m OUT #27DaysLeft 🌹🗣🌃 pic.twitter.com/2lTNtdx86l
— ChrisHunter (@__chunter) June 18, 2018
Hunter reported to West Point in mid-July 2018.
And he realized from Day One that he might have made the wrong choice. Day One was called “R-Day,” Hunter said, and added it’s the “longest day of your life.”
There’s plenty of yelling and screaming involved, essentially breaking down the newcomers to get them prepared for the disciplined lifestyle they’re about to enter and to prepare them for basic training.
“There’s no football coaches. The real Army people — the sergeants, the first sergeants — they tell you how it is. They’ll tell you that Army football up there is third. It’s academics, military and then football,” Hunter recalled. “And so, they tell you how it is. You’re getting ready to be a soldier.
“When you’re going up there to play big-time football and you hear that the first day, you can definitely be like: ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ When you sign up for Army football, you’re a soldier first.
“That’s no knock on Army football. They have a great program, and they’ll be great in the future. But, it’s not for everybody. The Army’s not for everybody. West Point is not for everybody, and Army football is not for everybody.”
Austin-East coach Jeff Phillips, who continues to be a mentor in Hunter’s life, said Hunter did well on the football side of things in the fall playing for the Army Prep team – which most first-year enrollees do before moving up to the official FBS player squad. Hunter made big plays and was expected to garner some playing time in 2019 at inside linebacker for Army. Hunter even played basketball at Army for the prep team, too.
But Phillips received calls from Hunter every now and then from West Point when a few difficulties arose outside of the athletics spotlight. Hunter just never meshed 100 percent with the unrelenting structure and discipline there.
“He called me a couple of times, and I let into him. But I didn’t let into him as a coach. I let into him as a friend and as a mentor,” Phillips said. “And as a man, really. I let him know my thoughts on a couple things.
“I think Chris appreciated that. I don’t sugar coat anything with him. I don’t lie to him. I tell him exactly how I feel and what I’m thinking. Chris liked that. Chris called a lot. He had to face it. A lot of (past players from Austin-East) get discouraged (at college) and ashamed or whatever, but Chris stayed in touch. Me and Chris have a really good relationship. When the news hit about everything that was happening, he knew I wasn’t going to be happy. But, at the end of the day, he called me like a man should call. We weighed his options out.”
Hunter told Phillips his goal of playing big-time FBS football, and he felt going JUCO was the best option given the timeline of the matter. National Signing Day had already happened. Scholarships weren’t readily available in mid-to-late February.
Hunter will report this month and go through spring practice and will only have to do one year of JUCO, Phillips said. He won’t be there alone, as West defensive lineman Zach Stokes recently announced his commitment to Independence, as well.
DREAMU💯 let’s get to work @_CoachMartin_ pic.twitter.com/BNSmb5c8gc
— Zach Stokes (@zach_stokes11) February 22, 2019
LAST CHANCE U
Hunter has seen Season 3 of “Last Chance U” featuring the 2017 Independence football season. Admittedly, he watched it before committing to head coach Jason Brown and the Pirates.
He isn’t sure just yet when he will enroll and report to the Kansas-based school, but he knows he’s ready for whatever is thrown at him – even without Brown there.
Hunter has been working out and training daily with local trainer Jaren Troutman, a former Austin-East quarterback. And he’s certain his time at West Point will have him mentally prepared.
“So on the juco route, I don’t think I’ll struggle with the things that others struggle with (on the show),” Hunter said. “I’m definitely going to take things from West Point. I did learn a lot. I see how they wake up early (on Last Chance U). I woke up early every single day. I woke up at 5 in the morning, 4:30 in the morning. Waking up early in the morning won’t be a problem. Getting screamed at by a coach and not being able to talk back, I’ve already had to deal with three weeks of that in Basic Training and other times during the year. Being able to take that yelling and stuff, that won’t be a problem. Me having nothing to do all the way out in Kansas won’t be a problem, because there was nothing to do at West Point.
“Everything I’ll be dealing with, I’ve already dealt with. Watching those episodes, it didn’t discourage me. I’m sure there will be some stuff that will shock me. But right now, I feel like I’m very capable of handling it.”
Hunter’s goal is to make the roster of a Power 5 program. He rattled off a few programs from the SEC, ACC and Big Ten as possible destinations.
When assessing his abilities and his self-drive, it’s where he feels he belongs but hasn’t had a chance to really prove that all just yet.
Independence just might give him that chance. Emmit Gooden, a defensive lineman at Indy in 2017, signed with Tennessee. Rakeem Boyd, a running back, signed with Arkansas. All told, more than a dozen players off that 2017 Independence team that finished 9-2 signed with FBS programs.
Even the team’s back-up quarterback, who was portrayed on the show as being totally inept, signed with Boise State.
The Pirates are looking to rebound from a 2-8 mark in 2018, a season in which they allowed 25.9 points and 301.2 yards per game.
“Chris needs to understand, though, that he’s not there for a Netflix special,” Phillips said. “He’s there to try and get back out and play.
“I explained to him, ‘This is your last chance. This is Last Chance U.'”
But this move to Kansas for Hunter is also about maturing and being happier in a different environment, whether he ends up at an FBS school or FCS. And if he had a mulligan to do it all over again coming out of high school, he would still sign with Army and endure the tough times again.
He learned about himself.
He learned about the bonds created between himself and others during basic training.
“If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change it. West Point did teach me a lot,” Hunter said. “I’m glad I went there, and I met some guys I will talk to for the rest of my life. Even though I left and it seems like I made the wrong decision, I loved it there and met so many great people that I wouldn’t change it. I would still go through everything that I went through.
“But going this JUCO route, I definitely think I’m a big-time player. I know I can make plays. I know I can make the grades. I think I’m going to be a Power 5 guy. If not, and I don’t end up going Power 5 like I wanted to, I still think I can go to an FCS school and have a great career and graduate college. That’s the ultimate goal is to graduate college and if football leads me in that direction and the NFL comes up, I’ll definitely want to take that. That’s a dream for me.”