Hunter has no regrets for crossing the line

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

He has changed colleges and positions, but only yesterday, when told he was named the University of Hawai'i football team's Player of the Week, was offensive lineman Wayne Hunter really moved.

Wayne Hunter (No. 70), shown protecting quarterback Tim Chang against SMU, was named UH's Player of the Week for his performance against Nevada last Saturday. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Hunter, a junior left tackle who is the primary back-side blocker for quarterback Tim Chang, anchored an offensive line that did not allow a sack in a 59-34 victory over Nevada last week. It was the best game of the season for Hunter, who moved from the defensive line in March.

"I said it before the season that it would be five or six games before Wayne really felt comfortable, and here we are — last week was game six — and he was player of the game," UH coach June Jones said. "He got better every week. I think it's all upside for him."

Hunter, a Radford High graduate, attended California as a freshman before transferring to UH in 2000. After redshirting that year, in accordance with NCAA transfer rules, he was limited last season because of knee and back injuries.

Soon after the season ended, Jones asked Hunter if he would consider moving from the defensive line to offensive tackle. Jones was impressed with the 6-foot-6, 299-pound Hunter's agility and strength.

"Basically what I told him was I thought he would get drafted (by the National Football League) as a defensive lineman, but if he made the move to left tackle, I thought, professionally, he would have a chance to be a rare guy," Jones said. "At defensive line, if he stayed, he would just be another guy. But at left tackle — if he listens to Cav (line coach Mike Cavanaugh) and do what we tell him to do — he would have a chance to be a first-round draft pick. I'm not sure if that would have happened as a defensive player. It had to be his call. If he wanted to stay on defense, he could. I just advised him on what I felt."

Hunter struggled with his decision for more than a month before finally agreeing that his future was greener on the other side of the line.

"It took me a while to ponder it," he recalled. "I decided this would be the best move for me."

In fact, he had planned to move on a trial basis. But spring practice turned into summer workouts and, soon enough, it was training camp.

"It was too late to go back," he said.

"After that, I thought, 'Maybe I can do this,' " he recalled. "That's when it clicked in."

Hunter was one of nine players to earn the status of "Super Warrior" for scoring high in 11 strength and agility exercises. He bench pressed a maximum 455 pounds, and benched 225 pounds 33 times. He ran 40 yards in 4.95 seconds.

But being an effective offensive lineman is more than just being physically skilled, and Hunter struggled early in the season. Hunter often would lunge at quicker pass-rushers instead of trusting his blocking technique of balancing his body, facing square to the attacker and throwing stiff-armed blocks. He also kept reminding himself of Cav's Law of Blocking, in which the defender must come to the blocker instead of the offensive lineman playing chasemaster.

"On the D-line, you're so aggressive," Hunter said. "On the O-line, you have to be more patient. You have to wait for the guy to hit you before you can hit the guy. The first time, I wanted to get that killer shot in. Now I'm taking the shot and then giving it back. It takes a lot of patience."