When the opportunity presents itself, Kareem Hunt will be ready.
A seven-year NFL veteran, Hunt is back at his alma mater — Willoughby South — for his annual youth football camp on June 17-18. He is a free agent right now, but said he envisions that changing in the coming months.
“I’m just being patient,” said Hunt, who spent the last five seasons with the Browns. “We’ll see. Everybody is finishing up their OTAs. When camps start, I’ll be ready. We’ll figure it out.”
Hunt is coming off a 2023 season in which he carried 135 times for 411 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games. He signed with the Browns on Sept. 20, 2023, not long after the Browns’ leading rusher Nick Chubb injured his knee in a game at Pittsburgh.
While Hunt said he loved his time with the Browns, he didn’t sound optimistic that there is a scenario in which he would return to his hometown team. The Browns signed free agent running backs D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines this offseason and also return Chubb (who is returning from knee surgery) and last year’s leading rusher Jerome Ford.
NFL free agent Kareem Hunt @Kareemhunt7 says he is keeping in shape and working out and looking for an opportunity in the league for playing time and to make an impact. pic.twitter.com/Iyl731HpbM
See AlsoOfficial Website of the Kansas City Chiefs | Chiefs.comKareem Hunt Stats, News and Video - RB | NFL.comKareem Hunt - NFL News, Rumors, & Updates'Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu' #1 features resurrected hero • AIPT— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 17, 2024
“I wouldn’t say (the door) is closed, but I’m not really sure,” Hunt said of a possible return to the Browns. “We’ll have to see about it. I’m just looking for a good fit, somewhere I could definitely get playing time and be on a team that’s contending.”
Regardless, he said the chance to play for the Browns for five seasons after being drafted and reaching Pro Bowl status with the Kansas City Chiefs was something he will forever cherish.
“It was great. It’s my hometown,” he said. “There’s nothing more I wanted to do than help win a championship here in Cleveland. I wish them all the best. That was a fun ride. Playing five years for the Cleveland Browns was a dream come true.”
On Day 1 of the football camp at his alma mater that bears his name, Hunt spent the three-hour session helping instruct the 131 youth campers, playing catch with them, signing autographs and reminiscing. To him, it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that he was a kid in the Willoughby school system looking up to NFL players like Reggie Bush and hoping someday to make the big time.
Now that he’s done that, he’s not going to forget what it was like to be one of those kids — hence holding the Kareem Hunt Youth Camp at Harry E. Winters Stadium.
“I wish growing up I could come to football camps, meeting NFL players and learn a thing or two from them,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to talk to these kids.”
Scanning the field full of kids playing the game they love, Hunt marveled at quite a few things including his age, noting, “It’s insane. I’ll be 29 next month. It’s kinda crazy how fast things go.”
He said he loved playing for Coach Matt Duffy and that “this school means a lot to me.”
Kareem Hunt @Kareemhunt7 discusses coming home for the fourth annual Kareem Hunt youth football camp at his alma mater @SouthRebelGolf pic.twitter.com/M5Yes8P94r
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 17, 2024
Memories fly back to him daily.
“When I was here, we definitely didn’t have this nice turf and football field,” he said. “We had a lot of grass and muddy games. I remember our fans and everybody coming out to support us and South always finding a way to win.”
Of course, he had a big hand in that, rushing for 2,519 yards and 39 touchdowns as a junior and 2,685 yards and 44 touchdowns as a senior.
“I’d say the six-touchdown game against North,” Hunt said of the memory that sticks out the most as a South Rebel, “and also a game against Chardon when I had seven touchdowns. Those two stick out to me.”
Aside from working out and staying in shape to answer the bell when an NFL team calls him for his services — and aside from working the two-day camp at his alma mater — Hunt has also found time this spring to swing a hot softball bat. He played in the David Njoku Celebrity Softball game earlier this month at Classic Park, and finished second in the home run derby to former Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce.
Hunt was a dynamic multi-sport athlete at South during his prep years, not only as a two-time All-Ohioan on the gridiron. But when he graduated, he owed the school track records in the 100, high jump, long jump and 4×100 relay. Being prolific with a bat in his hand wasn’t a surprise to him, nor was finishing second to Kelce in the home run derby.
Kareem Hunt @Kareemhunt7 discusses his experience at the David Njoku celebrity game home run derby against @tkelce and others. pic.twitter.com/8saAi1pQn9
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) June 17, 2024
“I feel like I could play a lot of different sports if I wanted to,” he said. “It’s just being an athlete and doing things in different sports, I guess.”
As for finishing second to Kelce in the home run derby by one homer, he said with a laugh. “It was really fun. I feel like I got cheated, but it’s all good. At least another Cleveland guy won it. We talked about it later and he said they only gave him seven extra seconds, but I don’t believe that.”
PHOTOS: Kareem Hunt Youth Football Camp, June 17, 2024
