Preview: Ocean Lakes ready to defend their title
Within a week of the offer, Chris Hunt picks the Mountaineers. There’s more to the story.
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Florida State has done it. Tennessee has done it. Virginia Tech has done it. Now the Mountaineers of West Virginia have gotten their foot in the door with the newly developing football program at Bishop Sullivan. If Bishop Sullivan is going to be the power house of a football program that IMG Academy or DeMatha have become, it’s going to behoove college football coaches to have a great relationship with the Crusaders.
Chris Hunt’s commitment is more than just a relationship between college coaches and high school coaches. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work on the part of Chris Hunt and his family. Sunday’s commitment ceremony was a milestone in a journey that started under austere circumstances.
Immediately after Chris announced to the crowd gathered in the dining room at Hooter’s on Military Highway in Norfolk, Chris’ grandmother Laverne grabbed the attention of all to thank them for their support of Chris and his mother over the last 17+ years. Chris’ story has not really been told, but it’s one that really allows an onlooker to appreciate the opportunities he’s earned.
Chris’ mother, Tiffany, was 12 years old and a student at Bayside Middle School when she found out she was pregnant with Chris.
“We already had signed the paperwork to give him up for adoption. Tiffany was 13 when Chris was born. She had him in my bed at the house. We had called the ambulance and here I am with a baby in my hands. The umbilical cord was still attached and I told myself then that we could not give this baby up,” said Laverne.
Instead of being given up for adoption, Chris Hunt’s extended family found a way to make it work. He was raised in the house with his mother, grandmother and Aunt Lena. All three were present at the ceremony on Sunday.
“Chris slept in a race car bed in my bedroom,” said Lena.
“She was the one that figured out early on that he liked to play with a ball,” Laverne stated with a grin.
Chris’ mother Tiffany was back to school the Monday after Thanksgiving in 1998, and the family figured out how to raise a boy into a productive and positive young man.
His family is still very close knit and sees all of this as a blessing. Family ties have kept Chris grounded throughout his life so far and his life circumstances make him grateful for what he has earned.
Unlike some of his teammates who have had attention showered on them by college after college for their athletic prowess, Chris had only three offers as he headed into making his announcement. When the West Virginia offer came, he was certain early on that he was headed to Morgantown.
“I went up there for a game and everything about it was perfect. The atmosphere was perfect. The fans show a lot of love. I also went up there with my Crusaders, my team, and we balled out. Coach was showing me a lot of love. I couldn’t deny it. I couldn’t turn it down,” Hunt said.
Coach Chris Scott sees what makes Hunt special and he also sees how family has made Chris the man he is today.
“He’s such a special young man. He’s a special player, but he’s a special young man. We’re gifted to have a chance to have him play for us. His teammates are gifted to have him working with them. He brings it every single day on the field and off the field. West Virginia is getting a young man who knows how to get it done in the classroom, knows how to get it done off the field. I’m just excited for them. He’s a long guy who’s athletic, very smart, hard working, and once again just a special young man,” said the coach.
Hunt is the seventh Bishop Sullivan Crusader senior to make his college commitment coming into the season. It might get easier for Coach Scott to send his players off, but it doesn’t get easier for the families, especially not one like Chris Hunt’s.
“I wasn’t excited about him going all the way to West Virginia to go to school, but I know he’ll be great there,” his grandmother said.
The support of friends and family was definitely evident on Sunday. Chris Hunt may have been born of difficult beginnings, but love, faith, and perseverance have taken him a long way.
– Andy Hilton
Photos from the event can be seen in our gallery on UltimateRecruit.com.
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