Just one look is all it takes.
Watching from the sideline at an Aurora Christian practice, it’s easy to see Braden Hunter is a force to be reckoned with at right tackle as he takes snaps against the defense.
No one, it seems, gets by him.
Watching the 6-foot-5, 280-pound senior put in the work for the Eagles, it’s also understandable that coach David Beebe is glad to have Hunter on his side.
“Just look at the kid,” Beebe said. “He looks like a monster.”
Hunter is certainly imposing, but his game is much more than merely being a brute force.
A third-year varsity player, Hunter starts on both sides of the line for the Eagles.
‘He actually moves very, very well,” Beebe said. “Braden’s technique has gotten a lot better. He was rough starting out.”
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Hunter has experienced a lot in a short time.
In fall 2020, his sophomore season was pushed back by the pandemic to spring 2021. That was quickly followed by his junior season last fall.
Playing those seasons in the middle of a growth spurt helped him sprout up “really fast,” Beebe said. “Now, he’s matured as a leader, too.”
It’s welcomed by the coaching staff since the Eagles are a young team with only six seniors on the roster.
Grant Henderson, a 6-4, 205-pound senior, also is a two-way starter. He’s a bookend to Hunter on the offensive side at left tackle, where he has played since he was a sophomore.
“I felt like Grant just seemed to be a better left tackle for us at the time,” Beebe said. “I don’t know if I expected Braden’s technique to become as sound as it is, but he mixes brute strength with his footwork.”
And that footwork has been enhanced by Hunter’s work in wrestling, his other sport. He finished fourth last season in the Class 2A state meet. In July, he qualified in freestyle and Greco-Roman for the USA Wrestling Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.
He decided not to go, however, due to a busy schedule with work and Aurora Christian’s summer camp.
Hunter, who lives in Plano, worked six days a week with his grandfather’s landscaping business.
“I’d work all day, come home and lift and then go to football,” Hunter said. “I kept a strict schedule.”
Competing in either sport at the next level remains a possibility, but Hunter is leaning toward football.
“I started with football and never took a break from it,” Hunter said. “I’ve done a ton more work on my football performance recently.”
But which side of the ball?
Last season, Hunter led Aurora Christian’s defense with 13 1/2 tackles for loss, including seven sacks. He finished with 43 tackles and forced five fumbles.
“I like to give ’em that little hug and just punch the ball out,” Hunter said.
Beebe described Hunter as “an absolute terror on both lines” during his junior season. He’s working on his preference.
“Defense is fun, but I’d have to say offense if I had to pick between the two,” Hunter said. “Something has just drawn me toward offense more.”
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He attended camps at Illinois, North Central College and Southern Illinois this past spring and summer.
“North Central was definitely my favorite and the best camp,” said Hunter, who has received interest but no offers yet. “There was a segment where we did one-on-ones where the college coaches were able to call out players to go against each other.
“I’d like to say I did a pretty good job in that.”
It continued Friday night when Hunter posted nine tackles in a 26-20 loss to Ottawa Marquette in the season opener.
Giving up big-play scores late in each half proved to be the difference.
“Our youth coming out,” Beebe said. “We need to learn how to close a game.”
Hunter expects the Eagles to bounce back.
“We have a lot of young guys with raw potential,” he said. “The older guys need to step it up more, get through to them and get them prepped and into the mindset where nothing can stop them.
“Put in the work, you’ll get there.”