Syracuse Football: Terrel Hunt Still Determined to Prove Himself in the NFL

Terrel Hunt is resigned to the fact that he will not hear his name called in the upcoming NFL Draft. The former Syracuse Orange quarterback was denied a medical redshirt which would have granted him a 6th year of eligibility, a decision that Hunt says he was "shocked" about in an article from Newsday's Kimberly Martin:

After a season-ending fractured fibula in the fifth game of Syracuse's 2014 season, he tore an Achilies tendon in the Orange's season opener last year. In November, the NCAA denied Hunt's extension of eligibility waiver for a sixth season. Hunt, who redshirted as a freshman in 2011, competed in more than 30 percent of Syracuse's scheduled games in 2014, missing the cutoff for a medical redshirt year.

"I was really shocked," said Hunt, who earned the starting job in 2013 and led the Orange to a 21-17 victory over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl on December 27, 2013. "I thought it was kind of a no-brainer."

Despite being denied a final season in Central New York, Hunt is still determined to make it to the NFL. He has been brought in for a workout with the New York Giants, and his agent has received calls from the 49ers, Raiders, Cardinals, and Eagles. Despite only having one call for a workout prior to the draft, Hunt's confidence and resolve are what keep him moving forward in chasing his dream:

"I just believe in myself," he said in a phone interview with Newsday. "I've never been in a battle I haven't won...My life has been tough. So for me to go through this now, means something great has to be coming soon. Something's going to turn around for me. So for me to give up isn't an option."

By all accounts, Terrel Hunt is a classy, great human being. There have never been excuses made or blame thrown for anything that has happened on the football field in Hunt's time in a Syracuse uniform, which takes a special kind of character in a man who has lost so much before even stepping foot on a college campus. I think it goes without saying that the Syracuse community is behind him, and is proud to have had him on our football team.

But most importantly, Terrel believes his parents are too:

"I know my Mom would be proud looking down on me, and my Dad."

Chase those dreams, Terrel. And don't let anything get in the way.