Brady Hunt back with South Carolina, arrives in Columbia

Former Ball State tight end Brady Hunt will play for South Carolina after all, and has arrived on campus in Columbia to move in for the spring semester, he confirmed on social media Saturday night.

Hunt initially committed to South Carolina in December but then privately decommitted from the Gamecocks earlier this month multiple sources told GamecockCentral at the time. But now Hunt, who was likely headed to Texas A&M but never decommitted publicly, will play for the Gamecocks.

“They told me Josh Simon’s coming back and he’s going to play quite a bit,” Hunt told GamecockCentral following his initial commitment. “But they said that they needed another guy that likes to live in 12 personnel. Kind of somebody to take over what Trey (Knox) was doing last year. And I think they see some things in me where I can be a three-down guy. I can be sufficient in the run game and pass game. So, like I said, just think it’s a good fit for me and the type of player that I am. Especially with your OC being a tight ends guy and your head coach being a tight ends guy. Feels like a good place for me to be.”

The Muncie (Indiana) native is a former high school quarterback who converted to tight end early in his college career.

The 6-foot-6, 249-pounder missed the 2023 season for the Cardinals, but turned in a stellar 2022 campaign at Ball State. That season, he caught 46 passes for 498 yards and 5 touchdowns.

“He’s a 4.0 student and a member of our leadership council. He’s a complete package,” Ball State head coach Mike Neu has said of Hunt, according to BallStateSports.com.

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Brady Hunt Bio from BallStateSports.com

Awards and Honors:
2023 Mackey Award Watch List
2023 Preseason Group of 5 All-American by HERO Sports (first team)
2023 Preseason All-MAC (first team by Athlon Sports, Phil Steele College Football Preview, College Football Network and Pro Football Focus)
2022 FWAA Freshman All-American
2022 College Football News Freshman All-American (first team)
2022 All-MAC first team
2022 Academic All-MAC
2022-23 BSU SportsLink #Chirpies’ Male Rookie of the Year

Returns with Tanner Koziol as part of a sophomore tight end duo that combined for 81 catches for 871 yards and 12 touchdowns last year … Ball State was the only FBS team in the country last season with multiple tight ends grabbing at least five TD passes, and their touchdown total was more than 18 FBS teams produced as a whole.

2022: Third on the team with 46 receptions for 498 yards and five touchdowns … touchdown total tied for the 12th-most among all tight ends in college football during the regular season … 34 catches for 401 yards and four scores in Mid-American conference play … secured multiple catches in 11 of 12 games, including six games of at least four grabs … season highs of nine catches and 90 yards against Ohio (Nov. 15) … across the last four contests, totaled 21 receptions for 229 yards … first Cardinals tight end and fifth player overall (LB Justin Beriault, 2001; P Chris Miller, 2005; S Sean Baker, 2008; WR Justin Hall, 2017) to be named Freshman All-America by the FWAA … first tight end to be named first team All-MAC since Ball State’s Zane Fakes in 2013.

2021: Made the switch from quarterback to tight end … appeared in two games … first career action as a Cardinal came vs. Buffalo (Nov. 23) … also appeared in the bowl game vs. Georgia State (Dec. 25) … took a redshirt.

HIGH SCHOOL: Four-year letterwinner at Delta … played for head coach Chris Overholt … three-time team captain … first-team all-conference as a junior and senior … team MVP as a junior and senior … finished his career with 3,774 yards and 47 touchdowns through the air plus 958 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground … 27 wins in his career … four-time academic all-conference and academic all-state as a senior … National Honor Society member … also a four-year letterwinner in basketball … a three-time all-conference selection, three-time sectional champion and all-state honorable mention choice as junior on the hardwood … also starred on the golf team.

PERSONAL: Son of Jeremy and Linda Hunt … one brother and one sister.

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