By Neate Sager
Ryan Hunter was right back working out at the North Bay YMCA on Boxing Day, barely two days after finishing his first season starting at left guard for the Bowling Green Falcons.
Of course, there is no off-season in major college football. For Hunter, there's the conviction that there isn't a laurel that the North Bay Bulldogs and École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin product can rest on. Even after helping the Falcons go 10-4, win the Mid-American Conference championship and tally a school-record 591 points while regularly topping Football Outsiders' offensive efficiency rankings.
“It wasn't really that hard to work out on Boxing Day,” relates the 20-year-old offensive lineman, whose parents Ken and Louise Hunter made the 21-hour drive to Mobile, Ala., to watch Bowling Green play in the GoDaddy Bowl on Dec. 23. “I went in early to get an Xbox for my big purchase, came back home and set it up and then went into the gym. I've been in every day since I've been home.
“I think it comes back to that I am probably one of the most competitive people that I know. I hate losing at everything, especially sports. Like one time my girlfriend [Paige Berling] brought me to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for vacation. And she beat me at mini-putt. I was like upset about it and we kind of got in a little fight afterwards.
“So when it comes to not playing the sport I love and sitting on the bench versus playing and having an effect on the outcome, it doesn't take a lot of motivation. You know at any moment you could lose your spot.”
Or gain one. Twelve months ago, Hunter entered his redshirt sophomore season at the southern Ohio school looking up at five returning starters. His weight was also at 335 pounds. Through close work with a dietitian, Carrie Hamody, he was able to get down to the svelte 310 that allowed him to shift inside from tackle to guard.
“I knew that if I wanted to play and start, I had to lose weight,” says Hunter, a past Canadian weightlifting champion. “Before when I tried to lose weight without a dietitian, my roadblock was 320 pounds. She helped me stay on track – what to eat, times to eat, good snacks and good lunches to make sure you're putting the right stuff in your body. In the winter we're not really going much other than lifting and a little running. It's really easy to overeat after a big weight session.”
Hunter, who has guidance throughout his football path from North Bay mentors such as Canadore College strength and sport conditioning professor Larry Sheppard and ESC Algonquin coach Ryan Desbiens, earned a starting spot during Bowling Green's spring practice. That led to a special season. The Falcons' feats included wins against Maryland and Purdue from the prestigious Big Ten, along with grading out as the top offence in college football according to Football Outsiders' analytics. Hunter also had the thrill of making his first college start against the fabled Tennessee Volunteers, of Peyton Manning fame, in September at L.P. Field, domicile of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
“It was probably one of the most memorable things I'll do in my life,” Hunter, says of his season. “Last season we went to the MAC championship and won our bowl game, but I didn't really get to play all that much. I didn't really feel like I was a big part of the team. As a starter, you feel like you have more effect on the outcome than when you're just in for a couple of different plays. This year felt a lot different for me, being able to use my skills and ability. We put a lot on the field that no one can take away from us.”
Hunter was in Grade 7 when he first padded with the Bulldogs, before moving on to ESC Algonquin. After attending football camps in the U.S. in 2011 and making connections with other players with college ambitions, he moved to Buffalo, N.Y., to play two seasons at Canisius High School. As a senior, he was named the top lineman in Western New York.
“It was just like some kids that move away to play hockey at age 14 or 15,” says Hunter. “North Bay was able to get me to where I needed to go, with the support there was for the Bulldogs and for high school football. To go further and beyond, I needed to move and all my family and friends supported me. It made me a feel better about moving.”
Simply put, the North Bay influence on Hunter's success is indelible.
“I really take it back to working with Larry Sheppard,” Hunter says. “I started there with him at the YMCA after my first year of high school. That summer was like night and day ... He has a lot of experience in life and all this knowledge he can pass on to me.
“Ryan Desbiens is a good coach, a really good friend and it's always nice to talk to him when I am here,” he adds.
Meantime, the price of success for Hunter's team is change. The head coach he's worked under during his three years at Bowling Green, Dino Babers, moved on to Syracuse prior to the GoDaddy Bowl. For Hunter, the arrival of new head coach Mike Jinks and his staff is part of the self-sell of not taking success for granted.
“Really, you're starting from scratch with new coaches who will want different things and have different opinions,” Hunter says. “It's a battle again.”
