Jared Harrison-Hunte, EDGE, SMU
Size:
Height: 6033
Weight: 290
Arm: 33”
Hand: 9 ⅛”
Accomplishments:
Three-star recruit
“Jared Harrison-Hunte is a powerful, lean-framed defensive tackle who takes advantage of slower lateral interior plays and causes havoc in the backfield.”
Strengths:
Pass-rush ability
Lateral movement
Football IQ
Pop in hands
Concerns:
Pad-level inconsistencies
Double-team anchor
First-step consistency
Film Analysis:
Jared Harrison-Hunte played high school football at Christ The King Regional in Middle Village, New York. He spent the first two years of high school focused on basketball before turning his attention to football as a junior and earning a three-star recruiting status. He had 45 tackles and three sacks while playing in eight games during his senior year before committing to The University of Miami (FL), where he’d spend the next five years of his collegiate career. He made 22 starts across 42 games and accumulated 78 tackles (43 solo), 21 for loss, and nine sacks for the Hurricanes' defense before transferring to SMU for his final season. He put up career-best numbers for the Mustangs with 24 tackles (18 solo), nine for loss, 6.5 sacks, and added his first career interception.
With a powerful lower half, Harrison-Hunte carries 290 pounds with ease and looks more like a tweener on the field. His first-step explosiveness is inconsistent, but when he’s coiled and uses it properly, he delivers powerful jabs to offensive linemen that shock them at the point of attack. His pad level isn’t helped by his first step, but there are moments of synchronicity between the two, and it shows how disruptive he can be. He locates the football well as a run defender and can stay gap-sound with his length while waiting for the ball carrier to decide on a gap. His tweener frame doesn’t hold up to double teams, even though he uses the kickstand technique to absorb the power. However, he rarely gets completely uprooted vertically from his gap and makes a good effort to keep his linebackers free to make the play. When he hits his first step, he gets into the backfield and creates problems for the ball-carrier or the quarterback, which shows in his tackles for loss.
Harrison-Hunte is at his best rushing the passer, using his lateral athleticism and timing paired with a solid array of pass-rush moves. However, he tends to pop up too often and get caught on blocks, trying to power his way through them instead of working his rush moves. He lines up guards and centers with his footwork and intentions, laterally out-flanks them, and finishes with a clean rip or two-hand swipe to get by blocks. His hip tightness can prevent him from clean wins around the outside of blockers when he’s rushing against tackles and stunting, and he will benefit from adding more counters into his pass rush plan. Between the tackles, Harrison-Hunte mixes up his rush tempo and causes blockers to hesitate, giving him access to quick lateral wins based on his timing and quick hands. He has underrated burst to get to the quarterback, but pursuing running quarterbacks isn’t a strength of Harrison-Hunte’s game.
Harrison-Hunte is a good athlete along the defensive line and offers a well-developed pass rush impact for teams looking to juice up their defensive line rotation. Improving his consistency in first-step explosiveness and pad level will be important for him to earn more playing time and become a more well-rounded player. He projects as a rotational pass rusher with upside as a three-tech or 3-4 defensive end.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Scheme Specific Contributor
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Virginia (2024), Penn State (2024), Clemson (2024), Cal (2024)
