Neshoba Central alum drafted by Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams were overjoyed that Jarquez Hunter fell to them in the NFL Draft on Saturday, but for the people of Neshoba County, he has been a known commodity for a very long time.

Hunter, a former star for the Neshoba Central football team, was drafted in the fourth round with the 117th overall pick, following a successful four year career at Auburn.

“It’s just a very exciting moment, I’m very excited to come to LA and get a chance and an opportunity,” Hunter said in his introductory press conference. “I had a pretty good sense that I might be going to the Rams, I had talked to them a pretty good bit and I felt like I had a good connection with the coaches and that this is a place that I can come and show my talents.”

Hunter is a Philadelphia native and starred during his time with the Rockets, playing football and basketball, while also running track.

Hunter won the Mr. Football award for Class 5A as a senior, rushing for 1,687 yards and 22 touchdowns on the year. During his high school career, he also broke Marcus Dupree’s long standing career touchdown record, scoring 93 times in the Neshoba Central jersey.

He led the Rockets to the semifinals of the 5A playoffs as a junior and to the second round as a senior, after the program had gone since 1993 without winning a playoff game.

After a very successful high school career, Hunter signed with Auburn and made an immediate impact as a true freshman for the Tigers. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and ran for 597 yards in his first season.

From there, Hunter continued to improve, running for a combined 1,577 yards and 14 touchdowns over his sophomore and junior seasons.

His senior season is where Hunter truly cemented himself as an NFL Draft prospect and one of the best running backs in college football, rushing for 1,201 yards and 8 touchdowns, while also being to the All-SEC first team. Hunter finished his Auburn career as the school’s fourth all-time leading rusher with 3,371 rushing yards, only behind Bo Jackson, Cadillac Williams, and James Brooks.

Hunter will now shift his focus to this NFL dream, where the Los Angeles Rams seem to be a perfect fit and were ecstatic to pick up a player of his caliber in the middle of the NFL Draft.

"He had a great demeanor about himself. When you put the film on, he lights up. You can really feel his ability to have a recall, and it means something to him,” Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay said in a press conference. “Some of the metrics that we have on him are really impressive. (LA Rams General Manager) Les Sneed and his group had a real appreciation for him and then once the coaches laid eyes on him, there was a collective buy-in.”

Long before the Rams or Auburn laid eyes on him, Jarquez Hunter was a legend in Neshoba County and has now only further cemented his legacy by making it to the top level of professional football.