Millwood football standout Rickey Hunt Jr. capable of lining up anywhere on the field
By Michael Kinney
OKLAHOMA CITY - Rickey Hunt Jr. is used to it.
Throughout his football career at Millwood High, the senior standout has played almost every skill position on the field.
So, when Hunt was moved from quarterback to tailback ahead of his senior campaign, he took it all in stride.
“I've been doing that since I was a little kid, so really it's just natural to me,” Hunt said. “God's given me the ability to play every position and the skill to do all that. So, I'm very thankful for it.”
While Hunt is listed primarily as the Falcons' tailback, that has not stopped him from still lining up all over the field.
In Millwood’s 40-13 victory last week at Oklahoma Christian School that put the Falcons in command of District 2A-1, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Hunt saw time at running back, wide receiver and quarterback. In the process, he accounted for 145 rushing yards, 104 receiving yards and four total touchdowns.
Millwood coach Darwin Franklin described the performance was Rickey Hunt just being Rickey Hunt.
“He's a guy that’s motor is going,” Franklin said. “He wants to go, he wants the ball.”
One of his four scores included a 70-yard pass reception that he took down the sideline in front of the Millwood fans, which included members of his family. To have them there on hand to watch him in these final games of his prep career is special to him.
“It means a lot,” Hunt said. “I'm grateful to be in this position to really put on (a show) for my family, but also for Millwood.”
Hunt admits that when he first got to MHS, there was no guarantee he would get this far.
“Freshman year started off rough,” Hunt said. “I got injured, but coming back from that, actually working on my flexibility and strength was tough. So, I'm loving it now.
"But back in my freshman year, if people would've asked me this, I would've said, 'I do not like it, but now I'm loving it.'”
For some athletes, once they face that type of adversity, they may decide to quit. But Hunt’s support system kept him motivated.
“Really, it was talking with God and my coaches,” Hunt said. “They're a really big reason why I'm like in this position now.
"I've had talks with my family, too. They're the real reasons why I'm still in this.”
Since then, Hunt has grown into a leader for the Falcons, on and off the field.
“He is a senior and has been doing this for four years and is embracing his leadership. He's embracing everybody,” Franklin said. “Trying to lift his teammates up, leading them the right way. Taking care of business in the classroom.
"It starts in the classroom, and he's one of those that's always doing things the right way. We don't have school on Fridays and he's one of the first guys in the building working on a paper for a college course, just trying to make sure that stuff is good. He's being who he's supposed to be, doing it the right way.”
Doing it the right way has allowed Hunt to rack up a number of scholarship offers from programs around the country. They include Iowa State, the University of Ohio, Abilene Christian, Buffalo University and Houston Christian.
Hunt is keeping it under his hat for now in regards to where he will be heading when his time at Millwood is done. He will make his announcement Nov. 6.
Before then, Hunt will try and guide the Falcons to the program’s eighth state championship. If so, it would be their first since 2017.
“The key is really just continuing to have a brotherhood and getting better every day,” Hunt said. “Make sure we trust one another.”
