The Bengals today signed DE Margus Hunt of Southern Methodist, one of their two second-round selections in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Hunt (6-8, 277) brings rare potential and an intriguing personal story to the Bengals’ plans for continued improvement of their highly ranked defense. A native of Estonia, in northern Europe, he earned international honors as a track thrower (discus, shot and hammer) before coming to U.S. on an SMU track scholarship.
When the SMU track program disbanded, he joined the football team and became an immediate factor, despite lacking any gridiron experience. He used his superior height and agility to block 17 career place kicks, including an NCAA-record 10 blocked field goals, and he showed continuous improvement in base defense, closing his career with 16.5 sacks.
The Bengals have now signed seven of their 10 selections from the 2013 draft. Signed previously were LB Sean Porter of Texas A&M (fourth round), G Tanner Hawkinson of Kansas (fifth round), HB Rex Burkhead of Nebraska (sixth round), WR Cobi Hamilton of Arkansas (sixth round), OT Reid Fragel of Ohio State (seventh round) and C T.J. Johnson of South Carolina (seventh round).
