Cards: Topps AAF 2019 Certified
Acquired: EBay, 2019
A quick and shifty runningback, Akeem Hunt played college ball for the Boilermakers of Purdue from 2011 to 2014. In both his Freshman and Sophomore years Akeem averaged over a gaudy 8 yards per carry, while being utilized on kick returns. His playing time grew over his Junior and Senior campaigns, and in 2014 he finished with 1242 yards from scrimmage and 8 TDs.
A free agent signee of the Houston Texans after not latching on with either the Giants or Ravens, I was very impressed by Akeem. He started one contest his rookie year in 2015 and ran for 96 yards on 17 carries over the course of the season. He spent 2016 there as well before being signed by the Chiefs in 2017. The Chiefs used Akeem primarily as a kick returner. He had 611 yards on 25 kicks but did score his first professional rushing touchdown.
After being released with an injury settlement by the Chiefs, Akeem was in training camp with the Titans but didn’t make the squad. He then joined the Alliance of American Football for 2019. I felt the signing was a quality one- being familiar with his work on the Texans. he immediately became my favorite Orlando Apollo, and I pined for his autograph on his cards.
Hunt bolted out of the gate for the Apollos and led the league in rushing after the first week with 73 yards on 10 carries.
Being a part of a team that loves to win as you can see and just being a part of a team that has a great coaching staff that loves to put points on the board and just to drive up the enthusiasm of all our players and the motivation that goes in that people don’t see or the fans don’t see through our practice or whatnot—all the people coming together just to build this league, it speaks volumes for everybody that’s on the playing field that has so much passion for the game.
-Akeem Hunt on his early success in the AAF
On the season, Akeem finished with 37 carries for 185 yards and a TD., to go along with 5 catches for 49 yards in 7 games (2 starts).
During the hotly contested San Antonio Commanders versus the Orlando Apollos matchup, fans around me erroneously identified Akeem Hunt as Kareem Hunt- (the former Chiefs player who was suspended from the NFL for beating his girlfriend). Thankfully before anything could happen, I updated the fans on the difference between the two.
In early December of 2019, Akeem signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL- but the league suspended operations early in 2020 due to COVID issues.
