Football
- Title:
- Assistant Defensive Backs Coach
Michael Hunter Jr. is in his second season with the Ohio State program, having joined it in 2024. He is in his second season and is a program assistant working with the defensive backs.
Hunter Jr. came to the Buckeyes from Tulsa, where he spent the 2023 season as the defensive pass game coordinator and coached the Golden Hurricane cornerbacks. Prior to that, he worked at Oklahoma State where he served two seasons (2021-22) as the Cowboys’ assistant defensive secondary coach.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Hunter spent time with six NFL teams – New York Giants, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs – from 2016-19. He was first signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
Hunter played collegiately, first, at Indiana under Kevin Wilson and then finished his college career in 2015 at Oklahoma State.
At Indiana, Hunter totaled 91 tackles, 14 pass breakups and two interceptions in three seasons. He played his true freshman season of 2011 before redshirting in 2012. He returned to start all 12 games in each of his sophomore and junior seasons. Hunter was a two-time Academic All-Big-Ten selection. In his lone season with the Cowboys, Hunter tallied 20 tackles, including 18 solos, two interceptions and one pass breakup.
A native of Monroe, La., Hunter earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Indiana in 2015 and received his master’s degree in sport psychology in 2019.
Hunter and his wife Elise, have two children: son, Michael III, and daughter, Emma.
