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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2010 /  Little big man

by Jared Field of The Michigan Catholic
Published January 29, 2010

ORCHARD LAKE — Perhaps no field, save for maybe a football field, suits Gary Hunter more than aeronautical engineering.

The 5-8 and 155-pound senior cornerback for the Eaglets of St. Mary’s Preparatory in Orchard Lake is the perfect size to fit comfortably in a cockpit.

Oh, and speed is practically his middle name.

“I’m fast – faster than everyone else,” says Gary, who doesn’t have the demeanor of someone who is kidding.

Gary wants to be an aeronautical engineer, and rest assured no one at OLSM will be surprised when he does.

His football and basketball coach, George Porritt, says he is more than impressed by what Hunter has been able to do in his high school career.

“Sometimes people second guess his size, but no one can question his heart,” says Porritt, who is also the athletic director at OLSM.

Gary, a starter and captain on the varsity football and basketball teams since his sophomore year, is among the state’s top student-athletes.

Gary’s dad, Derrick, remembers his son’s perseverance as a determined 4-year-old.

“I can remember when he … always wanted to ride his (older) brother’s bike,” Derrick says. “He just got on and just started riding it without the training wheels.

“(His perseverance) has a lot to do with his size. People have always told him he couldn’t do certain things. That motivated him. It always made him try to be better than the average person.”

Despite his gnomish size for the gridiron, Hunter looms pretty large on the field and in the classroom. He has a 3.1 grade point average and scored a 25 on the ACT, good enough to garner interest from at least one Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania. His play on the football field has caught the attention of numerous college coaches across the country.

Gary says that being a standout on the field and in the classroom is a tall order, but well worth the sacrifice.

“It’s really difficult because right after school is practice; you’re really tired after practice, but you still have to go home, do your homework and get ready to get up early,” says Gary, a captain on both the football and basketball teams. “But, I get through it.”

Gary says his success as a student-athlete is driven by an attitude of achievement and by the greatest of all intangibles, heart.

“The difference is that (some) other players don’t have the heart, the desire, to (achieve),” he says. “They just think about right now, but you also have to think about your future with school. You have to think about when football is over. You have to know what you want to do, and school will help you do that.”

Gary says that he always got the sense that at OLSM, academics were a little more important than sports.

“Coach Porritt always talks about academics after practice, making sure our grades are good. Academic excellence is what he wants. He’s a great coach. He has always been on me to work harder, to do better.”

And when Gary’s wasn’t getting the message from his coach, his father picked up the slack.

“We’ve always talked about what he can do better,” Derrick says. “We never just focus on the positives. I’m a firm believer that you have to try to be perfect.”

“A more rounded person”
Gary’s father grew up in Detroit and put his older children through school in Southfield. After witnessing what he called a “decline” in the school, he chose to send Gary to St. Mary’s before his freshman year.

“I didn’t want to deal with all the intangible things. I wanted to keep him focused. I think most kids learn more from their peers than from their instructors.

“The big picture is the environment.”

Derrick says he wanted for his son an environment more indicative of America – diverse and challenging – something he says he believes St. Mary’s offers.

“It was well worth it,” he says. “I know he feels like it was worth it. I think it has made him a more rounded person.”

Gary says the people at St. Mary’s have made all the difference for him.

“It’s the environment I’m in and the people I’m around,” says Gary, who was raised a Baptist and attends church in Detroit. “They are serious about their work. Going here I actually pray more, and I go to church twice a week. It’s also shown me the Catholic faith. I really didn’t know anything about it.”

Looking back, Derrick doesn’t regret the extra time and effort it took to get his son the experience of a lifetime.

“It was worth it. I’m glad we made the decision to come here.”

Gary doesn’t have regrets either.

“I don’t regret anything; everything I did I’m pretty satisfied with,” Gary adds. “I’m going to look back and think a lot about my teachers. Teachers here are inspirational. They really want to teach you and they love what they do here.”

The future
These days, Gary is thinking more about the future than ever.

The pint-sized kid with a big heart who once dominated Little League has turned into a man, one who’s weighing numerous college options.

For Gary, the recruiting process has been somewhat taxing. He’s constantly being bombarded with phone calls and text messages from coaches and recruiters, eager to get him to sign on the dotted line.

“Recruiting is a little difficult,” he says. “A lot of schools come here and get me out of class; I miss information and have to make up work. They call me all through the night and ask if I’m coming for a visit.”

It’s a small price to pay, he says, knowing that he’ll most likely be able to turn his ability to play the game he loves into a free education. Gary, who has scholarship offers from several schools, says he won’t discriminate too much.

“I look at it like a free education is a free education.”

Gary’s stock as a football player is higher now than ever, after his performance during the Eaglets’ run at the state Division 3 football championship in November.

Gary broke his wrist on the first play of OLSM’s regional championship win over Detroit Crockett. Not only did Gary play the rest of that game, but he tallied a pair of interceptions in the final two games of the season while wearing a cast.

“I don’t really know how I did that. It hurt a little; I could definitely feel it,” says Gary, whose team fell to East Grand Rapids in the title game. “I gave everything I had. It was a great experience. Not a lot of people in high school football get to experience that. Not everyone makes it to the state championship. I played my heart out.”