Daryl Hunt Dead at 53

[CloakNNNdagger]

Friday Night Lights will shine on this ex-Oiler.

Daryl Hunt, former OU player, dies at age 53


Daryl Hunt, one of the best Oklahoma football players of the Barry Switzer era and one of its most impressive people, died of an apparent heart attack this weekend. He was 53.

Daryl Hunt, former OU player, dies at age 53 Hunt was the first black football player in the history of Texas high school powerhouse Odessa Permian. He was an all-American linebacker at OU in 1977 and 1978, then played six years in the NFL with the Houston Oilers. When he died, Hunt was head of security for a Houston-area company.

Switzer, who recruited Hunt out of Odessa, was shaken by the news of Hunt’s death.

“Great kid, great player, great person,” Switzer said. “He was special in every way. People around him realized that.

“Doesn’t make sense. Big, strapping, healthy-looking. You’d never thought he was sick.”

Switzer talked with Hunt’s mother Saturday morning, flooding his memory of the home visit when Switzer tried to recruit Hunt.

Switzer long has called Hunt’s parents the most impressive he ever came across. Both were educators in Odessa.

“Oh my gosh, one of the toughest home visits I ever had,” Switzer said. “The drilling they put me through. They were into academics. They weren’t into football. They drilled me.

“Daryl never said a word. I left that house not knowing if we could get him or not.”

Hunt was a three-time all-Big Eight linebacker and remains the OU career record-holder for tackles, 530. He had three of the best six single-season tackle totals (157 in 1978, 159 in 1977 and 177 in 1976).

[JB]

RIP Daryl Hunt. You were a special player, and showd us what hard work could achieve.

[CloakNNNdagger]

For those of you who didn't know it, the movie Friday Night Lights I alluded to above was based on Hunt.

[steelbtexan]

RIP Daryl Hunt

Thanks for contributing to many of my childhood football memories.

[Showtime100]

Tough to hear. Rest In Peace Daryl, thank you.

[TheIronDuke]

My mom was in his graduating class at Permian. But wasn't Friday Night Lights based on a team in the 80's?

[gary]

RIP Darl Hunt you will be missed.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by TheIronDuke

My mom was in his graduating class at Permian. But wasn't Friday Night Lights based on a team in the 80's?

Actually, it was based on the segregation problem. As you will see from the pages of the book Friday night lights: a town, a team, and a dream by H. G. Bissinger, credit is specifically given to Daryl Hunt as the player to break the segregation barier at Permian in 1982.

[TheIronDuke]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

Actually, it was based on the segregation problem. As you will see from the pages of the book Friday night lights: a town, a team, and a dream by H. G. Bissinger, credit is specifically given to Daryl Hunt as the player to break the segregation barier at Permian in 1982.

I never read the book. But how could Hunt have broken the segregation barrier in 1982 at Permian when he graduated high school in 1975?

I did see the movie which revolved around Boobie Miles. I probably should read the book though. Don't know how well the movie represented the book. Guess I could ask my mom!

[ChampionTexan]

Originally Posted by TheIronDuke

I never read the book. But how could Hunt have broken the segregation barrier in 1982 at Permian when he graduated high school in 1975?

Perhaps he had a procrastination problem.

[TheIronDuke]

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream is a 1990 non-fiction book written by H. G. Bissinger. The book follows the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from Odessa, Texas as they made a run towards the Texas state championship. While originally intended to be a Hoosiers-type chronicle of high school sports holding a small town together, the final book ended up being critical about life in the town of Odessa, complete with portraits of what Bissinger called "the ugliest racism" he has ever witnessed, as well as misplaced priorities, where football conquered most aspects of the town and academics were ignored for the sake of championships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_...m,_and_a_Dream

I asked my mom and she said that he was one of three black people on the campus and that there wasn't a huge race issue.

[CloakNNNdagger]

A local reviews the movie and its historic autheticity as it relates to the city and to the team at the time.

[HoustonFrog]

3 of my closest friends from law school are Permian boys and were around during that 80s time. They knew alot of the guys in the book.

[Texan_Bill]

Wow!! WTF???!? People are dropping like flies...




RIP!!