The 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl rosters are a who’s who of young NFL stars. The list includes Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift, Tua Tagovailoa, Tristan Wirfs, Andrew Thomas and Chase Young.
USC-bound Hunter Echols also played in that showcase event. He was their peer 5½ years ago. He could be again, as soon as next year.
For now, Echols is following a different path. He’s playing his final season of college football as a sixth-year senior at Arizona.
Echols’ journey isn’t unique. Countless players have transferred to finish their college careers somewhere other than where they started. Many also have taken advantage of the “super senior” status afforded by the COVID-19 year.
But Echols’ journey is his own, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’ve learned a lot,” the UA defensive end said amid preparations for Saturday’s game against his former school. “I’m grateful for my whole, entire college journey and career and everything that has happened to me up to this point.”
Playing for Arizona has been everything Echols hoped it would be. After playing limited snaps at USC behind a succession of NFL-bound edge rushers, Echols has been placed in a prominent role. He leads the Wildcats in sacks (3.5) and total tackles for loss (6.5). Both figures are career highs.
“I wanted to go make plays,” Echols said. “I wanted to be somewhere where I could be ‘The Guy’ — somewhere where I can take 60 reps a game. I never had that happen for me at USC. No discredit to them. It’s hard to play (behind) Drake Jackson or Uchenna Nwosu or Christian Rector, all these five-star guys or guys that are now in the NFL.
“I had fun. But ultimately, coming to Arizona was something I knew was going to be good for me.”
Echols’ role has changed in more ways than one. In less than a year’s time, he has become one of the Wildcats’ premier leaders and spokesmen. Echols has matured as a player and person.
“He was a kid,” said UA defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen, who helped recruit Echols to USC. “When he first got there, he was looking to have a good time. Now he’s really calmed down and focused on what needs to be done.”
Baller, leader
Since he was a toddler, Echols’ parents knew at least two things about the third of their four sons: (1) that football would become his primary sport; and (2) that he was a natural-born leader.
When he was 3 years old, Echols received a Raiders uniform from his grandfather. Echols’ dad, LC, would play with his son in the front yard of their Los Angeles home.
“He would run up and down,” LC Echols said. “I would chase him. He could actually catch.”
When he turned 4, Hunter started playing basketball, just like his oldest brother had. One problem, though: “He would tackle the kids,” LC said with a laugh.
Hunter Echols continued to play basketball into his teens. He focused on football once he got to L.A.’s Cathedral High School. As a freshman, Echols was one of the best players on the Phantoms’ junior-varsity team. As a sophomore, he didn’t play at all.
“He didn’t put the work in,” Echols’ father said. “He just felt like he should play.
“His junior year, the switch finally came on. He blew up.”
Echols recorded 79 tackles and 17 sacks as a junior in 2015. He became a four-star prospect, and the offers came pouring in — 40 in all, according to Rivals.com.
Echols chose USC, in part to play with good friend Alijah Vera-Tucker, another future first-round NFL draft pick. Echols’ college career didn’t take off the way some of his classmates’ careers did. He redshirted as a freshman, when he battled a hip injury. He also wasn’t quite ready for the responsibility that being a successful student-athlete at a high-profile program demanded.
“When he got to ’SC, he was the second-youngest player on the team,” LC Echols said. “He was hanging out with younger kids, doing what 17- and 18-year-old kids do in college. He was lucky he had Porter Gustin and Uchenna Nwosu to take him under their wing, help him mature, teach him how to be a professional.”
Hunter Echols served an apprenticeship under those older, NFL-bound pass rushers. At Arizona, he has become a mentor to freshmen such as Russell Davis II, Sterling Lane II and Isaiah Ward.
Echols always possessed the capacity to lead. “People gravitate to him really easy,” his father said.
It just took time for Hunter to fully recognize that.
“His mom (Laronda) told him the same thing,” LC Echols said. “They see something in you that you don’t see.”
Hunter sees it now. When his football career is over, his father said, he wants to become a high school principal.
LC, who played football at Illinois State, is retired after working for the city of Lawndale, California, doing street maintenance and driving buses. Laronda works as a real estate officer for the City of Los Angeles.
Echols’ mother has two degrees and is working on a doctorate. She stressed the importance of Hunter getting his degree from USC. It was one of the reasons he stayed there as long as he did despite not playing as much as he wanted to.
USC transfer Hunter Echols leads the Wildcats in sacks (3.5) and total tackles for loss (6.5). Both figures are career highs.
‘It’s gonna be personal’
Echols insists he has no bitter feelings toward USC. The coaching staff has changed. Many of his former teammates are gone. Some are long gone.
“There’s no real emotion,” Echols said. “I love some of those guys over there. My undergrad degree says USC on it. But I’m blessed to be at the University of Arizona.”
If you’ve heard Echols speak to the media, you might guess that he majored in communications. You’d be right.
Echols comes across as professional and polished. He has represented the defense after wins and losses. He readily took the blame when Arizona failed to register a sack in its 49-39 defeat at Washington on Oct. 15. He has come to the defense of Nansen, who has gotten off to a rocky start in his first year as the Wildcats’ DC.
“He’s sincere,” LC Echols said of his son. “If he says it, he means it.”
But LC is certain that Hunter was holding something back when he talked about USC earlier this week.
“He’s approaching it as any other game, but I know my son: It’s going to be personal for him,” LC Echols said. “He’s not going to say anything and give them bulletin-board material. He still has friends on that team.
“He’s not bitter towards ’SC; he’s not bitter towards anybody. He just wanted more reps. But it’s gonna be personal.”
Jedd Fisch has made “It’s Personal” one of Arizona’s signature slogans. But Fisch doesn’t want Echols’ emotions to get the best of him, even though he says he won’t have any.
“My message to him is do your job,” Fisch said. “Do your job as a defensive end. Do your job as a pass rusher. Don’t feel like you have to do more than that.
“It’s really your responsibility to play your best game because it’s the next game, regardless of who we’re playing.”
Echols should be able to handle it. He turns 23 on Tuesday. He has learned the value of patience and perseverance.
Echols also knows he has only so many more chances to put himself out there — to impress a scout or a team that will give him the opportunity to join his former classmates in the NFL.
“I’m too old to be crying to my momma now,” Echols said. “I’m here for business.”
