Hundley signs with Naval Academy
Jai Hundley’s parents look on as the Oak Ridge star running back signs with the U.S. Naval Academy. (photo:Ken Leinart )
Hundley made it official when he signed his national letter of intent in the ORHS Amphitheater when he inked to play at the U.S. Naval Academy.
He said he signed at Navy because he would have more opportunities after football.
“Football goes away, but you have your degree forever,” Hundley said. “I don’t have a military background, but they told me I could do different things.”
He’ll have a five-year military service commitment following his football career.
He signed despite not knowing much about the academy’s football tradition.
“I didn’t even really know that they had football,” he said. “I knew about the Army-Navy game, but they play bigtime football, they play in a conference with Tulsa.
“When you grow up here, you know about Alabama and Georgia and all the SEC schools.”
Hundley also had Division I offers from UT-Martin, Army, Austin-Peay, Alabama A&M, and Eastern Kentucky.
During his senior season with the Wildcats, Hundley rushed for 937 yards and 12 touchdowns, leading Oak-Ridge to a second-place finish in Region 3-5A.
ORHS went 7-6 and reached the quarterfinals of the TSSAA Class 5A Playoffs.