Making plays has never been a problem for Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Kareem Hunt.
During his four years at Toledo, Hunt proved to be the best running back in the history of the program—finishing his career with a school-record 4,945 yards rushing (6.3 yards per carry) with 44 touchdowns.
But the step up to the NFL level, even just through five OTA practices and a rookie minicamp, has been a noticeable change for Hunt.
Following rookie minicamp, which took place the week after the draft, Hunt recalled a conversation he had with Chiefs general manager John Dorsey, who had a message that's stayed with him.
"In college, you play football," Hunt recalled of what Dorsey said to him. "In the NFL, you learn football."
Hunt, who accomplished about everything one could at the collegiate level from an individual standpoint, was one of the trendy names in a deep running back class in this year's draft.
"The vision and the balance that has, I think he's one of the most instinctive players in this entire draft class," NFL Network Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah said of Hunt during the draft. "I think this guy is going to be an outstanding pro."
The folks at Pro Football Focus had Hunt as the highest-graded running back in last year's class with an overall grade of 94.9. They had him forcing 76 missed tackles last year at Toledo, which ranked second among all FBS running backs.
Despite the impressive résumé, Hunt knows none of that matters now.
"I was the type of guy that thought they knew everything about football," Hunt explained. "And when I got here, I've learned there's so much more to football, so much more to the game. A lot of college kids think they've got football down, but it's not as easy. There's so much more to it."
Hunt is learning that he's got to know what everybody around him is doing on every play, and not just having to focus on his own responsibilities.
Luckily for Hunt, he's in a good spot with proven guys who have been in this offensive system like Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware, but he's also got a fantastic running backs coach in Eric Bieniemy, who always seems to get the most out of his players.
West was an undrafted free agent and Ware was originally signed on a reserve-futures deal, and both of those guys stepped in over the last two years and produced for the Chiefs' offense.
"He's helped me a lot," Hunt explained of Bieniemy. "He's just been pushing me and pushing me and pushing me. He's a great coach, and honestly, he's got more out of myself than anybody has, and that's like a really good feeling because I've been able to push myself farther with him.
"I've found out that my body can go farther than I knew it could, so, honestly, he's got me in a good place. I'm feeling good."
When asked about Bieniemy's affinity for screaming "finish," which is basically requiring the running backs to run all the way to the end zone during each rep, Hunt said it's the same thing he had to do in college, but with one exception.
"I did it in college, but not the way we do it," Hunt laughed. "We'd finish and come out, and now we finish and come back out there for the next play. It's over and over again."
Hunt laughed when asked about one particular rep last week in which he was told to "finish," even after the pass was intercepted and taken back the other way by the defense.
"I remember that one," Hunt laughed. "It's a lot, but it's making me better. That's all that matters."
Hunt and the rest of the running backs will take the field Thursday afternoon for their sixth OTA practice of the year.
