Ohio State has enlisted the expertise of a former NFL cornerback, Michael Hunter, who will serve as a graduate assistant within the football program. Hunter, who has NFL experience with six different teams between 2016 and 2019, will assume the role of defensive graduate assistant, taking over from James Laurinaitis, who was recently promoted to linebackers coach.
In his new position, Hunter will primarily focus on working with Ohio State’s defensive backs, as reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports. He joins a team of graduate assistants that includes LaAllan Clark, Mike Sollenne, and Sean Binckes, who respectively serve as assistant defensive line coach, assistant offensive line coach, and assistant tight ends coach.
Prior to joining Ohio State, Hunter served as the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach at Tulsa. His ties to Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, date back to his time at Oklahoma State, where Hunter began his coaching career as a graduate assistant secondary coach in 2021 and 2022.
Although Hunter was previously considered for a support staff role at Ohio State when Knowles joined as defensive coordinator in 2022, he opted to remain at Oklahoma State at the time. However, he has now officially joined Ohio State’s coaching staff.
Hunter’s addition marks the second new hire for Ohio State’s defensive support staff this offseason, with Brandon Jordan, a former pass rush specialist from Michigan State and the Seattle Seahawks, also joining as a defensive program assistant. Hunter will work alongside Tim Walton and Matt Guerrieri, the cornerbacks and safeties coaches, respectively, forming a strong secondary coaching team for the Buckeyes. Hunter’s background includes four seasons at Indiana before transferring to Oklahoma State for his final year of college football in 2015.