Daryl Hunt: An OU football hero of Brian Bosworth
Brian Bosworth grew up an Oklahoma football fan. Bosworth was born in Oklahoma City, his grandfather was a big Sooner fan and Bosworth now says he never cheered for another school, even while growing up in Irving, Texas.
All of which made Daryl Hunt one of his heroes. Hunt died Friday night at the age of 53. OU’s career tackles leader played from 1975-78, which would have been when Bosworth was 10 to 13 years old.
Ironically, Bosworth became the more acclaimed OU linebacker, winning two Butkus Awards. But Hunt, like Bosworth, was a two-time all-American.
“There was none better than he was,” Bosworth said. “I admired the way he approached a football game.” Hunt, Bosworth said, played “real” football. Lined up and got after it. “He was a headhunter. He loved to hit. When he hit, he went through people.”
Those Sooners, Bosworth said, “knew how to physically intimidate. They played a game with a power others didn’t know how to play with. I emulated a lot of how I played off watching him.
“Line up, bow your head, bow your neck, mix it up. You could tell he was one of the guys leading the charge.”
“One of the greatest linebackers ever to play at the University of Oklahoma,” Bosworth said. “Then to hear how simple and kind-hearted he was, it was very refreshing.”
Bosworth got to know Hunt a little in recent years and expressed his regrets to the Hunt family. “It saddens me that we’ve lost another member of the family,” Bosworth said.
“The guy had pride. You could tell by the way he played.”
Bosworth and Hunt chatted awhile back. Talked about how good of a shape each other was in and how they wished they could still play, “we just missed the game so much.”
Bosworth said OU was “the only school I watched when I was a kid. My whole weekend was surrounded by Oklahoma football on Saturdays and (Dallas) Cowboys football on Sundays. If they lost, it ruined my whole weekend.”
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