During one-on-one pass-rush drills Monday morning, Hunt was lined up across from A’Shawn Robinson.
It should be noted that Robinson is neither a small man nor bad at football. He’s 6-3, 320, long-armed, and was credited with 5.5 sacks last year (with a couple taken away). He also played a career-high 762 snaps last season, so they’re trying to work him smartly to preserve him for the long season, because he’s a challenge for any offensive lineman.
“A’Shawn looks great,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. “A’Shawn has worked, you can tell this summer, you can tell this spring, just really taking care of his body. . . . “He’s looked really explosive. He’s playing with length.”
But when he came out of his stance (one snap after Taylor Moton stoned Patrick Jones II), Hunt received the initial blow, administered one of his own, then anchored and stood Robinson up. Hunt looked like he was rooted to the ground by the end of the play, going nowhere, not yielding an inch after Robinson’s initial burst.
“Yeah, that was a good rep,” left tackle Ikem Ekwonu said with a grin and a nod of respect.
It was a small moment in a long practice, one rep in a physical day.