Alex Huntley on All-American Bowl selection: 'It means the world to me'
Monday was a special day for Alex Huntley.
In front of his family, coaches, and friends, the Hammond School standout defensive tackle was presented with his All-American Bowl jersey.
"This really means the world to me," Huntley said. "Just growing up, this was always a goal. The fact that a school can come around and support me, my friends, my family, everything like that, it's insane. It's great. I'm thankful for all of these people."
Huntley has excelled on the field and off at Hammond.
The 6-foot-3, 285-pound South Carolina commitment is not only a four-star prospect and the No. 13 defensive tackle in the country, but also the student body president.
"Honestly, I've accomplished a lot of things that I didn't know I would and a lot of things that I really wanted to do," Huntley says. "I think that I wouldn't have been able to do that without coming to this school. This school has made me not only the football player I am, but the person that I am, so I think that's just huge for me and I'm just thankful for everyone here."
Hammond head football coach Erik Kimrey also has a special relationship with his talented defensive tackle, according to Huntley.
"It's been huge, not only as a coach, but he's just a great mentor, a great man, so he's always helped me a lot," Huntley says. "If I need help with anything, he'll be there and I know that of him, so it means a lot."
Huntley, a South Carolina commit since early June, is firmly committed to the Gamecocks and has turned his attention to finishing out his Hammond career on a strong note and recruiting others to join him at USC.
"That's one thing I've always loved about USC is [being on] those sidelines," Huntley said. "All those fans know my name, they're yelling at me like, 'Hey, Go Cocks!' and stuff like that. It's just been great, all the fans, that's a huge thing about South Carolina that I love and how they embrace the recruits. I've been trying to recruit a few people. I have one at my school that I try to stick with a little bit, but that's my friend, so I'll let him have his [own decision]. But I'm just trying to recruit who I see, who I know, hit people up on Twitter and just embracing everything."
The 2020 All-American Bowl is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 4 in San Antonio, Texas and will be live on NBC.
Huntley, who also hopes to participate in basketball, track, and potentially lacrosse this year, is the lone player from the state of South Carolina selected to the game this season.