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He’s just a redshirt freshman, but Hunter Andrews has proven to be Mr. Versatile for Utah.
A three-star recruit from Magnolia, Texas, Andrews played linebacker and running back, shining on offense for Magnolia High. In his senior season, Andrews was unanimously named 10-5A MVP and earned All-District first-team honors, rushing for 1,244 yards and 18 TDs on 137 carries.
That kind of production garnered Andrews offers from a number of schools, including Texas, Texas A&M, Stanford and Nebraska, alongside Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale.
When Utah recruited him, coaches saw his ability on the offensive side of the ball, but started him on the defensive side during spring practice. With Utah in need of another body at running back with a season-ending injury to Anthony Woods, Andrews shifted from linebacker to his old high school position at running back.
“It really helps me understand the game in general playing different positions. You understand what every position’s doing and I just want to help the team out, however I can.”
— Hunter Andrews
Though he wasn’t needed much during the season at the position — he carried the ball two times for 17 yards in Utah’s season-opener against Southern Utah — his willingness to play wherever needed demonstrated his versatility.
“It really helps me understand the game in general playing different positions. You understand what every position’s doing and I just want to help the team out, however I can,” Andrews said.
Now Andrews is going through another position transition — this time heading to the tight end room.
During the spring, Andrews embraced his new position, and made a few highlight plays along the way while catching balls from new quarterback Devon Dampier. But Andrews’ role won’t just be contained to tight end — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham envisions the Texas native in more of a hybrid role — tight end/slash running back.
“He’s a typical big back when he’s in the backfield, does a great job in blitz pickup. He’s got excellent speed. He’s a 4.4 (40-yard dash) kid, so he’s got the ability to go the distance,” Whittingham said. “He was a really good running back in high school, over 1,000 yards his senior year, and he’s also doing a lot of things at the tight end spots. So he’s one of those guys, kind of like Nate Johnson, that’s playing several positions.”
Offensive coordinator Jason Beck will no doubt be excited to use someone like Andrews — 6-foot-3, 235 pounds and one of the fastest players on the team — when the Utes kick off the season this fall. During the spring, Andrews showcased his versatility, whether it was catching passes as a tight end or running between the tackles as a running back.
Andrews provided the highlight of one of Utah’s spring scrimmages when he caught a short pass from Dampier and turned on the jets, blazing past defenders for a 50-yard touchdown pass.
That’s a glimpse of what Utah wants him to be in Beck’s offense.
With the departure of Landen King, Andrews is one of the key players to watch on the offensive side of the ball — he and Dallen Bentley will be the two main options whenever Beck decides to utilize tight ends.
“We have playmakers all over the field and our offensive coordinator’s really good at getting them involved,” Andrews said.
Under the tutelage of tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, Andrews has been a quick study, picking up the tight end position fast.
“We have playmakers all over the field and our offensive coordinator’s really good at getting them involved.”
— Hunter Andrews, who will split time between running back and tight end this season
“He’s really embraced this role of being a hybrid player. Sometimes he’s going to play in the backfield as a running back, sometimes on the line of scrimmage as a tight end, other times split out in the slot, and he has embraced that and loves it,” Whittingham said.
Of course, with all players, there’s always things Andrews can improve on, but Whittingham is excited by Andrews’ potential.
“He’s got the natural abilities, he’s got size, he’s got speed,” he said. “He’s done a great job working on his hands and his ball skills and now we just got to take steps forward on technique with run blocking, making sure he keeps his eyes up, doesn’t lunge, things like that.
“So there’s always stuff we can get better at technique-wise and as he does and feels more comfortable in that role, I am really excited what we’re going to see from Hunter going forward.”
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