“Senior linebacker… Number 40.”

The crowd focused on one player. He walked out slowly, as if he understood exactly what the moment meant. His mother, E’Kia Thorne, was on his left. His father, Tobie Hunter, stood next to her. His little sister, Echo Cleopatra, stood in front, holding his helmet.

On his right were his coaches and his grandmother, Inga Crarey.

Up in the stands, family members raised their phones, capturing every second. The moment wasn’t rushed or noisy. It felt almost sacred, his whole support system surrounding him one last time.

Yet Waldorf native and Westlake High School alum Erick Hunter, a business administration graduating senior, stayed calm through it all. He carried himself the same way his parents described him: quiet, focused, humble, and almost impossible to rattle.

As the Morgan State vs. North Carolina Central game began, sitting in the stands, E’Kia looked at her son with bittersweet emotions.

“Watching my son walk out for Senior Night was so amazing. He deserves every bit of this,” she said. “Watching him go from walking out little to walking out big… I couldn’t ask for nothing better.”

A day after the game, she reached out. She didn’t want to talk numbers. She wanted to make one thing clear.

“I would really like people to know that Erick was raised in love,” she said. “Myself and his siblings have played a big role shaping him into the man he is today.”

That love extended into sports, too. When Erick was 10, E’Kia taught him how to kick a field goal, a moment they still joke about today.

At Westlake, Erick was a force. A three-sport athlete. A relay state champion. A captain. An honors student. Even an orchestra kid. He received an award for being the fastest runner in Charles County, Maryland, and on the basketball court, he dominated.

But what stood out most was his discipline. And no one emphasized that more than his father.

Tobie was easily recognizable long before anyone met him. Proudly wearing a gold “40” chain around his neck, he was one of the loudest voices in the stands, calling out plays and cheering at Erick’s forced fumbles.

“Whatever he did – basketball, track, orchestra — everything he does, he’s able to get,” he said. “He fights for anything he wants.”

Tobie described Erick in a tone filled with admiration and respect.

“He has a focus that… he’s always had,” he said. “He’s not a smoker, he’s not a drinker, he’s not a big partier. Once he focuses on something, that’s it.”

He also shared a story that perfectly captured Erick’s humility. When Erick arrived at Morgan, he wanted jersey No. 4, but it wasn’t available.

“So I told him, take the number 40 and turn it into something,” he said.

And that he did.

No. 40 became one of the top defensive numbers in the MEAC: an All-American, an All-MEAC First Team selection, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, a top-10 all-time tackler in Morgan history. His college career even earned him a request to have his Morgan State jersey framed and displayed at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Waldorf, Maryland.

But if you ask Erick, the accolades aren’t the headline. His injury was.

A spring injury in 2023 forced him to sit out nearly the entire season. The downtime changed him.

“I faced an injury during spring ball that forced me to get surgery,” he said. “It was tough mentally… but I learned a lot about myself. Everything happens for a reason.”

For his mother, that time was terrifying.

“It was scary for me, but it wasn’t scary for him,” she said. “He knew exactly what to do… he knew how to heal.”

Faith carried them through it. His mother spoke about faith as a foundation. His father praised God throughout his answers. Erick himself kept returning to it.

During halftime, Tobie was asked what he would say to his son if he were standing beside him. He paused, laughed nervously, and warned that he couldn’t say too much or he’d get emotional. For someone who’d been the loudest, most animated voice in the stands, the shift was striking.

“I love you, boy. Very proud of you. Let’s keep going,” he said.

As for what comes next, Erick is taking the same approach that guided his five seasons at Morgan.

“I’m going to take it one day at a time… keeping God first… the blessings gonna come,” he said, explaining that he’ll continue training, talking with agents, and preparing for the next level.

Later, when asked if he had one final message for Morgan State as he enters his next chapter, he didn’t hesitate.

“Morgan State, thank you. Everything that I’ve experienced and gone through here were all blessings and lessons… something that will be dearly missed. But as I take this new journey, all I can ask is for y’all continued support.”

And maybe that’s the real story. Not the tackles. Not the awards. Not the number stitched onto the jersey. Because long after the stats fade, what’s left is a young man with an unwavering sense of who he is.

And that is the story Erick Hunter will carry into whatever comes next.

Julia Fosah wrote this piece as a part of a sports writing class she was enrolled in this fall.

Watch this video of Spokesman associate editor Temple Christian chatting with Erick Hunter.