As the Kean University Football team looks forward to closing out the season strong with a bowl victory, characteristics such as perseverance, hard work and teamwork resonate with the 96 members of the team. Listening to coaches, studying game film, giving the extra effort during every practice, and executing properly on the field seem to be the top priorities for every man that straps on a helmet every Saturday for the Cougars.
The seniors of the team, in particular, are expected to become leaders and confidants on and off of the field. Putting in the extra work in the classroom and becoming a respectful student leader comes with the role as well. The 25 graduating seniors are a part of the 4-4 Cougars football team, and each leader exhibits the aura of experience and influence of the group's confidence heading into every match-up on their schedule.
There are not many other leaders of this team that encapsulate the same amount of dedication and willingness to win than Senior Darin Hungerford. Hailing from Woodbridge, Virginia, The Cougars' starting middle linebacker, who is a criminal justice major, attests the weekly grind of being the defense's leader to being an enjoyable task that Hungerford has gladly taken on since his sophomore year at Kean.
A two-time winner of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Defensive Player of the Week this season, Hungerford accredits his successes to his excellent coaching staff that have assisted him throughout the year.
"It is always an honor to win Defensive Player of the week, though I have gotten it twice this year and three times last year. My coaches do a great job of putting me in a position and giving us the game plan but also, each player knows that they have to take their individual time to do studying, going over the checks, so it takes a lot. It is good to see it pay off, when you see that name next to that picture on the NJAC website," the senior middle linebacker said.
Hungerford also believes in the fact that all of the 25 members of the team offer some importance in becoming resounding voices in the locker room.
"I feel as though we have 25 leaders as seniors, so it is not just me. My teammates see what I do, and they see how I go about my business going towards football, Hungerford commented. "I feel like they know that I am always going to be ready and I feel as though they take the same measures to make sure that they are ready. I want to lead by example. I am not much of a talker but they see what I do and they follow, so we can get it done every week."
Darin Hungerford's path to becoming a successful middle linebacker at Kean was not a straightforward one. In fact, it was the complete opposite. The senior started his collegiate career as a linebacker at Glenville State College, a school Hungerford said that he did not truly enjoy playing for. The middle linebacker mentioned the program's lack of success for his reasons in leaving for Kean University in the fall of 2015. In the three seasons that he has played for Kean, there have been 29 games that he has participated in. Additionally, he has accumulated around 150 tackles and 20 sacks and an interception throughout his career as a Cougar.
"Between drills and the game playbooks, I have become a much better player in the three years [at Kean] and it has helped my exponential growth and development. The three years that I have been here have been a great experience."
The efforts to land him the "DPOTW" award for two straight weeks this season were no easy feat. The first award, won during the weekend of September 24 as Kean beat Southern Virginia University 28-14, Hungerford put up eight tackles and seven assisted tackles for a total of 15 yards allowed on his behalf. The week after, he put up monstrous numbers, with 13 tackles and 2 sacks, losing to Montclair State 18-15.
With an even .500 record, Hungerford, along with his teammates, prioritize preparation in making sure the team goes "1-0" on the week while doing everything they are required to do, regardless of the outcome on the win column.
"I know the work that I have put in over the summer and all year round, so I feel like I am the best player on the field. That is the mindset that I take on every week. I do not care who we are playing. When I am on the field, I feel like I am the best player in the nation at my position, because I am aware of the preparation that I put in. I go out and study, do my drills in practice, make sure everything is sharp, and for Saturday, it comes naturally," Hungerford said.
Being a good leader on the team also required the temperament and discipline learned in the classroom for the senior. Hungerford's goals with being a criminal justice major include a dream job in working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These aspirations have certainly assisted the senior in being a role model for his peers and coaches every week of the season.
"The lessons that I have learned from the field that I have applied to the classroom have just been the work ethic and the preparation that I have said before. I always make sure I am prepared for class and as of recently I have become a better student while applying the things I learn from my practices and games in class," Hungerford commented.
Football has always served a prevalence in Hungerford's life, as his upbringing and guidance at an early age created his lifelong dedication to playing the gridiron game. With desires of coming back to Kean University to become an assistant coach in the upcoming seasons, Hungerford's father and uncle put him into the sport to teach him valuable life lessons in being the best man and teammate that he could be.
"When I was younger, my dad and my uncle put me in football to toughen me up a bit, so at the age of four and five, and I was always naturally good at it, so it just came together for me," Hungerford commented. "I used to play basketball and when the time that high school came around, I was still playing both sports. My High School coach [David Coccoli] would then tell me that I was going to focus on football. I did that, and it has taken me places that I would have never thought I would be, gave me things I would have never thought I would have. I just thank God everyday. It is a blessing to be in the situation that I am in," Hungerford said.
Good relationships with his coaches have also propelled the senior into the spotlight as well. Head coach Dan Garrett, Linebackers coach Matt Zielienksi and the team's defensive coordinator have given the senior a reason to not only win but have the willingness to help his teammates week in and week out.
"Coach Garrett, that is my guy. We text all of the time, and he has become a father figure to me. We are always talking in his office for hours on hours about life and other things. That man has changed my life for the better. I am forever grateful for him and our relationship will go well beyond these years. It is always great to have a person like that in your life who you value like that because he has taught me so much," the senior said.
When speaking about his linebackers coach who has helped Hungerford perfect his craft, the senior leader attributed his success to his coach's inquisitiveness.
"As for Coach Z, he came along my junior year. He is just another great guy who is football smart and knows what he is talking about as he encourages me and tells me what I am doing wrong and how I can fix it. He is always on top of me, and that helps me in correcting my mistakes because if I am doing something wrong, I will always hear his voice."
Whether it be on the field where the senior aggressively attacks every game as if it were his last, in the locker room where he leads by example, or in the classroom, where his inherited leadership skills translate to his good grades, Hungerford wishes for another bowl victory later in his last semester of Kean football.
Regardless of the final record that he and his team put up at season's end, the camaraderie, teamwork, passion and effort attained throughout Hungerford's career as a Cougar will never fade.
