SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter spoke about his excitement to be with the San Francisco 49ers Saturday morning during a conference call. The running back was selected by the 49ers with the 115th overall pick.
"I was happy to be around a great environment like that," Hunter said of his April 11 offseason visit with the 49ers. "The running back coach [Tom Rathman] taught me a lot in the 10-15 minutes I was here."
Hunter sees the 49ers as a rebuilding team, but knows that the 49ers have something in place to succeed in the future and he can be a part of it.
"Whatever he [head coach Jim Harbaugh] needs me to do, I'm going to take full advantage of it," he said.
The new running back will get a chance to sit behind running back Frank Gore and learn from the veteran's experience with the team.
"He knows everything you can possibly know," said Hunter of his new teammate. "We can help the team get where it needs to be."
Hunter comes as a 200-pound running back with great elusiveness and acceleration in the open field. Last year at Oklahoma State, he averaged 5.71 yards per rush. He also spent some time as a kick returner. In his eight career kickoff returns, he averaged 17.5 yards per return.
In his junior year, Hunter suffered a right ankle stress fracture and had to have a plate inserted. He said that the plate does not affect his running. His running was something that he was not happy during the combine, but he said he felt better about his performance at the Oklahoma State pro day. He had a 4.53 40-time at the combine.
Hunter feels that he has been overlooked by other teams and that he has something to prove.
"Since I've been playing the game, people have doubted me," Hunter added. "I play every game with a chip on my shoulder. I use it as motivation."
The running back also noted that he enjoys 10-minute naps before games. It was something that he's been doing since he was a kid.
Now he has his chance to prove to the 49ers that he wasn't a later round sleeper pick.
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