Hunter Gives MVP Performance on ESPN

DUNCAN, S.C. - Clemson fans packed Byrnes stadium on Saturday to see 5-star quarterback Willy Korn, but another Clemson commitment had fans buzzing. Stanley “Buster” Hunter gave perhaps the performance of his life, although he sat out the third quarter with cramps.

LB Stanley Hunter Profile

Hunter was a big reason the Rebels' defense limited Glades Central to just 168 yards of total offense in a 27-15 win. CUTigers.com spoke with the future Tiger linebacker on the field just moments after the impressive win.

How does it feel to beat one of the top teams in the nation on national television?
Hunter: It feels great man. We knew we were going to win the game this time last year. It is just the way we work here at Byrnes. It wasn’t really a surprise, but it was also amazing that we came out here and beat a team that has bigger athletes and stronger athletes. It was just a compliment to our program and our coaching staff.

How important was conditioning would you say in today’s victory?
Hunter: A lot of them were bending down on their knees. This is the way we practice to keep us up. Coach Lott does a great job with our strength and conditioning program. It really wasn’t a surprise to us.

How do you feel after missing the third quarter with cramps?
Hunter: The cramps were tremendous. I usually don’t cramp up in the game. I don’t know what happened. I went down for a tackle and I got back up and I couldn’t walk. I was cramping the whole half time and the whole third quarter. I was trying everything. I was taking Power Aide, Pedialyte, salt, bananas and everything. They did a good job getting me back for the fourth quarter.

Seemed like you were spending a lot of time in the offensive backfield today. How did that happen?
Hunter: It was just a compliment to our defense. We have 10 other men on our team that have the same intent to get to the quarterback. That is what makes our quarterback so great. My teammates opened up the gaps. They opened them up for me. Nothing against Glades, they are a great team. Their offensive line was huge. They were great. But like I said we use our speed and our strength to our advantage over those big guys.

How hard will it be to keep the focus this week after all of the hype for this weeks game?
Hunter: We just want to keep it up. It would be easy for us to just come to practice next week and not care about our next game. We are going to stay on top of our game. You can believe that. We have got a lot of things to work on. We are going to be ready for Greer next week.

How did Byrnes improve its run defense so quickly after the Independence scrimmage just two weeks ago?
Hunter: We really didn’t realize how good the Glades running game was because all you hear about is their good receivers. We sat down and watched film this week. Every day after I did my homework I sat down and watched film. I was watching video until like 11 o’clock at night trying to get ready. They have a strong running game. They average 6-3 and over 300 pounds on the offensive line.

Where do you plan to be next Saturday?
Hunter: I will be in Clemson baby, Death Valley.