Notre Dame rising redshirt junior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr.'s status with Brian Kelly’s football team won’t change after he signed with the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend.
Hunter is Notre Dame’s leading returning receiver after catching 28 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns last year. But even though he now has a professional baseball contract, his focus will remain on football and the beginning of preseason camp in August.
Hunter, the son of former Minnesota Twins, Angels and Detroit Tigers All-Star/Gold Glover Torii Hunter Sr., was a 23rd-round pick in this year’s MLB Draft.Thankful that they were there to experience this with me yesterday! I’m officially an Angel!✊🏾👼🏾
A photo posted by Torii Hunter Jr. (@thunterjr_) on Jun 26, 2016 at 4:27pm PDT
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23rd-round pick Torii Hunter Jr. signed with the Angels today, but the team confirms he’s still playing football for Notre Dame in the fall.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) June 26, 2016
Congratulations to Torii Hunter Jr. who officially signed with the #Angels today! pic.twitter.com/KRuWJf72Zt
— Angels (@Angels) June 26, 2016
Hunter, an outfielder, was primarily used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement for Mik Aoki’s Irish baseball team this spring. He worked a crazy schedule (“what is sleep?” he asked) to split time between baseball, spring football and classwork in March and April and hit .182/.308/.182 in 11 at-bats.Hunter’s baseball highlight came at Florida State, though, a few days after he made a spectacular catch reeling in a Malik Zaire deep ball in Notre Dame’s Blue and Gold Game.
☘Year in Review: #NDTop10 Plays
#5 - Torii Hunter Jr.'s wild catch makes @SportsCenter‘s Top-10 list
👀@THunterJr pic.twitter.com/tanQCxMWUK
— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) June 27, 2016
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