Jalyx Hunt, a former Hagerstown youth star, gets drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles

Jalyx Hunt's football career was launched in Washington County.

He played for the Boonsboro Colts as a third-grader, the Hagerstown Chiefs as a fourth-grader and the North Hagerstown Junior Hubs in grades five through seven.

Now, the 23-year-old Hunt is an edge rusher for the Philadelphia Eagles, who selected him in the third round of the NFL Draft out of Houston Christian University with the 94th overall pick last week.

"It's a dream come true," he said. "It has been quite a journey."

Hunt went to Paramount Elementary School and Northern Middle School in Hagerstown before moving to South Carolina with his family after his seventh-grade year.

He said that he credits his time in Hagerstown for starting him on his football path.

"It's where I first fell in love with football," he said. "I always think about Hagerstown whenever I think about my journey -- the coaches at the time that taught us football that helped me a lot with my mindset when approaching football.

"At a young age, it's not normal to run into somebody at full speed. But they figured out a way to bring it out of us and get us comfortable with the contact. It's helped me throughout my entire career, and it will help me going forward as well. So yeah, I'm always appreciative of Hagerstown."

Jalyx Hunt was 'something special' in Hagerstown

As a youth player, Hunt made quite the impression.

"You could tell back then that he was something special," said Charles Somerville, who coached Hunt in football with the Junior Hubs and in basketball at Northern Middle. "He was above the rest. He was over everybody's talent, and his skill level was super high for a kid that age.

"He played middle linebacker, running back and wide receiver. He could have played any position on the field, hands down. He also was a good basketball player, a natural athlete. Anything you asked him to do, he did it to the highest level."

Sometimes, he might have even done it too well.

"There were some parents who were like, 'Coach, I don't want him hitting my kid,'" Somerville said. "And I'm like, 'This is football. Your kid's going to get hit.' And they were like, 'He's just hitting too hard.' He was that far advanced. It was amazing."

Jalyx Hunt's journey to the NFL

After spending his eighth- and ninth-grade years in South Carolina, Hunt and his family moved to central Florida, where he was a standout wide receiver at University High School.

Following his graduation in 2019, Hunt attended the Ivy League's Cornell University for three years on a full academic scholarship and played safety on the Big Red football team. He then switched schools and positions, transferring to Houston Christian, where he – standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds – made the most of his two seasons with the Huskies.

"I consider myself just a football player," Hunt said. "It doesn't really matter the position. I can get to it anywhere. But where I do get to it most often is at the outside linebacker/edge position. I like it a lot. I'm around the ball a lot more than I was at safety or DB. I can always make a play. It's my favorite position that I've played.

"My first year at Houston Christian, I was an edge way more. I was on the line, pretty much a glorified defensive end. But this past year, we had a different defensive scheme, and I ended up lining up mostly at outside linebacker."

Last season, despite being double-teamed or even avoided by most opponents, he had nine tackles for loss, 6 1/2 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception that he returned for a touchdown, earning Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Impressive showings at the Reese's Senior Bowl and NFL Combine followed, and on April 26, he became the first player from Houston Christian to be selected in the NFL Draft.

"This is something that, for me, has been a focus for so long," Hunt said. "As a kid, I wanted to play in the NFL. And then as you grow older and start understanding what it takes to get there, it actually becomes attainable. It becomes a goal more than a dream. It was a dream for a long time.

"In high school, my senior year, I grew a lot, and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to play professional football. Whatever I do, I'm going to make something shake so I can get there.' So from then on, it was very intentional with my movements and how I operated."

He said that hearing his name called during the draft was "surreal."

"I can't even liken it to anything else," he said.

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Jalyx Hunt has 'freaky tools'

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman spoke highly of Hunt during a media conference after drafting him.

"He's got freaky tools in his body," Roseman said. "He's an explosive guy. If you watch his best plays, he's doing things that are unique. He can bend. He can close. He can finish. He's long. He's an extremely smart kid, obviously, coming from Cornell.

"This is a perfect developmental guy for us because of the tools in his body and his character and work ethic, and we think we can really find something with him."

Hunt said he grew up as a huge fan of Pennsylvania's other NFL team.

"I loved the Steelers," he said. "But it's 'Go Eagles' now, though. 'Go Birds go.'

"I'm excited to get there and get to work. I expect a lot out of myself. Whenever I can start working and getting into the defense and understanding my role on the team and how I can help the team, I'm ready to go. I'm eager."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Former Hagerstown star Jalyx Hunt gets drafted by Philadelphia Eagles