Canton’s Mo Hurst Jr. realizes football dream

It took a bit longer than many had expected, but Canton native Maurice “Mo” Hurst, Jr. is officially headed to the National Football League after being taken by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of last weekend’s NFL draft.

Mo Hurst was a nightmare for opposing offenses during his time with the Wolverines. (Photo courtesy of U-M Photography)

A consensus All-American in his senior season at the University of Michigan, Hurst was the 140th overall selection and one of only 256 players in the country to be chosen in this year’s draft. He now joins an exclusive club of Canton athletes to have their name called by a professional sports team, along with fellow draftees Bobby Witt (No. 3 overall by the Texas Rangers in 1985) and Steve Rooney (No. 88 by the Montreal Canadiens in 1981).

The former Xaverian Brothers standout was one of the top-rated defensive tackle prospects in this year’s class and was considered a lock to be chosen in one of the first two rounds before a medical red flag at the NFL combine — reportedly due to an irregular EKG — caused him to slide down draft boards. However, Hurst had been cleared by cardiologists at Michigan and Harvard prior to the draft and participated fully at the Wolverines’ pro day, where he impressed scouts and coaches with his athleticism and explosiveness.

Although expressing some disappointment in various media interviews about his eventual draft position, Hurst indicated that he is “ready to go” and thrilled to be joining an up and coming Raiders defense led by All-Pro defensive end Khalil Mack.

The Raiders, meanwhile, were equally excited to land a talent like Hurst on day three of the draft, trading up 19 spots to take him with the third pick of the round.

In his draft call with Hurst last Saturday, new Raiders head coach Jon Gruden called it a “great, great day for the Raiders.”

“We are really excited to add you to our team,” noted Gruden, who will make his long-awaited return to coaching this season after nine years in the broadcast booth as a Monday Night Football analyst. “I know it’s been a long day and the only reason you’re in the fifth round is people have their [medical] question marks, but we’ve got no doubts about you.”

Gruden added that his defensive staff was “going crazy” with the selection of Hurst and told him to “just come in here next week, come into our rookie camp and compete.”

Hurst’s former coach at Xaverian, Charlie Stevenson, strongly believes that Oakland got the “steal of the draft” in selecting Hurst, who he described as a “great football player and a great kid.”

“He really loves playing the game and loves everything about being a football player,” said Stevenson. “I’m very happy for him and his family, particularly his mom, Nicole [Page].”

Stevenson said that Hurst is a “very versatile athlete for a big guy,” recalling that he had success in a part-time role at running back — he ran for five touchdowns as a senior — and would even jump in and play quarterback during seven-on-seven work in the preseason.

A two-time All-State selection, Hurst finished his career with the Hawks with 131 tackles, 21 sacks, and seven forced fumbles. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and fielded offers from more than a dozen top D1 programs before electing to play at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh.

After redshirting as a freshman, Hurst went on to play in 46 games for the Wolverines over the next four seasons, finishing with 134 tackles, including 33 for a loss, 12.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two pass breakups, and a blocked field goal.

This past season, in addition to garnering All-American honors from all of the major media outlets, Hurst was named to the All-Big Ten first team and was the recipient of the Bo Schembechler Team MVP and UM Defensive Player of the Year awards. Pro Football Focus, a website that specializes in the analysis of NFL and D1 college players, gave Hurst a grade of 96.5 on a 100-point scale — the highest given to any individual player at any position in the nation this season and the highest for any interior defender in PFF’s history.

In addition to his athletic prowess, Hurst was also a star student while at Michigan, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors for four straight years and U-M Athletic Academic Achievement honors in every year he was eligible. He has since graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport management and is pursuing a master’s in management of human services with a focus on child/youth services.

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 4 2018. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.