Hutchinson High School senior quarterback/cornerback Robert Hunter will be a South Dakota State Jackrabbit.
Hunter officially signed a letter of intent last week to play football at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Hunter, who played his sophomore and senior seasons at Hutchinson and his junior year at Wichita East, is projected as a cornerback for the Jackrabbits.
He also handled punting duties for the Salthawks and averaged 27 yards a punt.
Hunter will play basketball for the Salthawks during the 2025-26 season and will compete in track and field for the Salthawks during the spring of 2026.
Hutchinson posted a 7-3 record in 2025. The season ended with a 27-6 loss to Hays in the Kansas Class 5A state football playoffs.
Hunter passed for 1,182 yards with 18 touchdowns and rushed for 574 yards with 6 TDs for the Hutchinson Salthawks. Hunter had four games during the season with throw TD passes.
Wichita East posted a 7-4 record his junior year in 2024. Hunter passed for 1,721 yards and 13 TDs and rushed for 311 yards and 1 TD (according to MaxPreps).
During the 2023 season (his sophomore year at Hutchinson), Hunter passed for 671 yards with 7 TDs. He rushed for 184 yards with 9 TDs. The Salthawks posted a 7-3 record in 2023.
South Dakota State is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The Jackrabbits won back-to-back FCS national titles in 2022 and 2023.
South Dakota State, coached by Dan Jackson, improved its 2025 record to 8-4 with a 34-31 overtime win Saturday against North Dakota. The Jackrabbits snapped a four-game losing streak and kept their 2025 postseason hopes alive.
The FCS Playoff Selection Show took place Sunday on ESPNU. The Jackrabbits qualified for the FCS playoffs for the 14th consecutive year, the second-longest in the country at the FCS level.
South Dakota State is the No. 14 overall seed in the FCS Playoffs and will host New Hampshire (8-4) at noon Saturday. The winner will play No. 3 seed Montana (11-1) on Dec. 6.
A total of 34 Jackrabbits have played for NFL teams and 29 Jackrabbits have been selected in the NFL Draft.
Notable South Dakota State alums include Philadelphia Eagles’ tight end Dallas Goedert, Green Bay Packers’ tight end Tucker Kraft and Kansas City Chiefs’ backup quarterback Chris Oladokun.
