MARTINSBURG — There’s a large picture hanging outside of the Martinsburg High School gymnasium showing a football player running down the field.
The player highlighted is the late Fulton Walker, a Martinsburg graduate who became the first player in Super Bowl history to return a kickoff for a touchdown in the NFL’s premier game of the season.
As a member of the Miami Dolphins, Walker raced 98 yards against the Washington Redskins for a touchdown in Super Bowl XVII.
Martinsburg senior Jameer Hunter, in his first year at the school, had not really noticed the photo.
After a quick primer, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Hunter gets it now.
And Hunter is getting it, too.
He is being named today as the recipient of the Fulton Walker Award from the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
The award honors the state’s top special teams player from the past football season.
“I would like to follow in his footsteps,” Hunter said.
Hunter returned a combination of six punts and kickoffs for touchdowns for the 10-3 Bulldogs.
“Jameer is explosive and bought into our offseason conditioning,” Martinsburg coach Britt Sherman said, “so he improved greatly and is a strong runner, as well. He has great field vision and is fearless, which made him a great returner.
“He’s also a great kid and student.”
It’s that ability to view the gaps in the downfield coverage is a huge reason why he prefers kickoff returns to punt returns.
“I got time to see where I can go, see where the holes are,” he said.
His first return touchdown of his career came as a junior at Spring Mills, where he returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Morgantown.
What’s interesting about his love of kick returns compared with punt returns is that two of his touchdowns came on kickoffs and four of them on punt returns as a member of Martinsburg’s team.
Returning 13 punts and 13 kickoffs, he had near-identical averages of 26.2 and 26.9. yards per return, respectively.
Hunter proved quite versatile in his lone season as a Bulldog.
A first-team all-state utility player on defense, besides his return statistics, Hunter led Martinsburg in scoring (114 points), all-purpose yards (1,512) and interceptions (seven).
He had only 17 return yards on his interceptions, a rather low total given his return prowess on special teams.
“That was something everybody asked about,” Hunter said. “I’m on their hip when I intercept the ball, and they’re right there to tackle me.”
Hunter is receiving some Division II attention in the recruiting game as a wide receiver and, of course, as a return specialist.
Receiver is his preferred position.
Hunter caught 37 passes for a hefty average of 22.3 yards per reception. He scored 13 touchdowns in the receiving game.
“I like it better because I like moving the ball down the field,” Hunter said. “I like to make big plays.’
He certainly accomplished making big plays in all sorts of ways Martinsburg.
He had a terrific lone season at Martinsburg.
Hunter didn’t like how it ended with a one-touchdown loss in the semifinals to Class AAA state champion Huntington.
“I’m just sad how we went out,” Hunter said.
Hunter is the second Bulldog named a winner of the Walker Award. Jarod Bowie, chosen as a Division II American Football Coaches All-American for Concord on Monday after leading the nation in receiving, won the Walker in 2019.
Hunter will be honored at the WVSWA Victory Awards Dinner May 7 at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.
BY RICK KOZLOWSKI
West Virginia Sports Writers Association
TWEET @DomPostSports
