By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

Karst Hunter keeps going further away from home with each college stop, and that’s just fine with him. 

Hunter recently committed to Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, making it his third college football program since graduating from Miller High School in 2019. Hunter’s college journey has also included stops at South Dakota State University and Colorado Mesa University. 

Hunter’s next destination continues his winding college football journey more than 1,200 miles from home. But it’s a journey he’s eager to carry on.  

“South Dakota State was obviously the dream right away and I ended up in Colorado, which was even a little different for me and now I am going all the way out to the East Coast,” Hunter said. “I would have had no idea that this is where it was going to take me, but I am all for it. I am here for it and I can't wait to go see what it has in store for me at this next school.”

Committed. ALL IN. @IUPfootball

📸: @CrownoverMariah @pghvisuals pic.twitter.com/qNUps84qQr

— Karst Hunter (@karsthunter7) April 2, 2023

A 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback, Hunter redshirted for the Jackrabbits in 2019 and played in all 10 games in 2020-21, the COVID-19 FCS college football season. He transferred to Division II Colorado Mesa in 2021 and burst onto the scene for the Mavericks. 

Hunter secured the starting quarterback job, piloted the Mavericks to an 8-2 season and earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference offensive freshman of the year honors. In 2021, he set Colorado Mesa single-season passing records in yards (2,481), completions (190) and completion percentage (62.5). Last season, he threw for 2,146 yards and 15 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore. 

Hunter, who will graduate in May with a degree in sports management, has two seasons of eligibility remaining and wanted to go off script with his next college football destination. 

“I kind of wanted to go somewhere different for my last two years,” Hunter said. “Go to grad school and get my masters and another big reason why is to set myself up for my future. I wanted to go somewhere that could help me chase that dream and IUP was the best place for me.”

Hunter, who has aspirations to play football beyond college, fielded interest from Division II, FCS and FBS schools after he entered the transfer portal on January 23.

Division II schools Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Northern State University, West Texas A&M University, Colorado State University-Pueblo and Midwestern State University (Texas) offered, along with FCS schools University of South Dakota and Duquesne University (Pennsylvania). Northern Illinois was his lone FBS offer. 

Hunter took visits to Northern State, Northern Illinois, USD, West Texas and IUP. Northern State (90 miles) and University of South Dakota (200 miles) were intriguing opportunities due to the proximity to Miller. 

“It was very tempting to go to those schools,” Hunter said. “But at the end of the day, IUP just stood out to me.” 

Hunter said his decision wasn’t based on returning to Division I or staying in Division II. Instead, he went through the process with an open mind and found the right fit for him. 

“At the end of the day, I wanted to go somewhere I can kind of be the same player and continue to do what I’ve been doing and keep getting better and keep trying to showcase what I can do,” Hunter said.

IUP is an NCAA Division II powerhouse. In 2022, the Crimson Hawks finished 10-2 and finished 11th in the final AFCA rankings.

The Crimson Hawks won the 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division standings and earned the No. 1 seed in the Super Region One playoffs. They advanced to the Division II college football quarterfinals, losing to conference foe Shepherd University (West Virginia). 

Hunter will have a chance to earn the starting job once he joins IUP, which averaged the second most total yards per game (410.8) in the PSAC last season. The Crimson Hawks signed three quarterbacks in their 2022 recruiting class and will return two signal callers from last season’s team.

Hunter, who will move out to Pennsylvania this summer, welcomes the open competition as his college journey continues.

“I am just excited to get out there and start competing,” Hunter said. “The PSAC is a really tough conference. IUP won it last year and my plan is kind of go there and do the same thing they did there last year and continue to win.”