Jalyx Hunt dedicated his sack against the Packers to late Cowboy Marshawn Kneeland
Hunt and Kneeland befriended each other during the predraft process in 2024. The Eagles edge rusher honored his friend, who died last week, with Goku’s signature “Kamehameha” attack.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After notching a sack on Jordan Love on Monday night, Jalyx Hunt looked to the sky with one person on his mind — Marshawn Kneeland.
Hunt had befriended the late Dallas Cowboys edge rusher during the predraft process in 2024 when the duo trained together every day in Pensacola, Fla. After Kneeland died by an apparent suicide at age 24 on Thursday, Hunt decided to honor his memory after the sack.
“I had to tribute it to my dawg‚” Hunt after the Eagles beat the Packers, 10-7.
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He formed a heart with his hands, then made a reference to one of their mutual passions. During training for the scouting combine, Kneeland and Hunt bonded over their shared love of anime. Kneeland was partial toward Goku, the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise.
At the Senior Bowl, Kneeland celebrated a sack with Goku’s signature “Kamehameha” attack. Hunt opted to do the same gesture, thrusting his hands from his right hip to the sky, after his own sack.
Hunt is still processing the loss of Kneeland. The Eagles’ 2024 third-rounder out of Houston Christian was lifting with the team on Thursday morning when Jeremiah Washburn, the team’s defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, pulled him aside and informed him of the news.
“I felt the air leave my body‚” Hunt said. “It was like, ‘Dang.’ But I was focused on this week. I haven’t really had time to just sit with it.”
Even after the draft, Hunt and Kneeland, the Cowboys’ second-round pick out of Western Michigan, remained close. When Hunt returned to Houston to train in the offseason, he reached out to Kneeland to see if he wanted to link up in Dallas. Hunt said their mutual friend from their combine training, Buffalo Bills defensive end Javon Solomon, has been helping him through the last week.
Hunt is leaning on his teammates and coaches, too. After the Eagles’ practice on Thursday, Nick Sirianni spoke to the team about Kneeland’s death, Hunt said.
“Coach was just like, ‘It’s a tragedy,’” Hunt said. “‘But it’s something that we can hopefully avoid in the future. So if [there is] anything you need, we have resources in the building, we have numbers, and everything that you could use. You could 988 [the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline]. There’s a lot of different resources that you could use, so please use them.’”
Hunt’s sack in the Eagles’ win over the Packers was his second in as many games. He’s now made splash plays in each of his last three contests, including his first career pick-six in the Week 7 win against the Minnesota Vikings.
He credited Jaelan Phillips, the Eagles’ trade-deadline acquisition from the Miami Dolphins, with the assist on his sack. Phillips generated pressure on an inside rush while Hunt worked outside a chip block from Packers tight end Josh Whyle.
Hunt said he knew Love was going to flush the pocket because of the push up the middle, so he stayed outside before tackling the Packers quarterback deep in the backfield.
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Why has he managed to make an impact over these last few games? Hunt is developing a sense of maturity in his preparation, he said.
“I think just my approach for the games [has] been a lot more professional with it,” Hunt said. “I’m learning how to approach games professionally. And just attention to detail. I’ve been breaking down all my film, other people’s film. Sitting with coaches, asking, really focusing on the smaller things and just being infatuated and obsessed with, ‘OK, how can I win this rep?’
“I just watched some of the film back today and I feel like if my detail was a little bit better, I could’ve got some hits on the quarterback. So just being more comfortable, me being confident in approaching the game.”
The film can wait for now. Hunt said he would use the long plane ride from Green Bay back to Philadelphia early Tuesday morning and the rest of the day to let the loss of Kneeland “sink in.”
“Miss my dawg, for sure,” Hunt said.