Shane Hunter

Shane Hunter is in his sixth season at Virginia on Bronco Mendenhall’s staff and is the safeties coach. He previously coached inside linebackers from 2016-20.

In 2020, two of Hunter’s inside linebackers earned All-ACC honors as Nick Jackson took home third-team accolades and Zane Zandier was named honorable mention for the second year in a row. Jackson was No. 2 in the ACC and No. 16 in the nation with 10.5 tackles per game, No. 6 in the nation and No. 2 in the ACC with 105 tackles and No. 2 in the ACC and No. 16 in the nation with 5.5 solo tackles per game.

The 2019 season was special one in Charlottesville as the Cavaliers won the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division for the first time and made their first appearance in the ACC Championship game. UVA appeared in its first New Year’s Six bowl game, the Orange Bowl, and finished ranked No. 24 in the final College Football Playoff poll and No. 25 in the final USA Today coaches poll. It is UVA’s first string of three-straight bowl appearances since UVA went to four bowl games between 2002 and 2005.

Despite losing multiple starters on the defensive side of the ball for the season, UVA broke the program record for sacks in a season in 2019. The Chris Long-led defense in 2007 set the standard with 43, and the 2019 edition concluded the year with 46, which ranked No. 6 in the nation. Inside linebacker Jordan Mack led all ACC linebackers with 7.5 sacks. In all, 27 of UVA’s 46 sacks were recorded by linebackers, which included 13 by Hunter’s inside linebacker. UVA also was No. 22 in the nation in tackles for loss, which included 22.5 from the inside linebackers.

Mack, the ACC’s Jim Tatum Award winner as the league’s scholar-athlete of the year, also became Hunter’s second Campbell Tropy (Academic Heisman) finalist at UVA which includes 2017 winner Micah Kiser.

Hunter’s inside linebacker group assisted with UVA finishing 2018 No. 12 in the nation in team passing efficiency defense (107.62), No. 16 in passing yards allowed (183.0), No. 20 in the nation in team defense (330.5) and No. 20 in scoring defense (20.1). UVA’s 28-0 drubbing of South Carolina in the 2018 Belk Bowl was the first time an SEC team was shutout in a bowl by a non-SEC team since the 1975 Gator Bowl.

In 2017, Hunter oversaw a tremendous senior season for inside linebacker Kiser, who was named the Campbell Trophy winner and led the ACC in tackles for the third year in a row. Only Boston College’s Luke Kuechly (2009-11) had previously accomplished the feat in league history. Kiser was also a three-time first-team All-ACC honoree and received multiple All-America honors over the past two seasons. Kiser’s 145 tackles in 2017 rank No. 2 all-time on UVA’s single-season ledger.

Hunter was a graduate assistant coach on Mendenhall’s staff at BYU the last three seasons, where he worked with the defensive front seven and special teams. The former Cougar linebacker was the defensive line coach at Snow College during the 2011 and 2012 seasons and was also the special teams coordinator in his second season with the Badgers.

Hunter is a 2011 graduate of BYU where he earned his degree in exercise science. As a player, Hunter was a middle linebacker for the Cougars during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons and he started all 13 games as senior. During the 2010 season, Hunter recorded 85 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and earned honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference honors.

He was also named to the Academic All-Mountain West Conference team and was a member of the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. The Idaho Falls, Idaho native spent his freshman season at Snow College.

Hunter is married to Carrie Draper and the couple has three children.