Drew Hunter goes pro (just as we told you weeks ago) - signs with adidas

Hate to say it, but what about the awkward, jerky stride? Can he/they fix that? Not great. Great times, but not too pretty to watch.

Who is he going to train with in Va?

Flamboyant Flamingo wrote:

He has been wearing and running in adidas for a while now in regards to his spikes, shorts, and SWHP singlet.

You sure about that? The photo in the SI story shows a SWHP singlet with a swoosh on it.

life isnt always about the money..I think he will look back and regret this decision..

donedog wrote:

life isnt always about the money..I think he will look back and regret this decision..

Even if his running career bombs, he still gets a free ride at what ever university he chooses. A win-win for him and if he's smart he keeps a few bucks in the bank for the future.

My take on this wrote:

donedog wrote:

life isnt always about the money..I think he will look back and regret this decision..

Even if his running career bombs, he still gets a free ride at what ever university he chooses. A win-win for him and if he's smart he keeps a few bucks in the bank for the future.

but no chasing NCAA titles, no college teammates

just racing B heats at random meets until he's matured enough to be competitive

He wore a nike SWHP singlet during indoors but during outdoors he has been wearing an adidas version. He wore the adidas version at the Pre Classic and I believe he also wore it at Princeton but I may be wrong.

Webb can move back home and train him.

Would love to see him train with Andrews/Vigilante. Adidas scored a big one with this move.

jjj wrote:

Good luck to him, of course, but I really question the wisdom of this move for an American high school distance runner still far from world class times. I appreciate the desire to stick with a coach and situation that have worked very well for him, but there is no substitute for the structure, support, and atmosphere of a great college team like Oregon.

No substitute?? So what about the vast majority of professionals from outside the U.S.? Those who aren't slaves to 3 seasons, rigorous studies (for some), and although you are chasing championships you are running against slower competition than the pros? Go pro, get college paid for, and win or lose he will be set for life knowing that he gave running it's best chance and has a free education (even if he doesn't take it until 28). I wish him luck. And my guess is this decision was well thought out by all those who have influence on his life.

How the hell can anyone speculate about the Hunter family's lack of "need" for the money of a pro contract? Nine kids in one household, on one civil servant's salary (supplemented by the little money high school coaching brings them), from what I can gather. Just look at the ridiculous costs of college educations in that family! Money can talk, and a resulting pro contract can be a wise decision for both Drew and his entire family. I'm more than willing to accept that a smart decision has been made.

From media coverage of Drew's high school career, the conclusion for me is that the Hunters are as measured and thoughtful as they come when planning Drew's future (short-term and long-term), and I can only guess that some real funny money was thrown their way by adidas, and probably Nike, etc. And I bet they were outright told it would NOT BE THERE NEXT YEAR! Now, that's always a matter of opinion, because if the guy continues on a jaw-dropping upward progression in his running career, who knows, maybe the pro money would have been double next year. But signing a funny money contract now likely was a much more reasonable roll of the dice.

My guess is that Drew is seen as a near-perfect marketing personality, possibly to be tailored in the near future at the high school audience, because he is handsome, humble, intelligent, and comes with a distance running pedigree AND resume that really made shoe companies drool. And so that's why the money offer(s) were wild now (speculation on my part, of course) -- because as he gets older, he will be less appealing to all those impressionable young teens.

There have been LetsRun postings offering how some truly talented ex-collegians are basically living in poverty, even with pro contracts. Or that when their running careers ended, they had to start with nothing in the bank. Did Drew want to risk that? Nope! Good for him, and his family!

It must have been a tough call for someone who just knew that the Oregon team experience would have been an outrageous, positive, and motivating experience, and for someone who proved his devotion to the team concept with his two come-from-behind DMR victories at the 2016 New Balance Indoor Nationals and then in the awesome 2016 Penn Relays. At New Balance he could have gone for individual national championships that were essentially his for the asking. Likewise, at this year's Penn Relays he could have sought an individual championship for the third year in a row (which would have been unprecedented in the 120-plus years of the Relays). Nope, he WANTED to give his high school, and his teammates, huge championship victories. (And he also ran the 4xMile at the Indoor Nationals, getting Loudoun Valley High School a 4th place finish.) Team-oriented! Look at the video of that Penn Relays DMR finish and what follows -- how he and the guys celebrated when their .001 second win was announced! Total joy.

So for him to pass up on the Oregon experience, which could have brought him similar or better team thrills, you know there was some deep weighing of all options. Sometimes money talking is a good thing, even if it does eliminate the possibility of thrills that might come with collegiate team endeavors.

Best of luck to Drew. I sure hope his almost-teammates at Oregon will understand his decision.

Smart move. No guaranty that he would improve in college. The training style at Oregon might not work for him. He was looking forward to training with Ches. This could mean that Ches is going pro as well.

Going to Oregon was his fast track to a Nike contract. Perhaps that lost some appeal following the publicity about Berian's case.

I'd be excited if he came out and said he was focusing on the 10,000m and half marathons. I don't expect him to have a high ceiling.

I figure 10-year, $50k/year, $500,000 deal. Not bad from adidas. They would've wasted that money on social activation, so not a bad deal. Kid will have some buzz in 2017-2020.

ed. wrote:

Why do you guys always feel the need to back yourselves on the back for having insider information?

Haha. Because they're fanboys who need any sort of validation, such as "on out message boards...when he got into great 10k shape...when I coached at Cornell..." It's always about letsrun being at the center of the running universe.

I like when people say FU to shamateurism with the ridiculous mafia that is the NCAA

Head up the interstate and train the Robby Andrews? I've no idea really.

Gwalkerruns wrote:

Who is he going to train with in Va?

I agree with your sentiments entirely.

hate to do it wrote:

Hate to say it, but what about the awkward, jerky stride? Can he/they fix that? Not great. Great times, but not too pretty to watch.

First, I thought Drew's decision was a huge mistake. But having Adidas pay for the college of his choice while also sticking with the coach who has helped him get where he is--that's a great deal. Good luck to Drew.