Ladarius Gunter's Attitude Influencing Younger Brothers

On LaDarius Gunter’s path from Jeff Davis to the NFL, one thing is still the same from when he first started: The jersey color.

The 6-foot-1, 202-pound defensive back went from JD to Fort Scott Community College, and then to Miami. After earning a starting spot midway through his sophomore season in 2012, he started every game he played in for the rest of his career. But when the NFL draft ended in early May, he saw seven rounds go by without his name being called.

After the draft, he received calls from about a dozen teams, and finally decided on the best spot for him.

“He was like, ‘I’m going to be in the same colors as JD.’ That’s how I knew it was the Green Bay Packers,” LaDarius’ mother, Kimberly Gunter said.

Green Bay’s track record of developing undrafted cornerbacks like Sam Shields and Tramon Williams appealed to LaDarius. Now with Green Bay for its OTAs, he’s hoping he’ll be the next undrafted defensive back to make a name with the Packers.

“Green Bay is known for free-agent play. They let the best guy play. I felt like if I came in and competed, I had a good chance to make the team whether I was drafted or not. They let the best guy play, and I feel like I can compete with anybody,” Gunter said. “I’m never going to be content with just making it, but at the same time I have to come to work and put on my big-boy pads. Just making it isn’t good enough. I’m trying to compete, and I’m trying to be the best that I can be.”

It’s that attitude that’s translated to his younger brothers, Trey and Terrell, who are hoping to make an impact with Jeff Davis this season. Trey, heading into his junior year, played quarterback on junior varsity last year. Seeing his brother’s success, Trey is eyeing a switch to defensive back.

“It just motivates me to do better. Just keep striving. Try to be better than what he is,” Trey said. “We’ve just been talking from time to time. He’s been telling me how tired he is, how different it is up there. And he keeps telling me, ‘If you keep doing what you’ve got to do, you might be up here with me one day.’”

Terrell, a sophomore, has settled on cornerback and is using tips from LaDarius to get better in the offseason.

“He tells me how to backpedal, how to keep my arms settled, how to turn and open, everything how to play cornerback,” Terrell said. “It’s an amazing feeling that I have somebody in my family that’s doing this, and that’s where I’m setting my goals to do the same thing he’s doing.”

Kimberly said she’s seen how LaDarius’ success has affected his younger brothers, and how he inspires them to improve.

“They they look up to him. They saw what he went through, the struggles he had to overcome. That makes them more determined to go after their dreams as well. They want to follow his footsteps,” Kimberly said. “My favorite thing he told them was, ‘Don’t let anything intimidate you. There’s going to be others that are bigger and better, but if you believe in yourself, you can do it.’

“It brings tears to my eyes just to know that he’s looking out for them. He has their best interests at heart. He has made a big impression on all of our lives.”


(montgomeryadvertiser.com)