Undrafted rookie DT Adin Huntington not afraid to take leaps of faith, including training/staying with Myles Garrett

BEREA — Adin Huntington is scary on the field. At 6-foot-1, 281 pounds, the defensive tackle hunts ball carriers and quarterbacks, looking to inflict pain and separate them from the ball.Off the field, he's like everyone else, susceptible to fear and insecurities.As Huntington talked Tuesday about making the Browns' 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie, he related a story of overcoming those doubts to put himself in better position to make his NFL dream a reality. All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett mentioned in minicamp he would be training in Dallas during the break before training camp and told Huntington he was welcome to join.Huntington planned to work out at his home in Virginia but called his father, David, to tell him about the unique opportunity."Fear would've had me stuck at home. Fear would've had me back at home trying to be comfortable, but I had to get out of my comfort zone," said Huntington, who started his college career at Kent State. "I had to text Myles, he probably didn't have my number saved. I had to fly out there basically on a whim."He steeled himself, made the arrangements and made the trip. He joined some of the NFL's best pass rushers, including Dallas' Micah Parsons and Houston's Will Anderson, as well as Browns defensive ends Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire."Either I had the fear of staying the same or I had the fear of getting better. And that was a big thing for me," Huntington said. "I had to see where I aligned myself with guys like Myles, guys like Micah, guys like Will Anderson, and A. Wright and Isaiah. So me stepping out of my comfort zone, it gave myself a mental check to be like, OK, you stack up. OK, this is where you are at. Myles is a different breed, but it doesn't matter, you have to compete every day."I went in there every morning to compete to get better and I feel like me just going there for those three weeks, it changed my body physically, mentally, and I was able to showcase that during this training camp."Huntington asked if Garrett had a place for him to stay. When one of the older players didn't take the room, Huntington crashed at Garrett's house."It was a blessing," Huntington said. "He didn't have to do that. I told him after, 'I'm forever indebted to you, I'm grateful for this opportunity.'"I'm an undrafted rookie, he didn't know me but from three days of mandatory minicamp and he let me come out there and train with him. I got to have the full Myles Garrett experience."Not only did Browns rookie DT Adin Huntington work out with Myles Garrett in Dallas in offseason, he crashed at his house. pic.twitter.com/iVCzBZw6fK— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) August 26, 2025https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsHe'll continue to work with Garrett after beating the odds to make the team. Coach Kevin Stefanski broke that news Saturday after the preseason finale, three days before the deadline to make the cuts to the initial 53-man roster.Huntington started the Rams game at fullback, then played on special teams and defense, where he had four tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. The versatility is unusual for any player, let alone an undrafted rookie."If you show up and you're playing physical on defense and then you do it on special teams, we have offensive coaches that are going to want to steal that physicality," Stefanski said. "The more you can do. And he's somebody that has certainly done it on defense, has done it on special teams, and we value physicality."Huntington said the physicality comes from his style of play."A big thing for me is just playing with a relentless effort," he said. "That's what stands out. I mean, I'm 290 pounds, I ran a 4.6, but just the ability to showcase that I just can't do that one play. I've got to do that every play. So my process into that is making sure I'm conditioned, making sure that I'm getting on the assault bike, so in those moments where I have to run down there on punt and then I have to play the defensive drive, I had that wind so there's no drop-off and I could stay fresh and play my game."He credited his dad with telling him to chase down the ball early in his career. After resisting initially, Huntington was a quick convert."You do it one time and they're like, 'yo, that's different.' And then that just becomes who you are," he said. "If I'm out on that football field, I'm really itching to hit somebody. I just want to make an impact whenever I can and however I can."That's why I love running down on kickoff. I love running down on punt. If I see the ball carrier, if I see him in open space, I'm praying he cuts back. I just need that opportunity just to hit somebody. So that relentless effort, it was instilled in me from my dad and then I just took it and I just ran with it."Huntington is from Stafford, Virginia. He played for Kent State from 2020-22, spent a year at Louisiana-Monroe and finished at Tulane last year. He had four sacks and two forced fumbles in 13 games for Tulane and 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 12 games for Louisiana-Monroe. He had three sacks and 35 tackles in three years at Kent.He took a leap of faith each time he transferred in an effort to improve his future."Every time I hit the portal, that was me stepping out of my comfort zone," he said. "I could have stayed at Kent State and maybe I'm not the man I am now. Maybe I didn't become the player I wanted to be. But me stepping out on faith and me telling my dad, 'Look, I think I outgrew this opportunity. I think I need to go somewhere else.'"They just tested me mentally, spiritually, physically. And I had a lot of ups and downs, but if I didn't go through a lot of those things in a lot of those adverse times, then I wouldn't be standing here right now."Huntington didn't know Stefanski had announced to reporters he had secured a roster spot until people were sending him screenshots after the game."I really didn't know if it was real or not. And then I called my mom. My mom was hysterical, she was crying," he said. "Then I got on Twitter right after the game and then I saw the video and I just had to hit my knees and just thank God for the blessing."The post Undrafted rookie DT Adin Huntington not afraid to take leaps of faith, including training/staying with Myles Garrett first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.