NFL Draft scouting part of hands-on experience for College of Business student

Each year, thousands of college football players dream that they’ll hear their name called on NFL draft day or receive a phone call from an NFL team about a free agent signing.

This year, some of those college football players may have University of Akron (UA) senior Hunter Kirkhope to thank for boosting their professional prospects.

Kirkhope, who is graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Analytics, has been connected for the past three years with Sports Info Solutions (SIS), a national company that tracks and analyzes data for professional baseball, basketball and football teams. He has tracked data for SIS at dozens of college football games and scouted hundreds of college football players who are prospective draftees.

This year, 11 of the players Kirkhope scouted were drafted, including six who were selected in the first three of seven rounds. There were 257 players selected out of around 3,000 that are draft-eligible each year.

Kirkhope’s connection to SIS came through Sports Analytics and Business Association (SABA), a UA student organization founded in 2022 with the support of Dr. Seungbum Lee, a professor in the Department of Management.

Kirk hope grew up in Aurora, Ohio, where he participated in high school football, track and baseball. He came to UA to study statistics and actuary science, but when UA’s College of Business announced in 2022 it was introducing bachelor’s degrees in sport analytics and sport business, Kirkhope switched majors. He also joined SABA.

“It’s been a really great experience,” Kirkhope said. “Dr. Lee has been the biggest inspiration to me and has really helped me reach out to people for networking. This has really been the perfect match between stats and sports.”

In 2023, Kirkhope began working with SIS to track UA football statistics at UA home games. During away-game weeks, he tracked statistics at other college games within driving distance. He also covered the national championship game for the U.S. Football League, a smaller professional league, which was held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame complex in Canton, Ohio.

Last year, SIS set up what it called a draft school to guide those who, like Kirkhope, are interested in player scouting and development. For two months in the runup to the 2025 draft, SIS sent him 5-6 hours of film for dozens of college players from around the country. For each player, Kirkhope took meticulous notes and filled out a scouting report template. SIS gave him feedback on his reports so he could learn what scouts look for in players.

“I tracked each player’s data and statistics, and made notes about their playing style,” said Kirkhope, who watched around 225 hours of film. “For a quarterback, for example, I’d look at arm strength and accuracy. It was overwhelming at first and I wrote a lot of scouting reports, but it sparked my passion to pursue more player development and scouting, so I did it again this year.”

He produced about 35 player reports, some of which SIS posted on its site. He was able to post the rest, along with narrative draft-related articles he has written, on a site called NFL Draft Diamonds, which covers all things NFL football. He also tracked statistics during the past two NCAA men’s basketball tournaments.

Kirkhope is optimistic that this experience will make him an attractive hire for a scouting company or league. He has been able to make connections with members of the Cleveland Browns staff who have visited Lee’s College of Business classes as part of the University’s partnership with the team and standing as the Official University of the Cleveland Browns.

“Scouting is a very particular field to get into because it’s really a close-knit group,” he said. “Hard to get in.”

In addition to being active in SABA, Kirkhope worked as a member of the UA facilities staff for Athletics, helping manage game-day operations for sporting events.

Kirkhope took a special interest in the draft this year, but not only because he was so familiar with many of the college hopefuls. He and his wife, Lucy, went to Green Bay, Wisc., to watch the final day of the draft live.

“Last year I also had a couple of players that I scouted get drafted,” Kirkhope said. “After watching all the film and tracking all the data, it’s cool to see the players get drafted. It makes you feel pretty good.”
 

Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476, cboyd@uakron.edu