Tony Hunt is getting a look.

What's to lose? The Eagles tried Dan Klecko at fullback before agreeing it was best to return him to defensive tackle.

The staff obviously is not pleased with starter Jason Davis. Undrafted rookie Jed Collins has been working out a lot with the first-team offense lately.

And Hunt, at 6-foot-1, 227 pounds, did have that impressive 51-yard touchdown scamper down the sideline in Thursday's preseason win over Carolina. He also made a couple of tackles on kick coverages.

"He's going to get some [practice time] in there this week," Reid said of Hunt. "He played very good football this past week. Not only from the backfield, carrying the football, but he was taking special teams very seriously."

Reid admitted that the former Penn State star is facing a numbers crunch at tailback, with starter Brian Westbrook and backups Correll Buckhalter and Lorenzo Booker ahead of him. The coaching staff is trying every way to get Hunt more time on the football field.

"I just want to play," said the 22-year-old, who saw action in eight games as a rookie last season. "Just from playing last year, you understand Brian is going to play, and there is not much room for a lot of other guys to play. You know you want to get onto the field. Any time they want to put you on the field, it's a good thing."

There are not many plays in the West Coast offense for a fullback, Westbrook said.

"He's a big guy, so he can definitely take a pounding," Westbrook said. "Just being able to do it in a week and be really good at it, it's probably going to be tough."

It could be argued that such a move in mid-August is odd, given that it could have been done over the winter, allowing Hunt more time to learn the position during minicamps.

"Maybe it would have been better," Hunt said. "But that is not what it is. They did it now. Studying the position isn't really the thing. Playing running back, you know the fullback position."

At Penn State, all Hunt did was run the football, ranking second all-time as a Lion with 3,320 rushing yards. Occasionally, Joe Paterno used him in a fullback set. Actually, Hunt was in such a set last season as an Eagle at Dallas. He did not fare too well during a blitz that saw Donovan McNabb get sacked.

"I know it's a challenge for him to learn a new position with blocking schemes and stuff," McNabb said. "It's going to be something to sit back and watch. Hopefully, he'll do well with it."

Hunt worked some snaps at fullback yesterday. He does not anticipate a difficult transition.

"It's different," Hunt said. "I'm going to have to put more time into it. As far as the position change goes, it's not one of the easiest, but fullback and tailback go hand in hand.

"Pass blocking is the same. It's not like I have to learn too much more. For the most part, you know a lot of the fullback [responsibility] from being a running back. I would say it's just the run blocking."

Reid said he has been impressed with Hunt's enthusiasm on special teams in the preseason, and that factored into his decision.

"He deserves the opportunity," Reid said. "He's a great kid. He wants to be on the field. He doesn't care where he plays; he wants to play. We'll give him a shot."

Reid emphasized that what he wants most from his fullback is the ability to sustain a block, get good leverage, and not get pushed back. He believes Hunt already has demonstrated he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Better blocking is what the Eagles are looking for.

"The only thing that changes in run blocking is that the guy is going to come to you," Hunt said with a smile.

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