NEW YORK CITY — If he just had some good Southern cooking, things would be perfect for Terrance Hunter.

Making the move from Natchez to New York City would naturally blow away most people. For the former Trinity Episcopal defensive end, going to school at Fordham University — right in the middle of the Bronx — has not disappointed.

“It’s totally different from Mississippi,” Hunter said of New York City. “It’s like everything you see on TV is exactly what you see (in person). It’s a completely different culture.”

If there’s one thing he misses, though, it’s the delicacies of a home-cooked meal.

“The food is not the same — there’s nothing better than Southern food,” Hunter said. “Everything I’ve tried here is stuff I can get in the South, so I haven’t tried anything different yet.”

Hunter is attending Fordham on a football scholarship, and he’s currently trying to recover from tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last winter.

“I had my surgery Dec. 5, and I’m still rehabbing and getting back into the motions of what I could do in high school,” Hunter said. “I’m still not 100 percent yet, but I just want to be healthy (this fall) and get some playing time.”

Hunter is taking intro to forensic anthropology and English composition during the school’s July summer semester. As someone who wants to go into law school, Hunter said it would be good to have knowledge about forensic anthropology.

“Dealing with bones can help with court cases,” Hunter said. “It’s all about learning about bones and how they can be identified. The class is so different. You can take a small bone and know exactly what it is and how someone died or whatever, just by looking at it.”

Since he’s considering an English major, Hunter said he’s also enjoyed taking English composition during the summer.

“It’s not like what I thought it would be,” Hunter said. “I like the class, because there’s a lot of discussion. You learn more about grammar and how to write essays correctly.”

Hunter said he expected the class would be nothing but writing, and he said it was similar to classes he took at Trinity.

“It threw me off guard, but I like it,” Hunter said. “We talked about a lot of stuff when I was at Trinity, and I’m the kind of person who likes to express my views instead of typing it all the time.”

When comparing high school to college, Hunter said there’s more accountability in college, since he has more freedom. He also likes doing work online instead of just in a classroom.

“If you turn in a paper, it has to be done through e-mail and in person,” Hunter said. “I love the challenge of how college professors teach us.”

Class, football and sleep dominate Hunter’s life right now, and he said he hasn’t had much of a chance to venture out into the big city.

“I only went to downtown Manhattan once, during a recruiting visit,” Hunter said. “The traffic, all the people around me and the tall buildings I saw, that’s basically what stood out to me.

“It’s completely different from Natchez. You have to walk everywhere or take the train. I haven’t driven anywhere since I’ve been here.”

Hunter said the people he’s met so far are friendly, but he did admit that it was unusual to see so many people in one place.

“To me, the most unusual thing so far is all the people walking around downtown Manhattan and how crowded it gets,” Hunter said. “There are people everywhere. You also see a lot of movie scenes, different sets for movies, so that’s another thing that’s different.”

Since his time to tour the Big Apple has been limited, Hunter said he has a to-do list that includes going to see a New York Yankees game, visiting Madison Square Garden and going to Times Square, which he visited during his recruiting visit.

Team workouts are geared toward strength and conditioning during the summer, and Hunter said they do workouts every day Monday through Friday.

“These are completely different (than high school),” Hunter said. “They’re a lot more intense and more structured. It’s a whole different animal in college.”

Though there’s no replacement for Southern food, Hunter said he hasn’t gotten homesick yet.

“I’m perfectly fine where I am,” Hunter said. “Everyone says you will eventually get homesick, but I haven’t yet. I do miss my family and friends, but that’s about it.”