Travis Hunter has a smile that’s as wide as his catch radius. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner flashes it whenever someone doubts he can be a two-way star in the NFL like he was at Colorado.
“It actually makes me smile,” the Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie wide receiver and cornerback told reporters Friday at training camp.
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“They don’t know what to say. So they just going to keep hating.”
The new Jaguars regime, on the other hand, is completely sold. General manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Cohen — both in their 30s and rookies in their respective positions as well — traded up to acquire Hunter with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Jacksonville has fully embraced Hunter’s alien-like endurance and breathtaking athletic ability. When Hunter signed his rookie contract, the franchise’s social media account even posted the news twice: once for him as a wide receiver and once for him as a defensive back.
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Hunter was clear in his pre-draft process that he wanted to play both sides of the ball in the NFL, even suggesting this spring that he’d quit football if the team that drafted him told him to pick one position.
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Through three practices of training camp, the Jaguars are taking an interesting approach to acclimating the West Palm Beach, Florida, native to Jacksonville’s offensive and defensive schemes.
Cohen, formerly the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, said Wednesday that Hunter will “flip-flop” between offense and defense throughout camp.
The first two practices of camp, he wore Jaguars teal and practiced with the offense. Friday, however, Hunter threw on a white practice jersey and worked with Jacksonville’s defense.
It’s a change of pace from Colorado, where he said he played on both sides of the ball every practice. But a confident-not-cocky Hunter likes and appreciates the alteration.
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“I need to be able to process everything fast, quick,” he said Friday. “When I’m on defense, if the offense changes their strength, I got to know what I’m doing right away. And if the offense changes the play, I got to know what I’m doing right away.
“So I like that we starting off slow, getting me adjusted, making sure I know where I need to be on one side of the ball each day, and then it’ll all come together.”
Eventually, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound 22-year-old will play both offense and defense in the same practice.
“I just have to get to that point to where I understand both sides immediately,” Hunter said, referencing the two separate Jaguars languages — er, playbooks — he has to master.
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He proved bilingual at Colorado, where he amassed a total of 1,529 offensive and defensive snaps in 13 games last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are allowing rookie Travis Hunter to practice on both sides of the ball at training camp. (Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
(Logan Bowles via Getty Images)
Per PFF, in 2024, Hunter played 753 snaps on offense, 776 on defense and 23 more on special teams. Along the way, he caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also ran for another score. At cornerback, he recorded 36 tackles and four interceptions as well as a forced fumble that clinched an overtime victory against Baylor in Week 4.
Hunter explained Friday that playing two ways is harder mentally than it is physically, at least for him. Like at Colorado, he has a “super-organized” schedule that he goes over with his Jaguars coaching staff and that he has posted up in his locker so he knows where to be at all times.
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He admitted that in the meeting room, he has to flip a switch in his head.
“It’s a switch that you got to flip because the terms are different, and there’s different plays,” he said “There’s different formations that the defense calls a different thing from what the offense call it.
“So in the meeting room, yes [I have to flip a switch], but when I hit the field, it’s all the same to me. I just go to work.”
That’s when Hunter gets the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, and smile some more while he’s at it.
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