For all the noise and fuss made about Travis Hunter potentially playing on both sides of the ball in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars seemed content to let the 21-year-old attempt to do the impossible. However, they aren’t willing to completely set him loose just yet.
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The Jaguars are taking a training wheels-like approach to Hunter’s two-way aspirations. They seem keen not to overwhelm the former Buffs star. Jacksonville plans to primarily use him as a wide receiver to start the season.
This would give Hunter some extra time to learn the defense’s playbook. However, his former quarterback and new conference rival, Shedeur Sanders, is confident that the 2024 Heisman trophy winner knows what he’s doing.
“He’s going to be able to do whatever he feels like doing, as long as the coach allows him to do that. Of course, he’s going to master one first; he may be in packages on either side of the ball, but he understands what he’s up against. He’s not a fool,” said Shedeur.
Jaguars’ decision to start him on offense first is, of course, inspired by their new head coach, Liam Coen’s, belief that it would be for the best. Stating that the team didn’t necessarily intend for Hunter to begin his career at the WR position on day one, Coen has asserted that this approach will likely prove to be more efficient.
Now that he’s had a week to get familiar with the offense’s concepts, Hunter is slated to be introduced to the defensive side of things starting next week.
“We wanted to be able to clean up some of the things that we may have been able to miss yesterday, get extra reps on the offensive side of the ball, and next week he’ll start to roll on defense,” said Coen.
Given the unprecedented nature of Hunter’s ambitions, Sanders’ suggestion regarding personnel packages appears to be plausible. His FBS snap counts may be impressive and partially responsible for his Heisman trophy victory. But it is likely unsafe and unsustainable at the NFL level.
Considering the amount of first-round draft capital that the Jaguars forfeited in exchange for the second overall pick, they’ll surely be looking to protect the newest face of their franchise. Simply put, their job will be to protect Hunter from himself.
According to Coen, the Colorado product is a “football-smart guy” who “knows what’s cut out for him coming up”. He was hinting that the franchise is confident that Hunter will be able to dissect and understand both of the playbooks.
Hunter is set to make his professional debut on September 7, when the Jaguars travel to Arizona for an inter-conference matchup against the Cardinals.
Given the amount of hype surrounding the two-way talent, in addition to the fact that the contest is one of the only two that are scheduled to kick off at 4:05 pm EST, there certainly won’t be any shortage of eyeballs that Sunday. Fans from around the nation will be waiting to get their first glimpse of the player who is touted as the next generational athlete.
