“I Hope This Is a Joke”: Fans React After Watching Travis Hunter’s “Zesty” Workout Routine

On the field or off it, Travis Hunter just can’t help but be the center of attention. His unprecedented versatility — excelling as both a wide receiver and a cornerback — was the biggest story in college sports this past fall, leading to a highly contentious Heisman Trophy for the 21-year-old. Then there was all of that unfortunate drama with his fiancee’s behavior at the awards ceremony. But this time, it’s one of his own social media posts that’s got fans talking.

It’s just a 26-second clip — but those seconds may already be telling on Hunter’s future, especially since the NFL scouts are watching his every move. Not long ago, he was the second-most likely player to be drafted No. 1 overall, behind his Colorado Buffaloes teammate Shedeur Sanders. Now, Hunter has fallen back to third position, with odds at +340, while Sanders has slipped all the way back to fourth, at +500. Cam Ward sits at the top with +110 odds, followed closely by elite edge rusher Abdul Carter, at +200.

The video at the center of the social media storm is a short montage of one of his workout routines that Hunter posted recently. And it’s… unique, to say the least.

Not only was he not performing the drills you typically see, but he also wasn’t exactly killing it in the drills that many are familiar with.

The video starts with Hunter doing some extremely strange pushups with his butt high up in the air, like a cross between a bear crawl and a push-up. When you learn to do push-ups as a kid, you’re usually told that keeping the back firm and straight is an important part of the exercise.

He wasn’t locking out his elbows either, which is another big part of a solid push-up. Some exercise experts online identified the form as a rare, modified incline push-up that targets the deltoids (shoulders). That may be true, but there’s no denying those looked ridiculous to the untrained eye.

https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1887160712818315306

But those “zesty” push-ups, as one X (formerly Twitter) user called them, were not the most worrying part. Rather, it was his sloppy and slow footwork in the five-cone drill that was shown in the video. Travis did look more quick and spry on the second ladder-type cone drill, however.

Needless to say, the online community, always ready to pounce on anything Travis Hunter-related, had a field day.

Fans weren’t too impressed with the workout routine, but that doesn’t seem to faze Hunter. What should matter to him, though, is what NFL coaches, GMs, and scouts might have thought of it.

What they think remains to be seen, but it’s starting to feel like Hunter will need to impress at the combine or his pro day if he’s going to maintain his current top-five draft stock.