Jaguars HC Liam Coen Clarifies Eli Manning’s Scoop That Travis Hunter Practiced Only Defense at Colorado

Travis Hunter had the best game of his young career on Monday night, catching 3 passes for 64 yards, a new career high. He added 2 tackles on defense and a pass deflection as the Jacksonville Jaguars won 31-28. But something Eli Manning shared about the former Heisman winner during the broadcast also made waves.

The ManningCast has become a popular alternative stream for watching Monday Night Football on ESPN. It’s a unique football viewing experience that pairs two comedic brothers with popular celebrities while they watch the game.

This week, though, something that the Jags head coach, Liam Coen, told Eli (and the former QB shared on the show) went viral after the game.

Manning said that Coen had told him Hunter only practiced defense while at Colorado.

“I talked to Liam Coen, he said, when he was at Colorado, he practiced zero with the offense. He only practiced defense. They just kind of had a special system where the coach would just signal the formation to him, and then signal the route to him. So, he just improvised. Went out there and winged it as a receiver. So, he’s still learning now how to be a receiver.”

This was a shocking revelation, mainly because Hunter caught 96 passes in his junior season, leading the Big 12. To think he did all of that through improvisation is just insane. Hunter truly is a freak of nature.

However, this claim was then countered by Deion Sanders Jr., who said that Hunter practiced both offense and defense at Colorado. 

“Don’t let them lie to you Mr Manning, he practiced Wr & DB equally,” Deion Jr. tweeted in response. 

It’s hard not to believe the guy who literally took videos of Hunter at practice for years. Not to mention, it’s almost unbelievable that the two-way star would’ve been able to produce as much as he did on offense without practicing.

Today, when Coen was asked about the quote he shared with Manning, he clarified that Hunter did practice on offense … but not all that much.

“He practiced on offense at Colorado. It was just primarily defense, and then that’s when he would go out and look for the signals on the sideline. Which that’s what they did, they were a no-huddle operation. So, I think he practiced on offense, just not very much. It was way more on defense,” Coen shared on the Pat McAfee Show. 

At the end of the day, it sounds like a bit of miscommunication that happened between Coen and Manning. He didn’t mean that Hunter didn’t practice any offense. He simply meant that he practiced more defense, and because Colorado ran a lot of no-huddle, the two-way sensation would get hand signals instead of verbal cues for plays. 

Now, in the NFL, Hunter is getting verbal cues on every play call. This is a newer system for him that he is still getting used to. But it hasn’t seemed to affect him too much so far.

If there’s one thing Manning was right about, it’s that Hunter is still growing and finding his footing as a wideout. He only has 16 receptions for 182 yards through five games, yet he’s looked like the game isn’t too fast for him, and like he will fit right in very soon. Get on the hype train now, folks. The bandwagon is only going to continue to grow, and you’re going to want to be on it.