The self-proclaimed “unicorn” has finally touched the green grass of the NFL, and it was just as exciting as anticipated. Travis Hunter made his debut this weekend during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first preseason game of the year, and the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner showed that he is more than ready to fulfill his promise of playing on both sides of the ball.
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While the Pittsburgh Steelers walked away with the victory, the former Colorado star managed to showcase more than enough to keep the optimism alive in Jacksonville. Hunter officially recorded nine receiving yards on a pair of receptions while seeing a total of eight plays on defense. He was not targeted on any of those eight plays.
The performance was impressive, but it also ignored the direct wishes and advice of former NFL wide receiver, Andrew Hawkins. During his most recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Hawkins suggested, “I don’t think that he can be the best receiver that he can possibly be if he’s playing wide receiver and corner,” and vice versa.
“If it takes X amount of reps to become the best corner the NFL has ever seen, and you’re splitting it in half, that’s just the reality. It might be good enough for both sides, but it will be really hard. I’m not going to say the injury thing is the reason why it won’t happen… But I know that when you get really, really tired, you have a higher likelihood of getting hurt,” added Hawkins.
Of course, Hunter’s infinitely more likely to listen to his former head coach and mentor, Deion Sanders, than anyone else. Before the Jaguars selected him with the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders explained that, contrary to popular belief, the NFL presents a “slow game” and that its coaches would be “idiots” to limit Hunter’s two-way potential.
“He’s built for this, and you would be an idiot to sit out there with your defense on the field and your corners getting killed, and he’s on the sideline by you,” Sanders had said. “What do you think those fans are going to do? Boo. First of all, you’re already a bad team because you drafted him early because you’re bad.”
Hunter seems to be completely unfazed by it. Where some would view the 22-year-old’s daily assignments as information overload, Hunter has seemingly had no issue in handling the extra homework that comes with playing on both offense and defense.
His time in Colorado saw him meeting with both his offensive and defensive units daily. So even though his schedule is still week-to-week, Hunter is having no trouble at all with the system that the Jaguars have put in place for him.
“We’ve got a schedule set up and I’ll get it before the week even starts,” Hunter explained in a recent interview. “By the end of the week, I’ll have another schedule for next week.”
It’s a daily battle, but it’s one that Hunter continues to look forward to. He’s now proven that he’s capable of handling the assignments on both sides of the ball. But for the time being, fans will have to wait a few more weeks before they see his potential be truly unlocked at the highest stage of the game.
