Jaguars’ QB Trevor Lawrence recently highlighted how Travis Hunter has stood out during offseason programs.
During offseason programs, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence saw a lot of growth in second overall pick Travis Hunter.
A key factor in the strides made by Hunter has been his work ethic.
“Travis has been great,” Lawrence said, via Jamal St. Cyr. “Just his work ethic, how he’s come in. He’s been one of the hardest-working guys we have. I think it’s commitment to learning the playbook and trying to learn the two systems.”
Since arriving in Jacksonville after the draft, Hunter has been in two sets of meetings, one with the offense and another with the defense, and he’s been learning two playbooks and two sets of terminology.
On the practice field, the bulk of his practice time up to this point has come at wide receiver. This has been the plan since the start, and as GM James Gladstone mentioned, part of that equation is that the team views cornerback as Hunter’s more natural position. I would also venture to guess that the Jaguars wanted him to get a head start on what is a robust playbook in Liam Coen’s offense.
The next step for Hunter once training camp arrives is to routinely practice on both sides of the ball during the same practice. For the most part, during offseason programs, Hunter was either on offense or defense on a given day.
“It’s a lot on a rookie,” said Lawrence about Hunter playing both ways. “It’s challenging to learn everything and he’s done a nice job and we still have work to do and we’re gonna get a lot done in training camp and get us ready to play come September. But I’m really excited for him and how he can help our team.”
Also helping Hunter as he navigates playing both offense and defense is that he has exceptional physical conditioning.
“I think what helps him do things right a lot is that he’s so well conditioned that, from a mental fatigue standpoint, doesn’t seem to occur all that much out here, where he can kind of just run,” Liam Coen said. “He’s been in altitude for a few years now, but he is in very good physical shape when it comes to being able to run all day and that’s something that ultimately, once the legs start to go, the mind starts to go and you don’t really see that all that often with him, he just keeps going.
“So that’s been exciting to see, and he’s going to have to lean into that as he goes here and the reps start to go up and he starts to play offense and defense on the same day, which will occur in training camp.”
While we know that Hunter will play both offense and defense during the same practices once training camp arrives, how Coen and the Jaguars divvy up that practice time in terms of reps from day to day still remains to be seen.