JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 After spending two days working solely at receiver during Jacksonville\u2019s rookie minicamp, two-way star Travis Hunter will move to the other side of the ball next week.<\/p>\n
Coach Liam Coen said Saturday that Hunter will start getting repetitions on defense when the team reconvenes for offseason conditioning. It should set the stage for Hunter\u2019s expansive role during organized team activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be able to get integrated next week on the defensive side of the ball,\u201d Coen said. \u201cHe\u2019ll start to roll on defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already rolling on offense. Hunter caught nearly every ball thrown his way over two days alongside fellow rookies. And the few routes or results that didn\u2019t go his way? Well, Hunter went right back to the front of the line for a redo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organization expects a lot out of me,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cThey expect me to come out here and play right away. I\u2019m going to do whatever it takes for me to play right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jaguars traded up three spots, giving up a second-round pick, a first-rounder next year and more to make it happen, to select Hunter with the second overall pick in the NFL draft last month. He gives the franchise more star power than its had in decades \u2014 maybe ever.<\/p>\n
Fans packed a small pro shop outside the practice field and waited in deep lines to buy his No. 12 jersey. The Heisman Trophy winner has his own YouTube channel, lights up rooms with his smile and elevates the play of everyone around him. He did it in high school in Georgia and did it again in college at Jackson State and at Colorado.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter performs a drill during the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. Credit: AP\/John Raoux<\/p>\n
The Jaguars anticipate the trend continuing despite Hunter\u2019s 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame. He caught Coen\u2019s eye during practice Friday when Hunter\u2019s cleat slipped off during a route, and he didn\u2019t slow down or get sidetracked one bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cMade a great catch,\u201d Coen said. \u201cIt\u2019s more just his presence and the energy he does provide both in the classroom, in the meeting rooms and also out here on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunter became the first person in his immediate family to walk in a graduation ceremony when he took the stage at Colorado on Thursday while wearing Jaguars pajama pants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the first thing I ordered off of Amazon when I got drafted,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter speaks with reporters after practice at the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp, Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. Credit: AP\/John Raoux<\/p>\n
He donned his Jaguars jersey for the first time the following day. This one was teal. At some point soon, he\u2019s expected to be swapping between teal and white during the same practice. Or, as Hunter suggested, maybe get his own color. No one would be surprised considering he\u2019s that unique.<\/p>\n
Hunter caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns last season at Colorado and notched 35 tackles, 11 pass breakups, eight forced incompletions and four interceptions while allowing just one touchdown.<\/p>\n
The Jaguars intend to use him in a similar role this fall, planning to have him working as a slot receiver on offense and as a cornerback in certain packages on defense. It\u2019s familiar territory for someone who played more snaps (1,461) than anyone else in college football in 2024.<\/p>\n
Hunter already has taken a leadership role among the rookies and hopes to do the same with the rest of his teammates. It could help that he has two former Colorado guys around him, defensive lineman B.J. Green II and safety Cam\u2019Ron Silmon-Craig.<\/p>\n
Silmon-Craig and Hunter first played together at Jackson State in 2022 and have been teammates since.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like a family here,\u201d Silmon-Craig said. \u201cIt\u2019s a new everything around here. We\u2019re just trying to change the culture here and build a culture. Why not get a couple Colorado guys?\u201d<\/p>\n
Especially the Colorado guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a waymaker, a game-changer, a phenomenal person,\u201d Silmon-Craig said. \u201cIf he comes out here and doesn\u2019t dance one practice, I\u2019m going to go ask him, \u2019You good? What\u2019s wrong?’<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he does. He dances and flies around and has fun. That\u2019s why I love him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 After spending two days working solely at receiver during Jacksonville\u2019s rookie minicamp, two-way star Travis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2060],"tags":[7,212,125,2401,213,6,2309],"class_list":{"0":"post-40896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jacksonville","10":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","11":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","12":"tag-jaguars","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-wires-bot"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114487556263868711","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}