When the Jaguars moved up to the No. 2 pick to take Travis Hunter, they weren’t just betting on a wide receiver or a cornerback — they were betting on Travis being Travis. That means unleashing him at his full potential on both sides of the ball.
From the first day he set foot in Jacksonville, it was clear the Jags had a plan. Head coach Liam Coen said back in April that Travis would “start primarily on offense” while getting up to speed with the defensive playbook and the pace of the league. The
goal was to ease him into a true two-way role.
Flash forward to the first of NFL Training Camp, and that plan’s officially in motion.
Travis is now taking reps on both sides of the ball — just like expected. But the staff isn’t winging it. After Jacksonville’s first practice on Wednesday, Coen broke down how intentional they’re being with his schedule and workload.
“You want to give him a couple of days offense, a couple of days defense,” Coen said. “Then give him an opportunity to flip-flop within the same practice, and that’ll kind of become the norm.”
The kind of flexibility that Jaguars brass is affording Hunter takes a lot of discipline and structure, and the team is well aware of that. Coen said every minute Travis is in the building is thoroughly planned out to maximize opportunities on both sides of the football. They’re trying to squeeze the most out of every day without overloading him.
Even so, overloading Travis Hunter is apparently easier said than done. During his time in Boulder, CU’s coaching staff constantly spoke about how amazed they were by Hunter’s energy, saying he’s an engine that seemingly never runs out of gas. If the Jags can tap into that same energy reserve, there should be no issues on that part.
Coen and his staff have gone as far as building Hunter’s training plan around the team’s practice blocks. Hunter will do three days on followed by one day off, giving a chance to reset while still making time for both roles.
“Every single day he’s on one side of the ball,” Coen said, “he’ll meet with the other side at least once, maybe twice.”
Jacksonville not rushing it, but they’re not holding Hunter back either. Travis Hunter is going to play his game — and that means showing out on both sides of the ball.
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