With the Jacksonville Jaguars rookies reporting to training camp, what should we be watching for with Travis Hunter as the next several weeks unfold?
The obvious is his progression and growth on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football, which is something that, during offseason programs, Trevor Lawrence had already seen a lot of.
“He’s grown a lot,” Lawrence said after the final minicamp practice. “There’s a lot, obviously, being thrown on him, being a high pick, playing both ways. He’s done a great job.”
However, in addition to that, what I’m most curious to see in these practices is how Hunter’s reps are divided between offense and defense.
While Hunter has been learning both playbooks and the terminology of both systems since he arrived in Jacksonville, the bulk of his practice time in OTAs and minicamp came on offense. This was the plan from the start, and as GM James Gladstone described, a reason for that approach is that the team views cornerback as Hunter’s more natural position.
For the most part, during those practices, Hunter was either on offense or defense on a given day–not both. So the next step in his progression is practicing on both sides of the ball on the same day, which will be the norm in-season.
We are going to see this take place in training camp–Hunter playing on offense and defense on the same day–but how exactly Coen is going to divvy up those practice reps remains to be seen.
“He loves football,” Coen said on the E.V.Podcast. “He loves to compete. You feel his energy out on the grass. His endurance out on the grass is just non-stop. He definitely brings a little bit of that youthful energy to our team, to our offense and defense. He’s made some really good plays, and he’s continuing to have to learn as he goes.”
As Tony Khan highlighted, in-season, Hunter’s playing time during games could be dictated by the game flow as well as the matchup. However, in a structured practice environment, the Jaguars will have a detailed plan about how they want to continue onboarding Hunter to best prepare him for the regular season.
Helping Hunter navigate everything that comes with playing two ways is his work ethic, as Lawrence pointed out recently, along with his 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.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars rookies report to training camp: What to watch for Travis Hunter
