Travis Hunter has played defense in Jacksonville Jaguars OTAs; plan for getting reps

Yahoo

5 days ago

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen revealed on May 27 that Travis Hunter was able to get defensive reps during Jacksonville's third organized team activity practice.
'He's been learning a ton defensively and offensively, but that was more so fundamentals, techniques,' Coen said when asked if the team had a chance to get Hunter on the field with the defense yet. 'It wasn't a ton of 11-on-11, 7-on-7, it was more fundamentals, techniques, communication. That was what that kind of last Wednesday was.'
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The Jaguars conducted their fourth OTA practice on Tuesday, May 27, from the Miller Electric Center where Hunter was back practicing with the offense.
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He's continuing to build the foundation for his relationship with quarterback Trevor Lawrence while also taking in information from meetings and applying it to the field.
That doesn't mean that he's falling behind defensively, according to Coen.
'He's been learning with those guys and meeting with them extra as he's needed to,' he said.
Travis Hunter won't split time on offense and defense during camp, according to Liam Coen
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs during the first organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Monday, May 19, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla.
After Hunter was drafted, it was assumed he'd share time with both sides of the ball during practice. It's something he likely did at previous stops Collins Hills, Jackson State and Colorado, and isn't uncommon for two-way players to do at different levels.
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But it's not something the Jaguars are planning to do with Hunter right now.
'We won't put him in that situation to have him do that, although I'm sure he'd probably want to,' Coen said. 'He still meets defensively every day that he's on offense. He's getting the mental part of it and being able to catch up on some of the communication, some of the corrections off the film, from the defensive side of the ball.'
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Through the first media availability with Hunter, it shows why the team took the offense first approach with him. He's still very raw as a receiver. It'll take time to develop the necessary techniques of established route runners and get a full grasp of Coen's offense.
However, Coen made sure to emphasize that Hunter is still getting his fill on defense off the field.
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'He's getting a lot of the mental and it would probably be unfair to put him out on the grass and do both,' he said. 'Ask him to go do that and see success.'
It's likely that they'll have Hunter work both sides during select practices in-season. Coen gave the example of a day where the team is working on third downs. It'll be important for him to get reps on offense, but he'll also need reps with the defense to get situational understanding on both sides of the ball.
'He's going to probably have to, just because it's the way that practices are kind of organized,' Coen said. 'He's definitely going to have to do that.'
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Travis Hunter playing defense? Jaguars coach explains plan for OTAs