Jaguars reveal two-way star Travis Hunter's role ahead of NFL debut

Nick McGee

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Jaguars reveal two-way star Travis Hunter's role ahead of NFL debut image

Travis Hunter will make his NFL debut on Sunday for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have given a clear indication of what his role will be against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.

Jacksonville traded up to the second pick in this year's draft to select Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy while playing both wide receiver and cornerback in his final college season with Colorado.

Many have expressed significant doubt about Hunter's ability to play both offense and defense at the highest level, though he took snaps at both spots in training camp and in preseason. 

However, the prevailing opinion has long since been that it would be too difficult for Hunter to start at both positions, and the Jaguars have revealed which position he will likely be focusing on with the release of their unofficial Week 1 depth chart. 

Hunter set to start at receiver

It had been expected that receiver would be Hunter's most likely home in the NFL, and he is indeed listed as a starter at wideout.

He does feature on the defensive depth chart, but is listed as a backup cornerback. 

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What kind of usage, if any, Hunter gets at corner remains to be seen. An upper-body injury limited his involvement in the latter part of training camp and in preseason, with Jaguars head coach Liam Coen indicating on Monday that Jacksonville was still determining a plan for his Week 1 snaps.

"We're still working through it right now," Coen said, "He obviously missed a lot of time there that can impact playing anybody, nonetheless a rookie that misses quite a bit of time.

"So what that usage looks like, we're still working through."

Even with the missed practice time, Hunter will undoubtedly retain confidence in his ability to play both ways successfully.

Asked on the 'Up and Adams' show how hard it is to practice on both sides of the ball, Hunter replied: "It's not hard at all, if I'm being honest.

"The first off day that we had, and then I came back and did both sides, that's the only thing that got to me, but after that, I've been good."

"After the first off day, I got a little tired. I didn't do what I needed to do during that off day, but I bounced back that next day. So I was good."

Hunter lived up to his billing throughout his college career. Regardless of what role he plays, Sunday's clash with the Panthers will offer the first insight into whether he can do the same at the highest level.

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Nick McGee

Nick McGee is a writer and sub-editor for The Sporting News. Nick has worked in sports media for more than a decade covering everything from football to F1 and beyond. He specialises particularly in US Sports as a passionate San Francisco 49ers fan, and has covered several Super Bowls.