Not that anyone should be surprised, but Jacksonville Jaguars rookie - and former Colorado Heisman Trophy winner - Travis Hunter is drawing rave reviews already from his new coaching staff.
The Jaguars knew what they were getting when they made the aggressive move to trade up to No. 2 in the 2025 NFL Draft to acquire Hunter. He's a potential two-way superstar at the next level and should be a day one impact player for the Jaguars as they look to take a step toward perennial contention in the AFC South.
In an interview with Ari Meirov, new Jaguars OC Grant Udinski raved about his early impressions of Hunter from practice.
#Jaguars OC Grant Udinski on working with Travis Hunter: "He's been an injection of energy into not just the offense, but I think the team. What you see on TV — him dancing around and bringing the juice and energy — that is genuine."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 22, 2025
📺 Full episode: https://t.co/QgPxEMgRYi https://t.co/bUEhI69q0v pic.twitter.com/qzAkquyizY
"He's a lot of fun to be around," Udinski said. "Not only because he brings that energy, but because he's a football guy in the sense that he loves football, wants to be great, willing to work, wants to talk about things, wants to go over things."
Hunter's energy and smile were obvious on the practice field and on Saturdays during his time in Boulder. He's the type of player who not only is supremely talented, but one who loves the game of football. He loves being out there competing. Combining the love of the game with his athletic skillset and football mind gives you a once-in-a-generation player like Hunter.
"He's out there excited about practice, and he's practicing hard for the entire time he's practicing," Udinski said. "So that's exciting for me, as a coach, to be a part of that."
Training Camp will give the first glimpse on Travis Hunter's rookie role
The Jaguars will have to be careful with how they utilize Hunter during Training Camp. He's trying to learn two positions, but the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement limits how much time a player can practice, meaning his reps will have to carefully monitored to avoid potential league discipline for overwork.
It will be interesting to see if Jacksonville's braintrust decides to limit his reps at both positions, or if they want him to fully learn one position before practicing at the other. Hunter spent the majority of minicamp working at WR, but he's been actively studying the playbook for both sides of the ball and fully intends on playing DB as well as WR.
Training Camp opens for the Jaguars on Wednesday, and that will give the first glimpse of how the team plans to utilize Hunter in his rookie season.