Jaguars OC Explains Travis Hunter Dynamic

Fans arriving for Jaguars practice at the Miller Electric Center show up with one primary question on their minds: What color is Travis Hunter wearing? If it’s teal, he’s practicing with the offense. If it’s white, as it was Sunday, he’s working with the defense.

Grant Udinski was not happy Hunter was working with the defense.

“Not good,” Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator said after Hunter broke up two passes, including a play that went viral on social media. “That is the ultimate bittersweet because it is miserable seeing him make plays on the ball during practice, but it's a team game.

“So, it is exciting in the end to see him make plays, and you see the ball skills that show up on defense, the same thing translates to offense. It's exciting to see him flourish.”

When Hunter flourishes with the offense, Udinski is encouraged, especially when the rookie is can overcome the mental aspect of learning a complicated NFL playbook – knowing his brain also has to reserve room for defensive calls and concepts.

Since the end of the June minicamp, Udinski said he noticed Hunter progressed nicely in that department, and arrived at training camp with better technique and release on the line of scrimmage. And because Hunter has such a positive attitude and work ethic, it’ll only get better, Udinski noted.

What may not improve is the constant stress the rookie encounters to remain on the Jaguars’ strict schedule. This weekend, for instance, he moved from an indoor offensive meeting to a defensive walkthrough outside, before finishing his morning as a cornerback at the formal practice.

“It's down to the minute,” Udinski said. “It's been great. Defense has been awesome to work with. The staff has been unbelievable. He's been great, focused, locked in. It's a lot to manage and a lot to juggle, but he's been a real pro at handling it. It's a long training camp, so we know he knows we have a long way to go, but so far, it's been a lot of fun.”

Clearly, it’s been fun for Hunter, too. On one play Sunday morning, he dropped into coverage, read the quarterback’s eyes and closed on intended receiver Austin Trammell. Hunter’s football awareness allowed him to arrive the exact moment the pass hit Trammell’s hands, leaping over the receiver to bat away the pass. Afterward, Hunter skipped and danced in a 25-yard circle before returning to his defensive teammates.

If Hunter doesn’t lead the NFL in snaps, as most expect, he’ll easily lead the league in energy and conditioning.

“That's unbelievably rare,” Udinski added. “I don't know that I've seen anything like it, with that level of conditioning before. Obviously, he's expected to do something that I have not seen another player do, that none of us have seen before. It is once again a testament to his work, his training in the heat in the summer, to be able to come out here and do this.

“It is hot. No joke. There are guys out here struggling to just do one, and he's doing multiple things, juggling different things mentally, physically. It's a testament to his work. The conditioning is definitely apparent.”

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