Jaguars' Campanile Breaks Down Travis Hunter’s Early Impact

Travis Hunter has not had the explosive start to the season that the Jacksonville Jaguars and others have expected through the early weeks of the NFL campaign. The wide receiver and cornerback have been modestly productive on both sides of the ball, though the flashes have been there for the rookie phenom.

Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has been working with Hunter and head coach Liam Coen to ensure a path to full-time play on both sides of the ball while maintaining a game plan and playbook for the positions Hunter is playing. Campanile shared his evaluation of his young star, working him into the defense, and growing the in-game communication between coach and player.

Campanile evaluates Hunter

Campanile Jag — Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile talks to Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jabbar Muhammad (37) after he fumbled the ball during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Hunter hasn't made any of the superstar-like plays that made him a top-two draft choice and the Heisman Trophy recipient, Campanile explained that the rookie has done well, and while everyone has room to improve, he saw a player who was doing a much better job managing repetitions on the field.

"I think he did a good job," Campanile said. "Overall, it’s a lot of plays like you guys have probably seen, but like we said, we expected him to have an uptick in terms of reps on the field, and I thought he did a good job managing that. Like any game, there’s definitely stuff to correct, but did a good job overall."

As Campanile said during the summer and reiterated this week, the plan was to always slowly acclimate Hunter on defense, with his main focus on offense alongside Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. Though the first-year defensive coordinator said the Jaguars' first-round selection is moving in the right direction.

Hunter Jag — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) screams as he comes out of the tunnel before the start of an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium Sunday September 7, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"He's done pretty well to this point, and I like the way we've handled that, really that's Coach Coen," Campanile said. "He's done a great job, like I said, through the summer, just kind of getting him ramped up and getting acclimated and everything. So, I think he's trending the right way and obviously the more he plays, the better and better he is going to be.”

In-game communication can be difficult in situations like Hunter, and it's a rare one for the Jaguars to be in. So far, the issues have been minimal to nonexistent; a positive sign for his NFL progression. Campanile said that the constant communication between each series has kept Hunter on 'red alert' readiness, but has done 'a great job' through two weeks

"He's got to be on like red alert every second of the game I guess, just because he's getting information from the offense, getting information from us and he does a very good job in between series, even when we're making corrections and they're on offense. We have some coaches who get him any of our changes during the game day," Campanile explained. "He's really locked into the game, and I thought he did a good job on Sunday."

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