Travis Hunter Made Honest Admission About NFL Preseason Debut With Jaguars

Travis Hunter shared his thoughts on his preseason debut against the Steelers.

Travis Hunter made his debut at wide receiver and cornerback for the Jaguars on Saturday. / Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Travis Hunter played 10 snaps on offense and eight snaps on defense as he made his preseason debut at both cornerback and wide receiver for the Jaguars in their 31-25 loss to the Steelers on Saturday.

Offensively, Hunter played one series with the starters and caught two passes for nine yards. He had another catch and run that was called back due to penalty. Per ESPN's Michael DiRocco, five of the six routes Hunter ran were out of the slot.

On the defensive side of the ball, Hunter played a couple series with the second-stringers. He was not targeted in coverage, but did miss one tackle on Steelers' running back Kaleb Johnson.

"I was a little nervous, but it felt great," Hunter acknowledged after the game. "... After the first play, I was good."

"I was a little nervous at first."
– Travis Hunter after his first preseason game pic.twitter.com/R74iJ8HsEA

— Jamal St. Cyr (@JStCyrTV) August 10, 2025

Though the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 pick is confident in his ability to play on both sides of the ball, he admittedly gets nervous before every game. By the time he made his first catch, he felt settled into the game.

"I did pretty good, I feel like if we had more opportunities we would've shown what we can really do," Hunter told reporters. He later said he could "flush" his missed tackle right away, and know what to do next time.

Jaguars coach Liam Coen seemed pleased with Hunter's performance after the game, but noted he would have to take a closer look at the tape from Hunter defensively.

"I think he made a couple good catches on some option routes, missed the one tackle defensively that I noticed," Coen said. "... I thought offensively he made the right decisions on those option routes, made a good catch, almost broke out of that one where Trevor put it behind him on that third down.

Coach Coen on Travis Hunter's debut 🗣️#PITvsJAX pic.twitter.com/iDP8X06gP7

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) August 10, 2025

Hunter will get his next opportunity on both offense and defense when the Jaguars face the Saints for their second preseason game next week.

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