Jacksonville Jaguars' Liam Coen Reveals Travis Hunter Two-Way Plan In Training Camp, Rookie Season

"We built a plan and then sat him down and really talked through it," Jaguars coach Liam Coen saidon the "Pat McAfee Show." "How does he learn? What is the best ways that he learns? We did gain some of that information throughout the draft process, but when you actually sit down with him and get a feeling, 'Well, he likes to walk-through more than sit in a meeting-room setting, so let's do more walk-throughs.' Every day he was on offense, he also met with the defensive staff in the afternoons, and vice versa."

Coen's plan for Hunter aligns with the Heisman Trophy winner's goals. Hunter was a full-time two-way player at Colorado and will be must-see TV in the NFL. In 2024, Hunter played an incredible 713 offensive snaps and 748 defensive snaps.

"He played both sides of the ball in practice today and that will have to continue on throughout training camp where he's playing on both sides of the ball and getting that mental and physical endurance throughout the training camp, because that's what he's going to have to do in games," Coen continued. "So ultimately, we're building a foundation right now of both sides of the football, but he's going to have to do both in practice because that's what the game is going to be like, and we'll sit down and reevaluate what we did this spring to see what's the best moving forward."

Coen also discussed why the Jaguars traded up in the 2025 NFL Draft to select Hunter at No. 2 overall. In one of the most exciting NFL draft trades, Jacksonville traded the No. 5 and 36 picks and a future first-rounder to the Cleveland Browns in order to get the Biletnikoff Award winner and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

"I think about a month prior to the draft, we started having some conversations," said Coen. "(General manager) James (Gladstone) came into our office. It was Tony (defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile) and I sitting in here, and he said, 'Hey, what would you guys think if we could go and make this (trade) happen?'"

Drafting the two-way player is a splash move for the new head coach Coen and general manager James Gladstone, who is the youngest GM in the NFL at 34 years old. If Hunter develops into the generational talent in the NFL that he was in college, the trade will be highly-regarded as one of the smartest in history.

"Ultimately, it came down to we want to get a player and be the best player that he can be," Coen continued. "He feels he can do some phenomenal things on both sides of the ball, which we appreciate. We want to give him that platform, while also knowing that when your best players are some of your hardest workers and are guys that truly love the game. That love every aspect of it. Eat, breathe and sleep this thing. That's who he is."

Hunter is already bringing dance moves, fun and a wave of optimism to the organization heading into 2025. Jacksonville is coming off a rough 4-13 season in 2024 and looking to their young players in Hunter and quarterback Trevor Lawrence to get back to NFL relevancy.

Hunter is fresh off an impressive final college season with Colorado, finishing with 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for being the best wide receiver in college football. Defensively, Hunter had 35 total tackles, 11 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and four interceptions. Hunter won the Chuck Bednarik Award for being the best defensive player in college football.