Ryan Clark makes strong claim on Travis Hunter, Shohei Ohtani comparisons

ESPN’s Ryan Clark made a strong claim on the Travis Hunter, Shohei Ohtani comparisons based on both athletes playing multiple positions in their respective sport. Hunter will continue to play wide receiver and cornerback while Ohtani is ready to resume pitching for the Dodgers while putting up big hitting numbers.

Ohtani’s performance with the Los Angles Angels and then the Dodgers of course, has been remarkable. He helped the team win the World Series in 2024 and despite injuries slowing down his pitching, he’s kept it up in the batter’s box. In the modern era, people are wondering if Hunter can sustain his Heisman-level ability in the pros with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Clark said both players are one of a kind, especially if Hunter is able to do it in the year of 2025 and beyond. It’s been attempted in both football and baseball, but you have to be a special individual to do so.

“Listen, what Shohei Ohtani does, and the reason it’s so spectacular, is because he’s been one of the best at both,” Clark said on Get Up. “Shohei Ohtani just doesn’t get up to bat or just doesn’t step into the batter box, he absolutely smashes the ball out of the park. He doesn’t just pitch. He throws 100 miles per hour with a nasty hook. That’s what makes what Shohei Ohtani is doing so impressive. 

“And even though it’s not as taxing as what Travis Hunter would do, it’s about the level in which you do it. And let’s not act like people don’t try to do this. There are guys that play both ways every snap in high school. Travis Hunter was just better than all of those guys. And when you get to college, there are guys like Champ Bailey, guys like Deion Sanders, guys like Charles Woodson, who are the greatest of all time, that have played their position. They also played both ways. To be able to do that from a cardiovascular standpoint, from an intelligent standpoint, is absolutely out of this world.” 

Hunter was positioned at wide receiver to start minicamp with the Jaguars. But like Ohtani, the organization doesn’t want to keep him on a leash.

“And so we’re not going to see more Shoheis, we’re not going to see more Travis Hunters, but to watch Travis Hunter try to step into something that’s so nuanced and so new is going to be, in my opinion, much more interested in what Shohei is doing,” Clark said. “Because I believe it’s more difficult to be at the top of the game at both of those positions.”