Travis Hunter Leaning on Veteran Defensive Back as Rookie

Learning from a veteran for mentorship and development is a tale as old as time in the NFL and across sports. In Jacksonville, it is a common theme with a young Jaguars roster and several key veteran players on both sides of the ball.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are already one of the big storylines for the league this year, mostly due to the addition of two-way star Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall selection in the draft, whom Jacksonville traded up for. For the third day of training camp practice on Friday, Hunter practiced mainly on defense for the first time as he continues to attempt to play both sides of the ball at a high snap rate.

Hunter's transition has seemingly gone smoothly. While he wasn't targeted during practice, the Jaguars standout rookie has been turning heads for most of training camp so far.

When asked after Friday's practice who he leans on for advice, player-wise, Hunter didn't name a specific player, saying everyone has been helpful and are doing so as much as they can during practice or off the field.

"Player-wise, I mean all the guys are there to help me. It doesn’t matter when I come on the sideline or if I'm in a meeting room, they're there to help me," Hunter said. "So, all the guys in each room, they come and try to help me as much as they can.”

However, one player has stood out in terms of veteran leadership for Hunter and the young Jaguars secondary. Former long-time Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis was signed this offseason to be the starting nickel defender and will play a significant role for defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

Lewis, who Hunter calls, "J-Lew," has been a fun figure for the top-five draft choice to learn from. Hunter said Lewis is like an uncle to him and is looking to follow his footsteps to learn and grow his game as a cornerback.

“J-Lew, he’s an old head, so it's pretty fun to just learn from the guys that've been here, that’ve been doing it for a long time," Hunter said. "He's like an uncle to me.

"They've been here for a long time, so I just go and follow their footsteps and listen to the advice that they give me.”

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