Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers Brian Thomas Jr. (7), Travis Hunter (12) and Dyami Brown (5) work on reflexes using tennis balls during an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Friday, July 25, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Travis Hunter Weighs In On Others Attempting Double Duty

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Bryan Anthony Davis | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the talk of the football world, and it's no surprise because everybody loves a new trend. In NFL history, we've seen quite a bit of innovation, such as the gigantic William" The Refrigerator" Perry in short-yardage situations, the Wildcat offense, and, most recently, "The Tush Push".

While we've seen players go "both ways" forever, see Chuck Bednarik, Travis Hunter is attempting to be a full-time, two-way player on a very large scale.

As always, success breeds others trying to replicate it for themselves. And that's okay. While the Hunter plan has not been deemed successful as of yet in the professional ranks, it worked enough for the Heisman Trophy to end up on the Jaguars' No. 1 selection's mantle. No others are lining up to be the next guy, and to do it on a bigger scale.

The guy attempting to follow in Hunter's two-way footsteps is an upcoming sophomore for the University of Minnesota. The Golden Gopher, Koi Perich, carved out a nice freshman season for himself in 2024. But a comparison to Hunter might not exactly be apples-to-apples.

Koi Perich Accomplishments

Played in all 13 of Minnesota's games
Started three games on defense
Served as the team's primary kick and punt returner
Broke up three passes
Five interceptions
Only freshman in all of FBS to have recorded more than 100 punt return yards, 100 kick return yards, and five interceptions in a season
Named an All-American by Sporting News
Named First Team All-Big Ten

Travis Hunter's Thoughts

After practice on Friday, the media throng asked if he had heard about Koi Perich and how he feels about being agroundbreaker for two-way college football players.

“No. I haven't, replied Hunter. "I just hope they go out there and continue to do what they need to do. I'm not going to say I'm the groundbreaker because there's a lot of people before me that have done it. I just did it to a certain extent that nobody else did it.”

Perich could find success, but if Hunter does, he'll be paving the way by silencing the critics. When asked the hardest part of playing both ways that people may not know about, Travis was transparent and showed a measure of vulnerability with his reply.

"Just the work that you put in, and when they try to criticize it, it's like, I'm already doing all this extra work. You're going to keep telling me I can't do the same thing that I've been doing and showing
you, so it's just that a lot of people just keep downplaying it, but I'm going to just be quiet
and go to work.”

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This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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