JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The rust is slowly coming off, but one thing is very clear.
The Jaguars are thrilled to see Travis Hunter back on the field.
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It’s been nine long months since Hunter, the unicorn of a football player who won the Heisman Trophy at Colorado in 2024, last saw the field as a fully-functioning Jaguars player.
“It’s been great to be back,” Hunter said.
Jacksonville made the biggest draft dray trade in franchise history last year when it moved up from No. 5 to No. 2 to select Hunter. The Jaguars envisioned Hunter possessing the skills on both sides of the ball to elevate the game itself.
The results were mixed. Hunter had flickers on offense, including a career-best 101 yards and a touchdown in a Week 7 game against the Rams. But he suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice the following week and missed the rest of the season. He was cleared to resume full speed practicing before training camp.
“Just get the rust off right now,” Hunter said. “I’ve been gone for nine months, not able to be out here with my teammates for nine months, so finally being able to hit the grass, knock the rust off and just continue to click with the quarterbacks and click with the defense.”
Jacksonville has said throughout the offseason that it expected to keep playing Hunter on both sides of the ball.
Hunter has gotten more work on the defensive side during the first three days of training camp. He’s expected to start opposite Buster Brown at cornerback. Jacksonville has continued to keep Hunter on a tight schedule as it tries to maximize his reps between corner and receiver. He flips from his white defensive jersey to his teal offensive jersey throughout camp days.
“They’re so crucial to have the time, and you have to be extremely intentional with that time when we have him because it is limited,” said head coach Liam Coen. “I mean, just per side of the ball, especially right now offensively, it’s just over here a little bit less when you’re doing some of the individual work, and it’s showing a little bit with some of the timing that we need to continue to work on, and that’s why those guys get some more extra work after practice.”
QB tracker:
Trevor Lawrence: 11 for 19, five TDs (BTJ 3, Meyers 1, Washington 1; 1 interception (Jarrian Jones)
Nick Mullens: 8 for 20, 3 TDs (Austin Trammell 2, Tanner Koziol 1); 2 interceptions (Jarrian Jones and Branson Combs)
Carter Bradley: 1 for 2.
Joey Aguilar: 1 for 2, TD (J’Mari Taylor).
RB tracker:
Bhayshul Tuten: Four carries all with Trevor Lawrence.
LeQuint Allen: Three carries all with Lawrence.
Ameer Abdullah: Five carries all with Nick Mullens.
DeeJay Dallas: Two carries. One with Lawrence and one with Mullens.
J’Mari Taylor: Two carries, TD.
Personnel groupings:
11 personnel: 35/44 = 79.5%
12 personnel: 6/44 = 13.6%
13 personnel: 3/44 = 6.8%
Arik Armstead had a veterans day off.
Player of the day:
This one was a no-brainer. Jarrian Jones was on one! He wrecked shop! Jones came up with two interceptions but a nice PBU. One of his interceptions came off of Lawrence in the red zone. Lawrence was looking for Parker Washington on as little out route but Jones read it and jumped it. This may be the single most dominant defensive practice I have seen from a Jaguars player in my time covering the team.
The big note from this practice is that Anton Harrison spent the day at left tackle, and Walker Little spent the day at right tackle. The coaching staff loves versatility along the O-line and to try out different combos, so seeing this is a surprise. But this isn’t just a test-it-out type of look right now; the question is who should start at left tackle if Cole Van Lanen isn’t ready Week 1. It wouldn’t surprise me if that person ends up being Anton Harrison. He has spent his entire NFL career up until now at right tackle, but he played left tackle in college.
The linebacker battle between Branson Combs and Ventrell Miller is absolute cinema. These two have been throwing haymakers back and forth each day. Combs made a jumping interception off a pass from Nick Mullens. Miller responded by getting a diving pass breakup a few plays later. These two have both been making plays; this will be a tough battle to judge.