Just last week, a woman named Sandy Hawkins Combs shared her unexpected encounter with Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter on Facebook. Combs was flying back from Denver when, by pure coincidence, she ended up seated right next to Hunter. In her post, Sandy praised the young star, calling him the “nicest young man” and appreciating his kind and respectful behavior throughout the flight. After Combs’ post went viral, fans flooded Travis with love and admiration. But fast forward to now, and things have taken a turn. 

Travis, who’s currently grinding through the team’s first OTA sessions, is already catching heat just weeks into his professional career. So much so that fans aren’t even buying Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence’s praise for the young rookie. Trevor Lawrence met Travis for the first time this week during the team’s OTA sessions. And when asked about the rookie in a media appearance, the Jaguars QB had nothing but praise for his new teammate.

“He’s got a lot of juice. A lot of energy. I love it. Good energy… High motor. He’s like a kid, he can just run around all day. He doesn’t get tired, it seems like. You can’t have enough of that,” Lawrence said. If Hunter ends up playing WR, there’s a good chance he’ll be Trevor’s go-to target. “Ball skills, run after the catch. He’s very explosive… I’ve gotten to connect a couple of times. It’s only going to get better and better. We’ve only worked together for a couple of days now, so we’ve got some time to really dial in on the details,” he added.

But fans aren’t exactly buying what Lawrence had to say. The reason? A few clips of Hunter from OTAs have been making the rounds online. And people aren’t too impressed. What exactly is in those clips? Well….

OTA clips have fans questioning the hype around Travis Hunter

So, the reason netizens are calling out the Jaguars’ No. 1 pick is that Travis looked too casual during drills. A clip featuring Hunter and the Jaguars’ other rookie wideout, Brian Thomas Jr., made its way onto X. In the video, the Colorado alum is just going through the motions instead of trying to stand out. While Hunter made a few moves, Brian was seen standing still, focused.

The post, from an account named NFL Notifications, was captioned, “Brian Thomas Jr is locked in, Travis Hunter… is not.” And soon enough, it became a debating point for netizens. Calling out the 2024 Heisman winner, one user commented, “Hot take, but I feel like Travis Hunter is gonna be one of the biggest busts since Ryan Leaf, and I felt that way since he won the Heisman.“

Lately, netizens have also been calling out the Colorado star for being too ambitious about playing a dual role. A comment read, “The Colorado hype train is real. He wasn’t elite on either side of the ball but ‘snap count high,’ so draft him high.” Some even went further, calling the rookie a “mid,” player. One user wrote, “THANK YOU! People have been calling me crazy for saying this. Dude is gonna be so mid, bro. I wish him well, but I legit think dude is mid.” Another comment read, “Yes I’m not tryna be a hater or anything but he’s just so small I can’t see him living up to his hype, would be cool if I’m wrong tho.” 

Well, like the Jaguars’ QB, the team’s new HC, Liam Coen, would also disagree with the fans. In a post-training interview, Coen told reporters, “He (Travis) can run forever. He’ll run a route, jog back, and then go again like he never stopped. It’s clear he’s in football shape, even after everything leading up to the draft.”

Well, well, Travis hasn’t even been a month into his NFL career, and the rookie’s already catching a lot of attention. And not all of it’s flattering. All this buzz, and it’s just off a 10-15 second clip. Honestly, none of it will matter if the Colorado alum shows up and shuts down the doubters with his game on the NFL gridiron. So what do you think, will Hunter rise to the occasion and quiet the noise when it’s game time?