“It’s never playing football again” was a rare rookie demand/threat the Jaguars front office dealt with this draft season. They had to decide if Travis Hunter could truly take snaps at both cornerback and wide receiver. Through training camp, Liam Coen let Hunter live on the dual front. The trust was real. “They actually trust me,” Hunter said. “They put a lot on my plate, but I just have to go out there and continue to attack the work that they give me.” Weeks of speculation on whether he could master both sides of the ball ended under the stadium lights. His much-awaited debut finally settled the debate on his position.

#2 pick Travis Hunter lined up on both offense and defense in the preseason clash against the visiting Steelers. Head coach Liam Coen had promised earlier in the week that Hunter would see action on both fronts, and he delivered. The rookie opened the game at wide receiver, playing 10 of the first drive’s 11 snaps. He hauled in two catches for nine yards before rotating out.

Coen was quick to praise the early returns. “I think he made a couple of good catches on some option routes and missed the one tackle defensively that I noticed,” the coach said. While admitting he still needed to study the defensive tape more, Coen liked Hunter’s decision-making on offense. “Made a good catch, almost broke out of that one where kind of Trevor put it behind him on that third down we talked about,” he added. The rookie later returned for a handful of defensive snaps but posted no notable stats in that role.

At halftime, Coen summarized the debut. “Yeah, he got some work,” he said. “I’d like to see him just fill in a little more on defense and the run game. He did a good job on the third-down [catch] to put us in fourth down to give us the ability to go for it. He made another catch, so it was a good start.” The small but dynamic sample hinted at exactly why the Jaguars invested a first-round pick in his two-way potential.

It is not just Hunter who is being showered with the HC’s attention after the Jaguars cycled through major leadership changes. Liam Coen has high expectations for the entire locker room.

Liam Coen asks the locker room to pick itself up

This season is forcing the Jaguars’ stars into a different alignment after last year’s rollercoaster of inconsistencies. Trevor Lawrence delivered a blunt reality check in front of the cameras. “We suck right now, so I’m pretty shocked,” Lawrence said. “Obviously, we had a great offseason, great training camp, and we’ve got to figure it out.” The quarterback’s words cut through the noise, forcing the locker room to level up.

Inside the locker room, head coach Liam Coen is working to flip the script. His message to the squad is simple yet sharp. “We cannot start to beat people until we stop beating ourselves.” In Jacksonville, the fight to restore consistency is already underway. The locker room dynamics need serious rework, according to Coen. “Ultimately, it’s something that takes no talent to do and, you know, we can’t beat anybody. This is something we’ve been preaching for a long time.”

The Jaguars’ preseason momentum was on a promising note. Trevor Lawrence went 6-of-7 for 43 yards, showing rhythm and control while hitting five different targets. Yet the drive ended without six points, as rookie kicker Cam Little drilled a field goal. Little would deliver four field goals in total, including a stunning 70-yarder before halftime that would have broken the NFL record. “He wanted it, so we gave it to him,” Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said at halftime about giving Little the shot.

Coen also addressed the need for cleaner execution. “We can’t have those self-inflicted wounds. They wanted to score a TD, but settled for a FG,” he said. His words reflect the urgency to sharpen finishing drives, a theme that could define the Jaguars’ 2025 push. If history is any indicator, Coen is well aware of what is at stake.

Last season’s 4-13 collapse led to Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke’s exit, yet the locker room resisted placing all the blame on leadership. “From a player standpoint, there are a lot of things we have to get better at,” tight end Evan Engram had admitted. Wide receiver Christian Kirk added, “We all had a hand in this.” The Jaguars now look for a turnaround, banking on talent, cohesion, and a slowly mending locker room to ignite a breakout season.