Travis Hunter Confirms Liam Coen Has Kept Him in the Dark as Jaguars Announce Last-Minute Twist

The NFL doesn’t usually leave its rookies guessing a week before kickoff. Rookies are usually told where they belong, how they’ll line up, and exactly how many snaps they’ll see. That’s the comfort most draft picks buy with their contracts. But Jacksonville’s new phenom isn’t living with that luxury. Jaguars gave up a haul to land Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall. A Heisman winner and a two-way phenomenon is entering his first NFL Sunday still unsure of what, exactly, his head coach expects.

Hunter’s supposed to be a blueprint for Jacksonville’s Liam Coen era. Instead, he’s flying blind going into Week 1. That’s how Dan Graziano teased it out of him on NFL Countdown. And the answers Hunter gave didn’t sound like a guy with clarity on his role.

Graziano threw him a softball. “People are curious what’s this going to look like? How much is he going to play on each side of the ball? Do you have a feel for that?” Hunter’s answer was blunt: “I don’t know. I’m just going out there doing my job, doing what they asked me to do. They didn’t tell me nothing. So, I just go out there and just continue to work, keep my head down, and whatever they feel like the best player for me, I’m going just go attack.”

Dan pressed: “But we’re in a game week now. They haven’t told you what you’re going to do against Carolina.” Hunter shrugged, “Just put me in the game.” Translation: Just put me on the field, even if it’s without telling me what to do. All of this reveals one thing: Coen and the Jaguars are deliberately keeping the rookie guessing. Maybe it’s a strategy or just a test to see what their best weapon does on the field. Jacksonville has its magic card in Hunter, but the player about to take the field doesn’t even know what hand he’s holding. That’s the very definition of being kept in the dark.

From his meeting schedule to positional priorities, his role is split. When asked what his “meeting schedule” is like, Hunter explained, “I meet on both sides of the ball all day, every day.” Then he also explained how he has to juggle it on alternating days and prioritize one meeting for the other. Sure, it’s hectic, but to be a two-way weapon, hard work comes complimentary.

Still, skeptics are waiting for him to crash into a wall. Graziano asked if Hunter hears the outside noise, questioning whether two-way play can work at this level. Hunter didn’t bother softening his edge: “I don’t care what other people gotta say. I just let them go to talking. I mean, they’re not me, and they’re not inside my body. They can’t tell me what I can and can’t do because they’ve never been me. So, I just go out just do my thing and focus on myself.” That’s confidence or maybe necessity, because at the moment, he’s leaning on belief more than information. Meanwhile, Coen and the Jaguars secretly know what they’re cooking.

Travis Hunter’s week 1 role revealed

According to Adam Schefter, Hunter will start full-time at wide receiver and rotate at corner. That’s already a nightmare for Carolina’s thin cornerback group. “The Jacksonville Jaguars are planning for Travis Hunter to be an ‘every-down wide receiver and situational corner’ in Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers, league sources told ESPN on Saturday,” Schefter reported. “Although Hunter is expected to play more wide receiver than cornerback Sunday, it doesn’t mean that arrangement will hold in Week 2 or further into the season, according to sources.”

This update reshapes the matchup against Carolina. Because the Panthers already have enough problems. Missing Ikem Ekwonu against Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker isn’t any good either. Now they’re staring down Trevor Lawrence and a possible new weapon they barely know how to prepare for. The history only adds to the spectacle. Very few players – Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey, and Antonio Cromartie – have successfully lined up both ways at this level. Hunter will try to add his name to that list while Carolina’s depleted secondary scrambles.

Coen said, “We’ve got to be smart with it,” hinting at balance and pacing. “He’s shown he can handle both sides, but we’ll figure out the right balance,” Coen added. But whatever the balance is, it won’t be boring. Hunter is the headline. And now every snap Hunter takes, on offense or defense, is going to carry the weight of expectation.