College football coaches rave about Travis Hunter entering NFL

The new-look Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t the only ones over the moon about Travis Hunter‘s potential in the NFL. And that’s saying something after the Jaguars made the biggest splash on Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft by trading their 2026 first-round draft pick (among others) to the Cleveland Browns to land the two-way Colorado superstar at No. 2 overall.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg released a story that revealed NFL Draft reactions from multiple anonymous college football coaches, including several that gushed about Hunter, who will be given every opportunity to play both ways as a cornerback and receiver in Jacksonville.

“Travis is like the rubber-band man,” an assistant coach “familiar with Hunter” told Rittenberg. “He understands football, knows routes off splits, ball skills are out of this world. His ball skills are the best I’ve ever seen. His endurance is what’s really crazy.”

Another Big 12 coach suggested Hunter’s versatility will have his new Jaguars coaches battling it out for snaps: “There’ll be a fight to see who gets to use him.”

The 6-foot, 188-pound Hunter took home nearly every individual award he qualified for during the 2024 season. In addition to the 2024 Heisman Trophy, the Buffaloes superstar won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and AP College Football Player of the Year, the Biletnikoff Award (best receiver), the Bednarik Award (best defender), the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player), the Lott IMPACT Trophy (top defender), as well as earning unanimous All-American status in addition to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

That came after Hunter led Colorado with a career-high 96 receptions for 1,258 receiving yards and a Big 12-leading 15 total touchdowns on offense, including one rushing, in addition to four interceptions, 11 passes defended, one forced fumble and 36 total tackles on defense last season.

NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein raves about Travis Hunter

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein provided a detailed analysis of Hunter’s game ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, and compared him to fellow former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith as a receiver and Darius Slay as a cornerback. That’s some lofty praise.

Zierlein gushed about Hunter’s “world-class athleticism” and natural ball skills that help him succeed on both sides of the ball, thanks to an elite instinctiveness that allows him to make big plays at the biggest times. Offensively, Zierlein pointed out Hunter gets by on talent over technique and could use some work to smooth out his route running in the NFL. Defensively, Zierlein acknowledged Hunter made improvements from 2023 to 2024, translating his skills and instincts as a receiver to cornerback but can amplify his play with a true ball-hawking talent on the edge.

“Exciting two-way player whose world-class athleticism and ball skills help him shine on both sides of the ball. Hunter is an instinctive, natural football player with a feel for making the biggest plays at the biggest times. He was the best player on his team by a long stretch,” Zierlein wrote on Hunter’s NFL.com draft profile. “On offense, Hunter gets by on talent over technique, but will need to smooth out the journey from press release to catch with better route running. He has the burst to uncover over three levels with ball skills and catch focus that are reminiscent of DeVonta Smith in his Heisman Trophy-winning season.

“The cornerback tape was solid in 2023 and improved across the board in 2024. Hunter takes his skills and instincts from receiver and transfers them to cornerback, where they amplify his ball-hawking talent and production,” Zierlein continued. “Hunter plays with excellent anticipation from man or zone with burst and playmaking range that should terrify quarterbacks. He possesses rare ball skills and leaping ability to make challenging interceptions and he will contest a high number of passes. He’s leggy and loses some ground when transitioning from his pedal, and he needs to prove he can handle the rigors of NFL run support.”