Deion Sanders Jr. refutes Eli Manning's take Travis Hunter didn't practice WR at Colorado

Deion Sanders Jr. jumped on Eli Manning’s take that Travis Hunter didn’t practice at wide receiver while at Colorado. During ESPN’s Monday Night Football on The ManningCast, Manning relayed words from Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen.

Coen told Manning that Hunter did not practice at wide receiver at Colorado, while only focusing on defense. When he would play offense, he had a special package in order to realize what plays and routes were being called.

Sanders Jr. denied that happened while the Heisman Trophy winner played in Boulder. Either way, the story made Hunter’s accomplishments on offense all the more impressive.

“Don’t let them lie to you Mr Manning,” Sanders Jr. wrote. “(He) practiced Wr & DB equally.”

Manning told the story when actor Glen Powell asked during the game how he would coach Hunter. The full context of the story can be seen below.

“I talked to Liam Cohen, they said, you know, when he was at Colorado, he practiced zero with the offense. He only practiced defense,” Manning said. “They just kind of had a special system where they had signals. The coach would just signal the formation to him and then signal the route to him. So he just improvised. He went out there, winged it as a receiver. So he’s still learning right now how to be a receiver …  So I think for now, I mean, they want to work him at  receiver, get those reps.”

In the Monday night win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunter played both ways. He reeled in three catches for 64 yards, including an acrobatic 44-yard reception. He also logged two tackles on the night while playing cornerback.

In total, Hunter has 16 catches for 182 yards on the season, but no touchdowns yet. On defense, he has 13 total tackles and two pass deflections.

His former coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, previously said the Jaguars weren’t using him right. Granted, that was a little bit earlier in the season, but Hunter’s usage has certainly been talked about. 

How his role expands with more development this season, especially on a 4-1 Jaguars team, remains to be seen. Funny enough, Sanders actually talked about Hunter’s practice schedule at Colorado.

“They’re not using him enough like, you know, I’ve seen it with my own eyes on an everyday basis for three straight years,” Sanders said on New Heights. “So I know what he’s capable of, and I know how you got to take care of him. He never practiced on Tuesdays. He’s practiced on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Was ready to play hundreds of snaps on Saturday. So you didn’t need to use him on a Tuesday or Monday. You don’t use him like that.”