Travis Hunter was the first two-way player to win the Heisman since Charles Woodson in 1997.
An extremely decorated athlete, he looks to continue excelling on offense and defense in the NFL.
Hunter has won numerous awards, and his statistics speak for themselves. This past season, he ranked second in the Big 12 for receiving yards per game, total receiving yards and receptions per game. He led the Big 12 with 96 receptions and 15 touchdowns. Defensively, he was arguably even better. He ranked second in pass breakups and tied for the second-most interceptions.
However, many people doubt he can continue his elite play on both sides of the ball in the pros given the greater difficulty in the NFL. While he played under former NFL great and two-way player “Coach Prime” Deion Sanders, doubters say the rigor and intensity of the pros will prove to be too much.
NFL vs. College
Travis Hunter will need to tolerate a bigger physical workload in the NFL to continue playing both ways. That is certain.
He will get hit harder and will have to play more snaps. He totaled 1,356 snaps with the Colorado Buffaloes last season, including offense and defense.
But many NFL receivers and defensive backs play over 1,000 snaps on one side of the ball alone. To play full-time on both sides of the ball, Hunter may have to play upwards of 2,000 snaps in a season without any rest in between. Timeouts, ends of quarters, replay reviews and game stoppages will be the only chances to catch his breath.
And then, just imagine this— you have to stop Justin Jefferson on one drive, and without getting a breather, you now have to get open against Jalen Ramsey. Sounds like a tall task, right?
What people forget, though, is that Hunter has defied the odds his whole life.
Travis Hunter Is Simply Different
According to Henry McKenna of FOX Sports, “Hunter ran an average of 9,300 yards per game — more than 5.2 miles — with an average speed of around 12 miles per hour.”
However, his preparation is second to none, enabling him to take on seemingly inhuman feats. He trains regularly with three different coaches: a personal receivers coach, a personal defensive backs coach and a conditioning coach.
He wouldn’t be the first athlete to defy the odds. Scott Matlock has played both offense and defense for the Los Angeles Chargers. Once upon a time, only one pro baseball team, Japanese or American, believed in Shohei Ohtani to be able to both pitch and hit. Now, many argue that he is the best baseball player to ever grace the diamond, as he excels at both.
Breaking Him In
Everything seems impossible until someone does it.
Travis Hunter may not start as a full-time corner and receiver. However, it makes sense to start him as a full-time corner and play him on select offensive snaps. Good receivers are a dime a dozen. On the other hand, cornerback is one of, if not the hardest, positions to play in football. Hunter’s value as a corner is therefore higher than his value as a receiver.
As time goes on, if Hunter can handle the physical and mental demands of playing both ways full-time, his team can work on incorporating him more into the offense.
The only exception would be if Hunter has a greater desire to play receiver or if his team desperately needs a receiver while being set at the cornerback position. In that case, of course, just reverse the order and play him as a receiver full-time and on select defensive snaps.
Either way, whoever drafts Travis Hunter should allow him to play both sides of the ball. Not doing so would hinder both him and the team.
Plus, it would be a tragedy to bar him from chasing his dreams and fulfilling the potential he and his coaches believe he has.
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