Travis Hunter may have been the best player in college football last season, but the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie still had some jitters prior to his NFL preseason debut on Saturday night.
Hunter played on both offense and defense in the Jaguars’ exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The No. 2 overall pick admitted he was “a little nervous” at the start of the night.
“It felt great. A little nervous, but it felt great,” Hunter said. “It definitely settled down when I got the first catch. Really when the first play started, it settled down. … I was a little nervous at first, but after the first play I was good.”
Hunter added that he felt “pretty good” about the debut and that he believes the Jaguars would had more success if their starters had more opportunities.
"I was a little nervous at first."
— Jamal St. Cyr (@JStCyrTV) August 10, 2025
– Travis Hunter after his first preseason game pic.twitter.com/R74iJ8HsEA
Hunter played 11 snaps on offense in Jacksonville’s 31-25 loss to the Steelers. He finished with 2 catches for 8 yards. The former Colorado star played eight snaps on defense, and the receivers that he was covering were not targeted. Hunter did have a missed tackle on defense, however.
The Jaguars have made it clear that they intend to give Hunter an opportunity to play full time on both sides of the ball. He did that with tremendous success in college, though there has been a lot of skepticism over whether it is sustainable in the NFL.
Hunter had 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns during his Heisman Trophy-winning season at Colorado last year. He had 35 total tackles, 4 interceptions and a forced fumble defensively.
