Jaguars' Travis Hunter says 2-way start solid, more to come - ESPN

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Travis Hunter was one of the last players to walk into the Jacksonville Jaguars locker room after their 26-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. He wanted a few more minutes to soak up the aftermath of his first NFL game.

Hunter slapped hands with fans and signed autographs, celebrating not only the Jaguars' sixth victory in their past 24 games and the first under new coach Liam Coen, but that he played both sides of the ball against the Panthers.

«I was just excited and ready to go out and win with my team and just bring the energy,» Hunter said «Like I say every day, every time you're interviewing me, I'm trying to bring the energy, bring the guys up, and make sure we stay true to ourselves and just be the team we know we can be.»

Though Hunter didn't put up monster stats against the Panthers — six catches for 33 yards; one tackle — his two-way debut was notable because he played 44 snaps on offense and six on defense, becoming the second player in the past 10 years to play at least 30 offensive snaps and five defensive snaps in the same game. (Scott Matlock did it last season at fullback and defensive line for the Los Angeles Chargers.)

That snap breakdown was the plan for Week 1, Coen said, because Hunter missed the second preseason game (none of the starters played in the final preseason contest) and four camp practices because of an upper-body injury. Coen said Hunter will be more involved defensively as the season progresses.

«There was a lot of different kind of coverage changes in the back end for us with some of [the Panthers'] formations, adjustments, [and] it was a lot that those guys had to handle defensively,» Coen said. «So, it was maybe a little bit less for him this game.