Plays in training camp don’t count except to help coaches evaluate players.
And this particular play on Aug. 9 at the Miller Electric Center really didn’t count, since Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was ruled to have been sacked by safety Eric Murray while scrambling away from the pass rush.
But Lawrence let the ball go anyway, with Parker Washington apparently open in the end zone, 50 yards away, trailed by cornerback Jarrian Jones.
Then came CB Travis Hunter, closing fast from underneath. Hunter jumped higher than either of the other players and pulled the ball down for what was unofficially his second interception of training camp. The fans in attendance exploded and Hunter celebrated on his final defensive snap of the day.
It was yet another example of Hunter’s athleticism and ball skills and called to mind the closing speed of his college coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, when Sanders was the top cornerback in the nation at Florida State and later had a Hall of Fame career in the NFL.
Perhaps Sanders was right when he suggested that Hunter play on defense. But the Jaguars aren’t ready to keep Hunter on one side of the ball yet.
Hunter had another practice day — eight of nine full sessions to be exact — with more defensive snaps than on offense.
Hunter caught one pass, over the middle when he was being covered by LB Ventrell Miller. Backup quarterback Nick Mullens saw that mismatch from the start and went right at Hunter for what would have been about a 15-yard gain.
How many snaps did Travis Hunter take on Day 10 of training camp?
Hunter had eight offensive snaps and 12 defensive snaps in 11-on-11 team periods.
For the season, he has 50 offensive snaps and 81 on defense in 11-on-11 periods and the team’s mock game on Aug. 7, for a total of 131.
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Perhaps forgotten are his five offensive snaps and seven defensive snaps in 7-on-7 periods. The team hasn’t run live 7-on-7 periods during practices open to the media since Day 3 of camp.
Hunter also scored a touchdown in a period where receivers went 1-on-1 vs. defensive backs in the red zone. Hunter beat Jabbar Muhammad on the play.
Hunter has seven receptions and one running play from scrimmage in camp on offense, and two interceptions and three passes defensed on defense ― if the pick against Lawrence is counted.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Travis Hunter gives Jaguars fans a thrill with leaping interception
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
