Collins Hill’s Travis Hunter hopes to play both ways in NFL

“I’ve got my own unique case that I play both sides of the ball,” Hunter said. “Not that many people in the NFL have done it.”

Hunter could be headed to Cleveland to play for the Browns, who own the second pick in the draft. They view him as a wide receiver. The Giants (third) and Patriots (fourth) view him as a cornerback.

“They say nobody has ever done it the way I do it,” Hunter said. “But I tell them I’m just different. I’m a different person.”

This past season, Hunter played 672 offensive snaps and 688 defensive snaps on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy.

It’s unlikely that any NFL team will allow Hunter to play both ways full-time. Falcons wide receiver Drake London played 1,032 snaps, and cornerback A.J. Terrell played 1,085 last season. Combined, that’s 2,117 — or 55% more than Hunter played last season.

The NFL has not had a full-time two-way player since Chuck Bednarik played center and linebacker for the Eagles in the 1950s.

“Nobody has done it, but I feel like I have put my body through a lot,” Hunter said. “I do a lot of treatment. People don’t get to see that part. What I do for my body to make sure I’m 100% each game.”

Hunter is close to Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who played both ways in the NFL at times. He mainly was a defensive back who returned kicks. He also played some wide receiver.

“There’s a lot of things he has done for me outside of football,” Hunter said. “A father figure to me. I can go to him for anything and everything.”

Hunter said the toughest receiver he faced was Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillian, who’s considered the top player in the draft at his position.

Hunter said he has patterned his receiving moves after Browns Pro Bowler Jerry Jeudy.

“I used to watch a lot from Jerry Jeudy because he is from Florida and I’m from Florida,” Hunter said. “I copied his movements a lot. But there is really no other player I style my game after.”

Hunter is adamant about playing both ways.

“I didn’t have load management at Colorado,” Hunter said. “Coach Prime pretty much let me do what I felt was right for my body. I’m the only person who knows my body. I did a lot of treatment, training and always felt ready for where I needed to be.”

The NFL is enamored with the dynamic Hunter.

“Travis Hunter is a tremendous prospect,” said Eliot Wolf, New England’s executive vice president of player personnel. “He’s obviously been very unique, won the Heisman Trophy playing both ways. He’s really unique and instinctive at both positions.”

Some team will try to maximize Hunter’s skills on offense and defense.

“So, I think there’s a scenario where, he’s probably going to major in one and minor in the other, but I think there’s a scenario where he could play both ways,” Wolf said.

While Hunter is the clear top player of the group, the cornerback class is considered to be deep.

“We probably have five to six right now,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. “But I mean that number, it will probably — as soon as some of these guys that we have in a third round run 4.4, 4.3 (in the 40-yard dash) — then all of a sudden that number goes from six to eight to nine pretty quickly.”

Most teams, like the Falcons, are looking for secondary help. They re-signed starting right cornerback Mike Hughes and plan to give Clark Phillips III a shot at starting at nickelback. Nickelback Dee Alford was re-signed, too.

“So, it’s a good group, that group, and the defensive line group is really deep, so hopefully we can add to our roster for sure at some point in the draft,” Veach said.

East Carolina’s Shavon Revel is an intriguing cornerback prospect.

“He was somebody who was in the junior college ranks, prior to getting to ECU,” ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said. “He was an Amazon (truck) driver trying to make ends meet. So, he has an incredible story. One of the most impressive young men that I’ve been able to meet and talk to this year.”

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