Sky is the limit of Travis Hunter's confidence heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.
The 21-year-old Hunter told NFL Combite reporters Thursday that he thinks being a two-way footballer is more difficult than what Shohei Ohtani is doing at MLB.
“Maybe I'm what I do in soccer, [is harder] Because there's a lot in your body,” Hunter said. “Otani, he's a great player, but you have to do a lot of stuff in football.”
Like MLB, being a two-way player in the NFL is unusual, with no full-time player achieving that status since the 1950s.
Ohtani first achieved his two-way MLB position during his 2018 rookie season, then won three MVP awards, and finished fourth in the 2022 American League Cy Young Awards poll.
Hunter is known for his success playing both sides of the ball, winning the 2024 Heisman Trophy while playing wide receivers and cornerbacks in Colorado.
Despite not taking part in on-field training at the combine, Hunter conducted a media session with reporters where he revealed he hopes to remain a two-way player in the NFL.
“I want to play both,” Hunter told reporters Thursday. “It's not my job to understand that. I like to play both sides of the ball. If they allow me to play both sides of the ball, I'll play both sides.”
Hunter has ensured that he will not experience physical fatigue from being a two-way player, citing that his preparation is a major factor in his health.
“It doesn't happen very often because I pass through my body so much during the week,” Hunter told reporters. “I know how to treat my body and know what my body needs to prepare.”
Dion Sanders, who coached Hunters in both Jackson State and Colorado, previously told NFL teams that the 21-year-old draft should not be drafted if he is not planning on using him on either side of the ball.
“He's going to do that, or they shouldn't draft him,” Sanders said when asked about Hunter's future in the NFL. An interview with Rich Eisen in December. “Don't do that. And I'm going to check it out. If you don't give him the chance to play on either side of the ball, don't draft him.
“Now you can be creative. He doesn't have to do all the snaps, doing what we did with him here.”
