"Don't let them lie to you": Deion Sanders Jr. rips Jaguars HC Liam Coen for spreading misinformation on Travis Hunter's utilization at Colorado

Former Colorado Buffaloes star Travis Hunter has had a quiet start to life in the NFL after being picked No. 2 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2025 NFL draft. In the Jaguars' 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, Hunter had his best performance in the NFL, hauling in a spectacular 44-yard pass by Trevor Lawrence that ended in a touchdown for the quarterback.

During Monday's segment of the "Manningcast," NFL legend Eli Manning made an extraordinary claim about Hunter's two-way status when he played for Coach Prime in Colorado from a conversation with Jaguars coach Liam Coen.

"Yeah, I talked to Liam Coen," Manning said. "When he (Hunter) was at Colorado, he practised zero with the offense. He only practised defense. They had a special system where the coaches would signal the formation to him and signal the route to him. You know, just improvised. Go out there and wing it. He's still learning, right now, to be a receiver."

Coach Prime's outspoken eldest son, Deion Sanders Jr., refuted the claims by Coen on X by quote-tweeting a clip of Manning's commentary.

"Don’t let them lie to you Mr Manning, he (Travis Hunter) practiced Wr & DB equally," Deion Sanders Jr. tweeted.

Last season, when he won the Heisman Trophy, Travis Hunter averaged 113.5 snaps per game on both sides of the ball for Colorado. Hunter tallied 1,258 yards on 96 receptions, resulting in 15 touchdowns while playing in 86.8% of the Buffs' offensive snaps.

Jaguars coach defends Travis Hunter's snap count in NFL

After the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski defended the two-way star's snap count in the NFL and revealed how the franchise was handling their star rookie.

"There's absolutely a push-and-pull of saying, 'What's too much? What's enough?' Udinski said. "Because we want to try to maximize, and at the same time optimize, his (Travis Hunter) time on the field. "We're always exploring what's the best way we can get him on the field and let him go play fast, go play free without detracting from all the other things he has to do."

Travis Hunter has registered 118 yards on 13 catches offensively, while adding 11 tackles and one pass breakup defensively for the Jaguars in his short NFL career.

According to ESPN research, he is also only one of four players in the past 25 years to have played 15 offensive and defensive snaps in the same game, having done it twice and fulfilling a promise to continue playing on both sides of the ball in the NFL.

Edited by Cabral Opiyo