INDIANAPOLIS -- Travis Hunter wants to continue being a two-way star in the NFL, just as he was at Colorado. Full-time offense, full-time defense.
"They say nobody has ever done it the way I do it," Hunter said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, "but I tell them I'm just different. I am a different person."
Hunter won the Heisman Trophy award playing virtually every snap on offense and defense for the Buffaloes most of the past two seasons. But doing something similar in the NFL feels incredibly ambitious for a rookie three years removed from high school; it's something virtually no player has done full-time since the 1960s.
Nevertheless, Hunter remains undaunted in his vision for the role he wants to play in the league.
"Nobody has done it, but I feel like I've put my body through a lot," Hunter said. "I do a lot of treatment; people don't get to see that part. … But I know I can do it.
"In college football, we rarely get breaks, but there's a lot more breaks in the NFL."
In fact, he wants to be a trailblazer as a two-way player.
"Hopefully, it becomes a thing," he said.
Like Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter did on Wednesday, Hunter campaigned to be the top pick in the draft.
"It's super important to go No. 1," he said. "My dream was to go No. 1 and be the best I can be."
Hunter admits it's "still up in the air" what his actual role will look like. He knows every team that could draft him might have different plans for how to deploy him.
"I want to play 100 percent (on both sides)," Hunter added, "but it's up to the organization."
Asked if he thought he might be used as a returner -- something Hunter never did in college -- he said, "I don't know about returning. I already have two jobs."
Hunter also is not expected to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. It's unknown if he'll work out at Colorado's pro day.
NFL teams have expressed different ideas of how Hunter could be used, with Patriots exec Eliot Wolf suggesting that Hunter would "major" in one position and "minor" in the other. But teams picking high in the 2025 NFL Draft appear to vary on what Hunter's best position might be, based on their comments to the media this week.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry said this week he views Hunter as a wide receiver first but that he can also make his impact at corner. Titans head coach Brian Callahan said Hunter would "probably start at corner, and then you find ways to inject him in the offense as he gets more comfortable."
The time crunch was difficult in college, but Hunter said he spent extra time preparing, including film study on his own time, along with additional meetings with coaches after hours. He believes he can do similar things in the league.
Asked how he'd handle things if his NFL role was left up to him, Hunter said simply, "I would play both."
Now we find out if he'll get his wish.
