Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.
Champ Bailey always keeps a keen eye out for “the Georgia guys,” players who grew up in the state or played at the University of Georgia. After all, Bailey played high-school ball in the small Georgia town of Folkston and was an All-American for the Bulldogs before his Hall-of-Fame NFL career.
Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter — a native of Suwanee, Georgia — has captivated the college football landscape by dominating on both sides of the ball. On offense, Hunter has 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense, he has 33 tackles, four interceptions, 10 pass breakups and a forced fumble. In Colorado’s regular-season finale against Oklahoma State, Hunter became the only FBS player over the past 25 seasons with three scrimmage touchdowns and a defensive INT in a single game, per ESPN Research.
“He’s doing things you probably won’t see again,” Bailey said.
Few can relate to what Hunter has done and will likely try to do in the NFL better than Bailey. In his final season at UGA in 1998, Bailey won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defensive player, picking off three passes at cornerback. But he also caught 47 passes for 744 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver in the Bulldogs’ offense. He topped 1,000 snaps that season and finished seventh in Heisman voting. But Bailey would play almost exclusively cornerback in the NFL after being drafted seventh overall by Washington in 1999, seeing nine targets at receiver over a 15-year career.
Because of his unique perspective, we asked Bailey to weigh in on what makes Hunter so special, why playing both sides of the ball is so difficult and what lies ahead for the Buffaloes’ star in the pre-draft process. Can Hunter — who could be awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) — do something that Bailey didn’t in his NFL career and play both offense and defense at the next level? Here’s Bailey’s take, in his own words.
The scouting reports for Hunter and Bailey read similarly, albeit 26 years apart. Hunter is listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, while Bailey measured 6-foot, 184 pounds at the 1999 combine. The two also share great speed, explosive traits and ball skills. Bailey has spent time watching Hunter play and sees a future star.
Bailey: He just loves football. You can see it by the way he plays — he’s the ultimate competitor. No player is going to last very long at one position, let alone two, if he doesn’t love the game.
Travis is probably more refined in coverage than I was at that age. He has been schooled better at this point — I mean, his coach is Deion Sanders, one of the best to ever play corner. His hands are in the right place, his eyes are in the right place, and he understands route concepts and where the ball is going. His interceptions are often because he’s going to the spot he knows where the ball is going.
The big difference between me and Travis? People could see him coming more. A lot of guys play both ways in high school, return kicks and punts, play in the band at halftime. And they get to college and the coaches who recruited them — who said they loved the versatility — now tell them the second day of camp, ‘You’re here, you’re here,’ and that’s it. But people could see Travis coming. He did it at Jackson State before transferring in 2023, and Prime said he was going to let him do it at Colorado. So there wasn’t even a question from his coach.
I kind of built up, though. I showed I could do it, played some offense my first year, some more my second year and did the whole thing my last year.
Why is playing both ways so difficult?
Hunter has played 1,380 snaps in 12 games this season, including 670 on offense, 686 on defense and 24 on special teams. That’s 382 more snaps than the next-most active player in the FBS, and he topped 100 snaps in 10 of those 12 games. It’s an incredible workload, especially when you consider Hunter had 1,007 snaps in the previous season.
The most active NFL players routinely crack 1,000 snaps in a healthy season playing on just one side of the ball, though. The two-way workload in the pros would be significantly larger, even before factoring in the off-field preparation.
Bailey: In my last season at Georgia, I returned kickoffs and punts, played corner and played wide receiver — they didn’t hold me out of anything. If the ball was out there, I was out there.
I wanted to play both sides of the ball when I got to the league, too, and had some chances to line up and play some offense. But I think the difficulty of really doing it is hard to comprehend.
As you go from high school to college, and college to the NFL, the preparation becomes a big thing for the coaches. You start playing all the snaps on one side of the ball and a lot of snaps on the other and maybe some special teams, but coaches don’t really know what you’re going through. They haven’t done it because not many have. So you’re trying to show them you’re prepared enough to be out there and that you can hold up. That takes convincing.
There isn’t enough said about the accountability that comes with what Hunter is doing, too. Playing both ways means putting extra stuff on your plate, and people are counting on you to do it, so it can’t just be something you want to try. That mental pressure will take the biggest toll unless you really love what you’re doing and go all in. And beyond the physical aspect — which is an immense challenge in itself — you also have to be proficient in two different playbooks. Other guys might have had the talent to do what he’s doing, but we never find out because they don’t have the mentality to really commit to doing it.
I spent most of my time on defense in practice and meetings, and I would get into the offense for specific things. I think my coaches looked at me as the corner who was good enough to put out there at wide receiver, and I studied enough to do it. Offense was more about study time than getting reps on the field or being in all the meetings. I mean, everybody meets at the same time in position groups before team meetings, so you can’t be in everything. Some of it falls on faith you’ll do the work.
You have to be extremely athletic to do what he’s doing and keep focus in his preparation. But aside from all of that is the snap count. The extreme number of snaps he’s playing, the wear and tear and what it takes for him to sustain that — to train for what his body is about to go through.
One thing I dealt with a lot was cramping — there’s a lot of humidity in the SEC. I’d get an IV at halftime of every game, and that became a thing. But I don’t think I actually sat on the bench, even for a second, more than three times all season because I was also on special teams. You have moments where you’re just so tired. But I didn’t even take my helmet off very often.
However, I look at Travis, and guys are so much more informed about offseason prep and the recovery game to game, season to season. It’s way beyond where we were 20-some years ago.
What comes next for Hunter?
When Washington drafted Bailey, he believed there would be at least some two-way play in his NFL future. But he ultimately played corner — both in Washington and later in Denver — seeing six career offensive touches (four catches, two rushes). Can Hunter play both sides in the NFL?
Bailey: My conversations with people before the draft were basically, “You’re a corner, and we’ll find some things on offense for you.” And that’s kind of how I saw it early on. Based on the structure of the meetings and the level of trust a coach needs to see to put you out there, it just wasn’t going to be full-time on both sides for me, no matter what.
In my second year, coach Norv Turner got fired midway through the season. I think if Norv was the coach longer, I would have played offense more in my early years. I believe that. So for Travis, it’s all about who his coach is in the NFL and how much they think is possible. No matter what you can do on the field, the head coach controls the schedule and how you practice. But I say all that, and it’s really not far-fetched that he’ll at least get a shot to try playing both ways.
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Travis Hunter makes strong Heisman case with 3 TDs, INT
Colorado’s Travis Hunter puts up a Heisman-worthy performance against Oklahoma State with three touchdowns and an interception.
If I was that coach making the decision, I’d ask Travis to play full-time corner first because it is far more difficult to find a player like him at CB with all he brings to the position. He is a gifted receiver, no question — a superior receiver. But to find him at corner is so, so rare. He has ball skills, speed, flexibility, quickness, intelligence and tackling ability, and he’s competitive every down.
Corner is also less dependent on the structure around you. You are a part of a defense, but there is a solitude to some of the job in the assignments. His work at receiver will be so dependent on the offensive structure, the quarterback and the O-line; it’s a little more connected. More things have to line up at receiver for him to show all of his skills. And in the meetings, I think it would be more efficient for him to primarily work on defense and get into the offensive meetings he needs to for certain things.
I think his greatest arc for finding success while trying to play both offense and defense is going full-time 100 percent at corner, and then getting some situational work at receiver. I hope he gets a chance to do whatever he wants.
The advantage he has is, whatever he plays, he’s going to be one of the best in the league.
The slumping New York Mets slugger went hitless again Wednesday and failed to get the ball out of the infield in a 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
After signing a record $765 million contract in December as a free agent, Soto is batting a measly .224 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 55 games during a turbulent first season with the Mets.
The four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout Wednesday in a dreary performance that matched the weather. He was booed by a sparse crowd at Citi Field, where only a few thousand fans were on hand for a hastily rescheduled game.
With rain in the forecast Wednesday night, the first pitch was moved up six hours Tuesday to 1:10 p.m.
Soto is 0-for-16 since lacing a two-run double off the right-center fence Saturday in a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And nothing seems to be going his way: He lost a hit on a chaotic play Tuesday night when he was called out for passing teammate Brandon Nimmo on the basepaths.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza expressed faith in Soto before and after Wednesday’s loss, saying that Soto passes the “eye test” despite what the stats might say about his performance.
“Today was one of those days where he didn’t hit the ball hard, but I thought his foundation — his lower half — was in a better position,” Mendoza said.
Soto’s batting average has dipped 61 points below his career mark entering the season. He hasn’t homered since May 9, a span of 75 plate appearances, and he has just seven hits in his last 59 at-bats (.119).
With runners in scoring position this year, he’s batting .130 (6-for-46) with a homer and 16 RBIs.
That after racking up 41 home runs, 109 RBIs and a .989 OPS with the crosstown New York Yankees last season, when he helped them reach the World Series and finished third in AL MVP voting.
Soto has been particularly cold since May 16, when he got booed incessantly in his return to Yankee Stadium with the Mets. He seemed to take the harsh reception in stride by doffing his helmet to the crowd before his first at-bat, but Soto is hitting only .114 (5-for-44) with one extra-base hit since.
Most advanced metrics suggest Soto is hitting into hard luck. He ranks among the 90th percentile in several categories at Baseball Savant, though his bat speed ranks in the 73rd percentile, down from the 94th percentile last season.
Soto made three outs on balls hit at least 99 mph in Tuesday night’s 6-4 win over the White Sox.
“Yesterday was a perfect example of his season so far: 0-for-4 with three balls [almost] 100 mph,” Mendoza said with a chuckle Wednesday morning. “Hard to explain. But it’s baseball.
“Too good of a hitter. Too good of a player. He’ll be Juan Soto here.”
SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken signed forward John Hayden to a two-year, one-way contract extension Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Hayden had a goal and an assist in 20 games for the Kraken last season. He also had 11 goals and 16 assists in 44 regular-season games for Coachella Valley in the American Hockey League, and added two goals and an assist for the Firebirds in six playoff games.
“John has been an important player in our organization over the past three seasons, making an impact at both the NHL and AHL level,” Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said in a statement. “He’s a strong leader who brings a terrific work ethic and physical presence.”
The 6-foot-3 center Hayden has 18 goals and 21 assists in 269 career NHL games with Chicago, New Jersey, Arizona, Buffalo and Seattle. He played four seasons at Yale.
The Utah Mammoth are bringing over two of their top prospects from Russia in time for next season, signing defenseman Dmitri Simashev and forward Daniil But to three-year entry-level contracts.
General manager Bill Armstrong announced the deals Wednesday, the latest bit of good news for the club that just got its full-time name and is going into its second season in Salt Lake City.
Simashev was the sixth pick in 2023 and But was taken 12th in that same draft when the team was known as the Arizona Coyotes. Each of the 20-year-olds spent this past season in the KHL.
“After we drafted them, we knew there was a long process before the day we would actually sign them,” Armstrong said on a video call with reporters. “There was a lot of work behind the scenes to get it done.”
Simashev and But were teammates for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, helping the club win the Gagarin Cup for the first time in franchise history. Getting them signed means they could play with Utah in the NHL or Tucson of the American Hockey League next season.
“You never want to rule (the AHL) out, but these guys have played at elite level over in Russia and played for one of the top teams and they experienced a high-pressure culture where they play, so there’s a good opportunity that they might not ever touch the American League,” Armstrong said, acknowledging there will be a transition period. “I believe both of them will come into camp and will have a good opportunity to compete for a job, and I think they’ll be close to making it.”
Armstrong called the 6-foot-5, 207-pound Simashev the biggest defenseman he has drafted with this good of mobility.
“He can cover ground,” Armstrong said. “He’s one of the best skaters. He works at his game. He’s extremely good on the D side of the puck, and there’s some room for him to grow offensively obviously, too, to put into play with his skating.”
But, even bigger at 6-foot-6 and 216 pounds, reminds Armstrong of Buffalo forward Tage Thompson and similar-sized players who took a little longer to adjust to North American rinks that are 15 feet narrower than those in Europe.
“He’s a massive human being, and he’s learning to use his body more effectively and it takes a while when you’re that big to put the strength on to compete against men,” Armstrong said. “He plays a North American-style game. He’s extremely aggressive cutting into the net and occupying the front of the net with elite stick skills.”
It was a key step just getting them to North America to fit in with a young core led by captain Clayton Keller, forward Logan Cooley, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Sergachev and veterans Ian Cole and Olli Maatta have each won the Stanley Cup multiple times, Keller and Cooley are coming off leading the U.S. to gold at the world championships and Simashev and But are also KHL champions.
“It’s something that I love to see in our young players, the winning and the championships,” Armstrong said. “If you just continue to bring in winners, it’s going to translate into our club winning. But we’ve got to make the playoffs first. That’s a huge thing.”
With the salary cap going up, Armstrong has more than $21 million in room to use in free agency and trades to take the Mammoth to the next level and end the organization’s playoff drought of 12 years — excluding the expanded format in the bubble in 2020. They won the second draft lottery drawing to move up from picking 14th to fourth, giving the front office the chance to add another player with elite talent for the future.