JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser examines storylines from this past weekend's 2025 Jaguars rookie minicamp at the Miller Electric Center:

1. The right stuff. Travis Hunter is facing a large, unique task. As Head Coach Liam Coen sees it, that's fine because the rookie wide receiver/defensive back has the perfect approach to handle the challenge. "He's a smart dude, the game makes sense to him," Coen said Saturday following the second of two '25 minicamp practices. Coen said the key for Hunter will be his work ethic and dedication as he attempts to become the first NFL player in three decades to play significant/starting roles on offense and defense. "Specifically, the extra time," Coen said. "He's the type of guy that puts it in on his own when he is away from the building. The more he can do and continue to do, that will only benefit us moving forward." Hunter worked exclusively on offense during minicamp and Coen said he will begin getting defensive repetitions when rookies begin working with veterans this week. "On the defensive side of the ball, it's going to be about communication," Coen said. "The technique and fundamentals we'll continue to harp on, but it's really about being on the same page as the rest of the guys on the back end from a communication standpoint and the rest will kind of take care of itself." Added Coen, "It's just about putting in that extra time that he's going to have to do in order to be successful to play even one side of the ball at this level. So, he knows what's cut out for him, coming up."
2. Praiseworthy. Coen praised multiple members of the Jaguars' 31-player 2025 rookie class following Saturday's practice – with the caveat that there's a limit to what can be learned about a player in a non-padded 70-minute minicamp practice. He particularly lauded fourth-round linebacker Jack Kiser, who played six seasons at Notre Dame. "Kiser first and foremost on the defensive side of the ball just from a diligence standpoint," Coen said. "You can tell he already has some of those leadership qualities that you look for. He's in really good physical shape coming into camp here this weekend." Coen also praised third-round safety Caleb Ransaw, adding that third-round guard " Wyatt Milum did a nice job in the drills over the course of the last two days." Added Coen, "Really all of these guys did a great job.
3. Setting a tone. A theme of rookie minicamp has been a theme throughout the Jaguars' offseason program – that with Coen in his first season as head coach, a priority is setting the tone and establishing culture. "Over the course of the last few weeks with the vets we've been able to kind of install not only the playbooks, the schemes, the fundamentals and the techniques, but also our culture and our modes of operations, the way we want to communicate, the way that we end up wanting to play the game," Coen said, adding that those areas were a focus during minicamp. "The goal is to be able to catch [the rookies] up on the way we want to act, the way we want to talk, the way we want to communicate if something comes up and how these things end up carrying out onto the grass."
4. Learning curve. Coen on Saturday said he saw significant improvement from Day 1 to Day 2 during rookie minicamp, adding that is expected because of the different approach in professional football compared to college football. Coen, who spent last season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, said that's particularly true on offense where many players enter the NFL rarely having executed what are essentially professional football basics. The Jaguars on Saturday had an offensive installation period that focused on players getting in and out of a huddle. "It's wild," Coen said. "When you poll these guys on how many have been in the huddle recently and how many have heard a verbal cadence recently, it's very minimal. So we are actually teaching, 'This is the huddle, this is where you line up in the huddle, this is how we break the huddle and this is a verbal cadence,' so that is like starting at ground zero in a lot of ways. At the end of the day, I think we got something out of it."