Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen is expecting big things from running back Bhayshul Tuten.
A fourth-round Draft pick in 2025, Tuten was a rotational back in a loaded Jaguars backfield. Leading rusher Travis Etienne Jr. left for greener pastures in free agency, which opens up opportunities for Tuten. Coen told ESPN host Peter Schrager on his podcast, “The Schrager Hour,” this week that he wants Tuten to display the ability that he flashed in his rookie season.
“‘Toot,’ I thought, had a really good spring,” Coen said Tuesday. “In year one, coming from Virginia Tech—and really it was North Carolina [A&T] to Virginia Tech—so he had a little bit of a learning curve, too, with the protections and a lot of the things that comes with playing running back as a rookie.”
The Jaguars took Tuten in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft; he was the first of two running backs drafted, the other being Syracuse’s LeQuint Allen Jr. in the seventh round. Tuten was prized for his unique blend of compact size (5-foot-9, 206 pounds) and speed (a 4.32-second 40-yard dash). Etienne was the feature back and took most of the carries; Allen was used primarily as a pass protector and special-teamer. The Jags also had Tank Bigsby on the roster, but traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles after Week 1.
Tuten carried the ball 83 times for 307 yards and 5 touchdowns; he added 10 receptions for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the Jags’ Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills, he had just 4 carries for 51 yards, but three of them went for big gains on their first scoring drive.
“You look at the playoff game against Buffalo, you look at some of the other games down in the red zone, he does a great job of finding the end zone. He does, and his yards after contact and rushing yards, man, when he can get going and get downhill. I mean, he was 4.28 coming out, so he can fly. Now it’s more so, he was so conscientious about ball security last year and doing right,” Coen said.
“Okay, now, Tuten, you got it, you understand it more now. Just go be you. Go do what got you here. Go be special. That’s who you are. And we’re definitely expecting Tuten to have a big year for us.”
Etienne left to join his hometown New Orleans Saints in free agency. The Jaguars signed former Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez and journeyman veteran Ameer Abdullah to fill the void. Rodriguez has some shared experience with Coen; Coen served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during Rodriguez’s junior season at the University of Kentucky. They also picked up J’Mari Taylor as an undrafted free agent, and they have veteran returner DeeJay Dallas on the depth chart.
Coen is also looking for a standout performance from Tuten’s draftmate, Travis Hunter. The former Heisman Trophy winner was selected second overall by the Jags in last year’s Draft. Hunter flashed briefly as a two-way player before tearing his lateral collateral ligament midseason.
“I mean, he was just hitting a stride, I think, when he got injured last year. He’d just had his first 100-yard game. He was really building confidence and then boom, that happens,” Coen said.
“I’ve got to give him a ton of credit for the way that he’s rehabbed and the way that he’s attacked the rehab process in the offseason. He couldn’t do much with his legs, right? He had a lower leg injury. So, what did he do? He attacked his upper body. He attacked training his mind and learning the playbook to the point where the other guys on the field saw the work that he was putting in.”
The Jaguars have a virtual meeting room where players can use a simulator to view an offense from the defense’s perspective, of which Hunter took full advantage.
“He got a lot of reps this offseason that—maybe not on the grass, full-speed, live—but he got a ton of extra reps,” Coen said.
Hunter will keep playing both sides of the ball, but his share of snaps will be “fluid.”
“I just know the guy has worked his tail off this offseason to show his teammates that [he’s] going to be ready to go come training camp,” Coen said. “And I was just texting with him this past week, and he’s ready to go.”
