Travis Hunter’s Faith Journey: How a Family Crisis Led to a Life-Changing Decision
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver Travis Hunter has already had a whirlwind year-getting drafted No. 2 overall, marrying his longtime partner Leanna Lenee, and now, making a deeply personal decision that goes beyond the football field.
According to Leanna, Travis recently chose to get baptized, a moment that came after an emotional and trying chapter in their lives. The couple welcomed their newborn son in August, but the joy of becoming parents was quickly met with fear when their baby had to spend several weeks in the NICU.
For Leanna, it was a test of faith-and one that ultimately brought strength.
“He was in the NICU for a few weeks and though this was very hard, I trusted God more than I ever had before,” she shared on Instagram. “I knew everything was going to be just fine, and that it was.”
But it wasn’t just her faith that deepened during those long days and nights in the hospital-it was Travis’s as well.
Leanna said she began to notice a shift in her husband. Through the stress and uncertainty, Travis started asking questions, leaning into conversations about faith, and showing a desire to grow spiritually.
“I truly think this time was when Travis met Jesus,” she wrote. “He told me that he wanted to know God and he wanted me to help him learn. He dedicated himself to stop cursing and just thinking about this talk makes me want to cry because it was like everything I had prayed for was just unraveling right in front of me.”
Two months later, Travis took a major step-he was baptized on October 12 at Celebration Church in Jacksonville. The moment came just hours before the Jaguars took the field against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I watched him get baptized and I was in tearssssss because WHAT A GOD!!!!” Leanna wrote.
For Leanna, the journey was both spiritual and deeply personal. She described how her own relationship with faith had been growing steadily, even as she sometimes felt a widening gap between herself and the world around her.
“So the closer I got to God, the further I felt from anything or anyone who wasn’t like Jesus and didn’t reflect him,” she said.
She never pressured Travis to follow her path. Instead, she prayed consistently, hoping he would feel the same connection she had found. She went to church alone for months, staying patient, even as she continued to talk with him about what she was learning.
“I would talk to him every day and never reveal what I’ve learned, and while he would listen, I knew that he would just nod,” she said. “I just prayed God would one day reveal himself to him like He did to me.”
That moment came in July, when Travis decided to join her at church. Leanna remembers praying harder than ever during that service, hoping he would feel what she had felt for months.
“I remember praying so hard that God would touch him and show himself to Travis so that he could experience even a fraction of what I have felt,” she said.
Their spiritual journey has unfolded alongside a big year professionally and personally. The couple tied the knot in a private ceremony in May, just weeks after Travis was drafted by Jacksonville.
But the rookie’s first NFL season was cut short when he suffered a knee injury during practice in Week 8. The Jaguars later confirmed the injury required surgery and would sideline him for the remainder of the season.
Still, even as his rookie campaign came to an early end, Travis Hunter is entering a new chapter-one rooted in family, faith, and personal growth. And while his on-field comeback will be one to watch, the transformation off the field may be the most powerful story of all.