JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Travis Hunter’s professional debut included 10 snaps on offense, eight on defense and no highlights.
The Heisman Trophy winner and second overall pick in the NFL draft was relatively quiet in Jacksonville’s 31-25 loss to Pittsburgh in a preseason game Saturday. He caught two passes for 9 yards, with a long gain of 6, and missed an open-field tackle.
Click to Gallery
Pittsburgh Steelers' Aaron Rodgers watches before an NFL preseason football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence throws during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jacksonville Jaguars place kicker Cam Little (39) celebrates a field goal during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers' James Pierre (42) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
“I felt great,” he said. “A little nervous, but it felt great. It definitely settled down when I got the first catch, really when the first play started.”
Hunter did, however, have a front-row seat for the most exciting play of the night: Cam Little drilled a 70-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, a kick that would have broken the NFL record had it happened during the regular season.
“Adrenaline is a beautiful thing,” said Little, whose phone was filled with texts and messages. “It does (stink) (that it doesn't count). That means we just have to go out there and make it again.”
Still, Little is keeping the ball — even if the Pro Football Hall of Fame calls.
“Heck, yeah," he said. “Are you kidding me. ... That ball is staying with me. Canton, Ohio, can get another ball.”
Little and the Jaguars celebrated widely as the half ended. Holder Logan Cooke lifted both arms shortly after the ball took flight. Little leaned forward a little and then raised an arm as it cleared the crossbar.
Cooke pushed Little to start the party, and then Hunter greeted Little on the field with a midair body-bump.
Baltimore’s Justin Tucker holds the NFL mark, having made a 66-yarder at Detroit in 2021.
Little, a sixth-round draft pick from Arkansas in 2024, made 27 of 29 field-goal attempts as a rookie and all 27 extra points. His long was 59 yards.
He seemed to know his latest one was good from the onset. He watched intently and pumped his fist as it slid a little left and cleared the bar by several yards — far enough that the ball boy caught it.
The Steelers had much more to talk about after their preseason opener even though most of their starters watched from the sideline. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, receiver DK Metcalf, linebacker T.J. Watt and cornerback Jalen Ramsey were among the Pittsburgh stars who got the night off.
They witnessed backup Mason Rudolph complete 9 of 10 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Rudolph carved up Jacksonville’s starting defense on Pittsburgh’s opening drive. Third-stringer Skylar Thompson was just as good in relief, throwing for 233 yards and three scores.
“I was super excited to get out and compete today," said Thompson, who spent the past three years in Miami.
"Coming into a new organization, a new team, kind of a little bit of a fresh start for me. I was excited to go play some football and help out my teammates. Definitely did that today.”
Pittsburgh's first two QBs combined to complete 29 of 38 passes for 317 yards and four TDs, with no turnovers.
Jaguars first-year coach Liam Coen may have wanted a restart before Little’s kick. His offense was flagged twice on its opening drive and hampered by four dropped passes in the first half. Parker Washington, Tank Bigsby, Trenton Irwin and Hunter Long all let balls slip through their fingers. And Coen's first-team defense was gashed early.
Trevor Lawrence, playing in his first game since sustaining a harrowing concussion against Houston last December, completed 6 of 7 passes for 43 yards in a series of work. Lawrence's one incompletion was a ball thrown late down the field to Brian Thomas Jr. He also scrambled for a 3-yard gain that ended with a hard hit.
Steelers rookie Max Hurleman, who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, celebrated his 3-yard TD catch in the second quarter with a backflip. It was a clear sign of Hurleman's athleticism.
He spent four years playing running back at Colgate before joining the Fighting Irish and switching to defensive back for his final collegiate season. He's back at running back now and trying to make Pittsburgh's roster as a backup and a special teams ace.
The Steelers host Tampa Bay in another exhibition next Saturday; the Jaguars play at New Orleans next Sunday.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Pittsburgh Steelers' Aaron Rodgers watches before an NFL preseason football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence throws during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jacksonville Jaguars place kicker Cam Little (39) celebrates a field goal during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers' James Pierre (42) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most American presidents aspire to the kind of greatness that prompts future generations to name important things in their honor.
Donald Trump isn't leaving it to future generations.
As the first year of his second term wraps up, his administration and allies have put the president’s name on the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships.
That’s on top of the “Trump Accounts” for tax-deferred investments, the TrumpRx government website soon to offer direct sales of prescription drugs, the “Trump Gold Card” visa that costs at least $1 million and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, a transit corridor included in a deal his administration brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On Friday, he plans to attend a ceremony in Florida where local officials will dedicate a 4-mile (6-kilometer) stretch of road from the airport to his Mar-a-Lago estate as President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.
It’s unprecedented for a sitting president to embrace tributes of that number and scale, especially those proffered by members of his administration. And while past sitting presidents have typically been honored by local officials naming schools and roads after them, it's exceedingly rare for airports, federal buildings, warships or other government assets to be named for someone still in power.
“At no previous time in history have we consistently named things after a president who was still in office,” said Jeffrey Engel, the David Gergen Director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “One might even extend that to say a president who is still alive. Those kind of memorializations are supposed to be just that — memorials to the passing hero.”
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said the TrumpRx website linked to the president's deals to lower the price of some prescription drugs, along with “overdue upgrades of national landmarks, lasting peace deals, and wealth-creation accounts for children are historic initiatives that would not have been possible without President Trump’s bold leadership.”
"The Administration’s focus isn’t on smart branding, but delivering on President Trump’s goal of Making America Great Again," Huston said.
The White House pointed out that the nation's capital was named after President George Washington and the Hoover Dam was named after President Herbert Hoover while each was serving as president.
For Trump, it’s a continuation of the way he first etched his place onto the American consciousness, becoming famous as a real estate developer who affixed his name in big gold letters on luxury buildings and hotels, a casino and assorted products like neckties, wine and steaks.
As he ran for president in 2024, the candidate rolled out Trump-branded business ventures for watches, fragrances, Bibles and sneakers — including golden high tops priced at $799. After taking office again last year, Trump's businesses launched a Trump Mobile phone company, with plans to unveil a gold-colored smartphone and a cryptocurrency memecoin named $TRUMP.
That’s not to be confused with plans for a physical, government-issued Trump coin that U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said the U.S. Mint is planning.
Trump has also reportedly told the owners of Washington’s NFL team that he would like his name on the Commanders’ new stadium. The team’s ownership group, which has the naming rights, has not commented on the idea. But a White House spokeswoman in November called the proposed name “beautiful” and said Trump made the rebuilding of the stadium possible.
The addition of Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center in December so outraged independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont that he introduced legislation this week to ban the naming or renaming of any federal building or land after a sitting president — a ban that would retroactively apply to the Kennedy Center and Institute of Peace.
“I think he is a narcissist who likes to see his name up there. If he owns a hotel, that’s his business,” Sanders said in an interview. “But he doesn’t own federal buildings.”
Sanders likened Trump's penchant for putting his name on government buildings and more to the actions of authoritarian leaders throughout history.
“If the American people want to name buildings after a president who is deceased, that’s fine. That’s what we do,” Sanders said. “But to use federal buildings to enhance your own position very much sounds like the ‘Great Leader’ mentality of North Korea, and that is not something that I think the American people want.”
Although some of the naming has been suggested by others, the president has made clear he’s pleased with the tributes.
Three months after the announcement of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, a name the White House says was proposed by Armenian officials, the president gushed about it at a White House dinner.
“It’s such a beautiful thing, they named it after me. I really appreciate it. It’s actually a big deal,” he told a group of Central Asian leaders.
Engel, the presidential historian, said the practice can send a signal to people "that the easiest way to get access and favor from the president is to play to his ego and give him something or name something after him.”
Some of the proposals for honoring Trump include legislation in Congress from New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney that would designate June 14 as “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day," placing the president with the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington and Jesus Christ, whose birthdays are recognized as national holidays.
Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube has introduced legislation that calls for the Washington-area rapid transit system, known as the Metro, to be renamed the “Trump Train.” North Carolina Republican Rep. Addison McDowell has introduced legislation to rename Washington Dulles International Airport as Donald J. Trump International Airport.
McDowell said it makes sense to give Dulles a new name since Trump has already announced plans to revamp the airport, which currently is a tribute to former Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.
The congressman said he wanted to honor Trump because he feels the president has been a champion for combating the scourge of fentanyl, a personal issue for McDowell after his brother’s overdose death. But he also cited Trump’s efforts to strike peace deals all over the world and called him “one of the most consequential presidents ever.”
“I think that’s somebody that deserves to be honored, whether they’re still the president or whether they’re not," he said.
More efforts are underway in Florida, Trump’s adopted home.
Republican state lawmaker Meg Weinberger said she is working on an effort to rename Palm Beach International Airport as Donald J. Trump International Airport, a potential point of confusion with the Dulles effort.
The road that the president will see christened Friday is not the first Florida asphalt to herald Trump upon his return to the White House.
In the south Florida city of Hialeah, officials in December 2024 renamed a street there as President Donald J. Trump Avenue.
Trump, speaking at a Miami business conference the next month, called it a “great honor” and said he loved the mayor for it.
“Anybody that names a boulevard after me, I like,” he said.
He added a few moments later: “A lot of people come back from Hialeah, they say, ‘They just named a road after you.' I say, ‘That’s OK.’ It’s a beginning, right? It’s a start.”
FILE - A sign for the Rose Garden is seen near the Presidential Walk of Fame on the Colonnade at the White House, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as a flag pole is installed on the South Lawn of the White House, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Workers add President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename the institution, in Washington, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - A poster showing the Trump Gold Card is seen as President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
