Travis Hunter Jr. Sets Extremely High Bar Ahead Of First Year At Colorado While Dominating Fall Camp
Travis Hunter Jr. is one of the top talents in college football and he is set to do something that has not been done but a handful of times in the sport. The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022 will play on both sides of the ball. A lot.
It is a large part of the reason that Hunter chose to play for Deion Sanders. His recruitment was set to end with a commitment to Florida State, but he called an audible at the last second and decided to play for Coach Prime at Jackson State.
Travis Hunter with the Jackson State Tigers(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Hunter's announcement was shocking at the time, especially considering that the Tigers compete on the FCS level. It came down to the head coach and his experience, the culture he was/is building, and the opportunity to see legitimate snaps as both a wide receiver and defensive back.
No other school offered Hunter the ability to essentially never come off of the field. And now Hunter is balling out for Sanders at Colorado after an extremely unsurprising transfer.
Expectations for the Buffaloes are pretty low. They won just one game last year and the fans were so excited that they stormed the field.
However, there is a new regime, and a new mentality.
Colorado overhauled the majority of its roster during the offseason and used the transfer portal to replace the previous staff's recruiting classes with talented players who already have experience under their belts. Some coaches hate Sanders' approach, others respect what he did over the first six months in Boulder.
Hunter is among the group of guys who made a program switch during the offseason and followed the Sanders family, which has become his own to some extent. It was a no-brainer.
2023 offers Hunter a real opportunity to shine. He dealt with injuries that kept him off of the field for a chunk of the year in Mississippi and limited him to time in just eight games.
Hunter still finished with 20 tackles, 10 pass breakups and two interceptions, as well as 18 catches for 188 yards and four touchdowns, and named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award. It is given to the top freshman in FCS football.
Travis Hunter Jr. is on a Heisman mission in 2023.
Hunter is at full health as he enters his sophomore season and first on the FBS level. The majority of the work upon arrival to Jackson State was on defense. Upon arrival to Colorado, he pivoted toward getting better offensively in the spring before switching back to defense ahead of the fall.
Nobody really knows what Hunter's splits are going to look like. Defensive back is his most natural position and his head coach knows a thing or two about how to play the position.
The question lies in how much time Hunter is going to spend split out to catch passes from Shedeur Sanders. It sounds like he might play the majority of the game on both sides of the ball.
Very few players have played both ways in college and made an impact:
Prime Time did it with the Falcons.
None of them played their "secondary position" as often as Hunter might at Colorado. And he has set the bar extremely high.
Hunter posted to Instagram over the weekend and alluded to the idea that he is coming for the Heisman Trophy. As a sophomore — or, at least before he turns pro in two/three years.
The confidence is oozing out of Hunter. To declare that a Heisman-worthy season is loading before ever playing a snap on the FBS level is pretty bold.
That's just what Colorado does under Sanders, it appears. The Buffaloes fully believe that they are going to obliterate the the 3.5 win total that sportsbooks expect and shock the world.
It would be cool, I guess we'll see.
Heisman loading...? *eyeballs emoji*