Jay Norvell offers weak response on hit that will cost Travis Hunter weeks

BOULDER—Colorado Buffaloes star two-way player Travis Hunter was in the hospital late Saturday night after a dirty hit by Henry Blackburn ended the Rocky Mountain Showdown early for the Heisman hopeful.

Hunter, who had played every single snap of offense and defense for the Buffs this season, was rung late by Colorado State defender Blackburn in the second quarter. In the third quarter, it was announced that Hunter was in the hospital. His girlfriend shared an image on Instagram of the star Buff appearing to be in pain but saying that he was okay.

Update from Travis Hunter’s girlfriend, Leanna:
🙏 pic.twitter.com/D5ZqnkOErp

— Folsom Frenzy Podcast (@FolsomFrenzyPod) September 17, 2023

Meanwhile, Rams head coach Jay Norvell had little to offer about the play which has caused outrage even from LeBron James.

“I mean, I don’t know. He hit him on the sideline,” Norvell said about the hit after the double-overtime loss. “It was hard for me to see over there. I can’t answer that.”

Colorado rallied to beat the Rams 43-35 without Hunter.

“We lost a crucial piece of our team, it’s like losing two players in one,” Shilo Sanders said.”

“When Travis went down, it really hurt me a lot. We needed somebody else to step up,” Shedeur Sanders said.

The Buffs had players step up for Saturday night, but who steps up in the future is a question mark without Hunter.

The bad blood wasn’t just the Hunter hit, with the Colorado quarterback also making a dirty play, as he reached his fingers in a facemask. The Rams responded with a late targeting call on Sanders, that saw another player ejected. And that all came during the game, which followed pregame antics of the coaches talking trash at each other and the players meeting at midfield for a skirmish.

The Buffaloes will play the Rams again next season in Fort Collins, but Colorado will likely be without Hunter for a trip to Oregon and a home game against USC in the coming two weeks.

“First thing I’ve heard is he will be out a few weeks, but we gotta take care of him,” Deion Sanders said. “He’ll probably want to be out two weeks but his health is more important than the game.”

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