Deion Sanders speaks up about his apprentice Travis Hunter

The Colorado Buffaloes season kicks off rather soon and when it does two players will be embarking on Heisman Trophy campaigns with the hopes of going in the top five of the 2025 NFL Draft—but only one of the two is a player so unique that few have ever been in his spot and that’s Travis Hunter.

Coach Prime’s son Shedeur Sanders is no doubt a fantastic quarterback but it’s Hunter who has more in common with Deion Sanders the player than his own star son. Hunter’s prolific play on both sides of the ball in his first season in Boulder made all sorts of history.

The wide receiver and defensive back standout helped the Buffs to a 4-8 record in Prime’s first year in charge at CU. Hunter missed some of the team’s biggest games thanks to a dirty hit in the Rocky Moutain Showdown. Still, the first two-way star at Colorado had a great year, catching 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns on offense while making 30 tackles and snagging three picks on defense. He ended the season with the most snaps played in FBS despite his three-and-a-half game absence, playing 436 snaps on offense, 566 on defense and 30 on special teams to surpass—an average of 115 plays a game.

Hunter is the first player in at least the last quarter century with 50-plus receptions and three or more interceptions, the only comparable season coming from future Broncos legend Champ Bailey in 1998 at Georgia when he had 47 receptions for 744 yards and five touchdowns and three interceptions.

One of the few to do what Hunter has but on an even higher level was Deion. Pro Football Reference says he was the most valuable defensive player in the NFL in 1996 by their value ranks. While it was a down season in terms of interceptions for him at just two—he was one of the premier cornerbacks while at the same time catching 36 passes on offense for 475 yards. In his career, Sanders went for 784 yards on offense, while adding another over 5,000 on returns with nine touchdowns and snagging 53 picks and forcing 13 fumbles for 10 defensive touchdowns. Of course, his two-way play (three if you count special teams) is in addition to his two-sport prowess, as the only person to feature in a Super Bowl and World Series.

“The same, maybe more,” Sanders said of the expectation for Hunter ahead of his likely final college season. “It’s so funny that everybody has an opinion on what he should do and they never done it. He has a coach he’s done it. So I know when to give him rest, I know how many days a week to give him off, I know when he’s getting on my last nerve on the bench so I need to put in the game and leave me alone.”

“This kid is a flat-out playmaker man he is something that we have not seen in college football. Charles Woodson was him, Champ Bailey was him. I mean, these guys were unbelievable. But that guy right there, he’s the best receiver in college football and he’s the best cornerback in college football. That’s the truth.”

Hunter’s play in 2023 was already truly unprecedented, and he earned first-team All-American honors for it, the first Buffs player to do so in 13 years. Hunter was named to that team by both the Football Writers Association of America and the Associated Press for his all-purpose play

Hunter will be a favorite for the 2024 Heisman, which will be in the cards if his goals are met. And if that happens Coach Prime will be lauded for his use and coaching of Hunter.