Travis Hunter: Built for Prime Time!

Travis Hunter is a SUPERSTAR!  Not a star in the making, not someone who possesses the potential to do things we haven’t seen before, he’s doing them!  In his debut with the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, September 2, 2023, Hunter played both cornerback and wide receiver.  He was a full-time player on both sides of the ball vs TCU, competing for 129 snaps in 105 plus degrees heat! 

The thing is, Hunter was not merely out there a lot.  He was arguably Colorado’s best player on both sides of the ball (debatable only due to Shedeur Sanders incredible 510 yard & 4TD performance at quarterback). Hunter caught 11 passes for 119 yards and drew a key pass interference penalty in the end zone that set up a touchdown.  One of his 11 receptions was a clutch, 43 yard, contested catch on a 3rd and 16 with about 9 minutes left and Colorado trailing 35-31!  It was a critical play in the Buffaloes 45-42 upset victory on the road against the 2022 Fiesta Bowl Champions and National Championship runner up.

On the other side of the ball, Hunter dominated in coverage with two key plays standing out above the rest.  Late in the 2nd quarter, he prevented a touchdown on a 3rd and 10 from the Colorado 25 yard line on a throw to the back corner of the end zone.  Hunter was trailing TCU receiver, Savion Williams, who appeared to be completing the catch, but Travis swiped down with his right hand at the last second to knock the ball out!  The play preserved a 14-7 Colorado lead at the time and TCU subsequently missed a 43 yard field goal attempt on 4th down. 

Later in the game, with Colorado leading 24-21, Travis Hunter made THE INTERCEPTION!  Just north of six minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, with a 3rd and 1 from the Colorado 4 yard line, TCU ran a wheel route for their running back. Colorado was in man coverage and immediately after the snap it appeared that the throw would be there for a touchdown however, the Buffaloes used a bracket coverage technique, recognized what TCU was trying to do and executed their defense perfectly!  As the two TCU receivers on the right side of the offensive set ran slants towards the middle of the field, the Colorado defensive backs each passed their man assignments off to their inside help.  This allowed Hunter, who was lined up on the outside to break on the wheel route, dive in front of the pass, and make the pick!  While the execution of the defense was excellent, Hunter’s amazing athleticism and instincts elevated the play from simply preventing a touchdown to taking the ball away.  This one is going to be tough to top this year!!!

Coming out of the TCU game, many people wondered if Hunter would continue to play a full-time role on both offense and defense, or if this was a game plan specific strategy to leave Fort Worth victorious.  After the Nebraska game the following week, we appear to have our answer.  Hunter played 126 snaps in that contest and after the game, Head Coach Deion Sanders had this to say, "You gotta understand, everybody who was critical of that and saying he's gonna tire, I mean, shoot, they can't cook and answer the phone at the same time, I don't subscribe to that foolishness." Some people are just built different, and Hunter was built for Prime Time! 

It should be no surprise that Sanders is willing to roll the dice by allowing his star player to take a lead role on both sides of the ball.  Throughout his NFL career Deion was used as a part time wide receiver however, in 1996 with the Dallas Cowboys, he stepped into a much bigger role on offense while continuing to star as a cornerback on defense.  Sanders finished that season with 36 catches for 475 yards and one touchdown reception.  He’s now guiding Hunter on his journey as a two-way standout at the collegiate level. 

In the immediate aftermath of the TCU game, there were many comparisons made between Travis Hunter and Charles Woodson however, that comparison doesn’t really do justice to the season that Hunter may be on his way to authoring.  Woodson was a standout cornerback at Michigan who played some wide receiver.  In 1996, Woodson caught 10 passes.  In his 1997 Heisman Trophy winning season, Woodson had 11 receptions…This season, Travis Hunter had ELEVEN CATCHES IN HIS FIRST GAME!!!

The better comparison to what Hunter is trying to achieve came a year after Woodson won the Heisman.  In 1998 Champ Bailey put together a complete two-way season of playing both cornerback and wide receiver for Georgia.   In addition to his featured role on defense, Bailey caught 47 passes for 744 yards and 5 touchdowns.  After adding another 3 catches for 73 yards against Nebraska, Hunter now has 14 receptions for 192 yards in two games.  It’s not out of the question to think that Hunter could finish the season playing over 1,200 snaps and putting up something in the neighborhood of 1,000 yards on offense while locking down opponents on defense.

I said in the immediate aftermath of the TCU game that Hunter should be at the forefront of the Heisman conversation, along with USC quarterback Caleb Williams.  I still feel that way however, the history of the Heisman Trophy indicates that he would be a highly unlikely winner. 

The award has undergone a transformation over the last 20 years to become very similar to the NFL MVP award; it’s almost exclusive given to quarterbacks.  In the last decade we have had only 2 non-quarterback winners (2020 - DeVonta Smith, WR, ALA & 2015 – Derrick Henry, RB, ALA).  In the 10 years prior to that we also only had 2 non-quarterback winners (2009 – Mark Ingram, RB, ALA & 2005 – Reggie Bush, RB, USC).  When you look further back beyond the last 20 years, the award was primarily presented to running backs and Charles Woodson remains the only player to win the award whose primary position was on defense. 

Regardless of whether Travis Hunter can garner enough voter attention to win the Heisman, what he is doing is SPECIAL and he deserves to be in the conversation!  We may be witnessing one the most historic college football seasons an individual player has ever put together.  I’m not looking to make the public my enemy, but you better believe the hype!

Travis Hunter is built for Prime Time!