Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter jumped to No. 2 in the updated Heisman Trophy odds this week following a monster Week 9 outing against Cincinnati. He set a career-high with 153 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns and broke up a personal-best four passes in the Buffaloes’ 34-23 win over the Bearcats. The junior playmaker addressed his Heisman candidacy Saturday morning on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
“Just having my teammates means a lot because I can’t win the Heisman without my teammates,” Hunter said. “I need them to do their job, and I need to do my job. I got to keep grinding and heading in the right direction.”
Hunter leads the nation in snaps played (895) and has averaged 111.9 snaps over eight games this season, but he said fatigue hasn’t been a factor.
“My body is holding up really well. I’ve been doing nothing but training and recovery,” Hunter said. “I’ve been so locked in that yesterday was my first time fishing in about 4-5 months. … Everybody tries to put me in a box like I have to pick a position, but I’ve been doing this my whole life. I’ve been doing this since I was playing little league football. All I know is to go play both ways. I’m natural at both. I’ve been doing both since I was little. Ever since I got a trainer, I’ve trained on each side of the ball. It has just been pretty simple and easy for me. Whatever the NFL needs me to do, I’ll just go and play ball.”
Hunter has arguably been the best wide receiver and cornerback in the Big 12 this season. He ranks No. 3 in the conference with 757 receiving yards and No. 1 with eight receiving touchdowns. He’s picked off two balls in coverage and leads all Big 12 corners with a 40.5 NFL passer rating allowed in coverage (minimum, 200 snaps).
“I try to get at least 10 hours of film, not including what we do at the school,” Hunter said. “I watch a lot of film. When you practice, it has to be at full speed. Nobody can stop you. Coach Prime tries to stop me every day I go out there at practice, and I won’t let him. We do a great job of juggling the ones one against the twos. If I’m playing ones on offense, I’m going to get the twos on defense, but I’m putting 100% no matter who’s in front of me. I’m not going to get tired. I just keep going and stay focused.”
Hunter signed with Deion Sanders and Jackson State as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2022 and followed Coach Prime to Colorado after his freshman season. He opened up on his relationship with Sanders during his “Game Day” appearance.
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“He is like a father figure in me,” Hunter said. “I went to this house yesterday. Whatever I wanted, he just let me get it. I took it if he didn’t want me to take it. It’s like a father-and-son relationship. I know whenever I need something, I can ask him for it, and I’m pretty sure I will get it 100% of the time.”
