Colorado Buffaloes two-way star Travis Hunter has a close relationship with Deion Sanders. Hunter has cited several times how he looks up to the Pro Football Hall of Famer and immediately took the opportunity to play for him while he was still the coach of Jackson State. But, the relationship between the two is deeper per comments Hunter made on The Richard Sherman Podcast.
In the interview, Hunter broke down why he chose to play for Sanders and cited the family environment around him.
“family feel comfortable first before he even made me feel comfortable. So my mom was just like, yeah, I think this is the best deal for us to go learn for somebody that actually did it, even though my mom don't watch football, she know who Coach Prime is. So it was kind of crazy just how he kept his family around, like having Shedeur as his quarterback Shiloh standing around, his oldest son Bucky standing around, his daughters are standing around. It's just like, it's family oriented and that's exactly what I wanted to be and I wanted to learn from somebody like that.”
He talked about Sanders guidance as a former player who excelled at multiple positions on the football field but spoke of a deeper bond between them.
“He played both sides of the ball, so you know exactly what it takes to be able to do that.
And him just giving me more advice outside of football. Just life advice. Last week, before we left the UCF, we talked before practice for like two hours and it wasn't even about football. We just ended up talking about life. Man, I just feel more comfortable with being able to go up there and talk to him. He's like a father figure to me. I look up to him.”
The comments from Hunter are noteworthy given his path to the Colorado Buffaloes. Hunter shocked the college football world in December 2021 when he announced his commitment to the then-Deion Sanders-led Jackson State Tigers program. Hunter, then the number one recruit, flipped his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State in a dramatic moment on signing day.
After a freshman season for the Tigers that saw him see limited action due to injuries Hunter shined. He showed a glimpse of the game-changing talent that he's displayed at Jackson State. Now, he's firmly in Heisman conversations as he looks to aid Sanders in bringing success to Colorado as they look to stand tall in their first season back in the Big 12.
The Buffaloes play 18th-ranked Kansas on Saturday at 10:15 PM EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.