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Colorado football's Shedeur Sanders gave a shoutout to Travis Hunter Jr ahead of the Buffaloes' regular-season finale against Oklahoma State. Deion Sanders has had a sensational second year in Boulder, putting Colorado football back on the national stage. At 8-3 overall and 6-2 in Big 12, the Buffaloes will need a lot of help to sneak into the conference championship game. But that fact doesn't detract from this program's successful season, notably that of Travis Hunter Jr, the definitive Heisman Trophy favorite.
Even as the star quarterback behind Colorado football's remarkable rebuild, Shedeur Sanders has gone out of his way to boost his teammate's Heisman case. Tuesday night was no different when Sanders posted on X another endorsement of the cornerback/wideout.
“@TravisHunterJr is the best player in college football.”
Travis Hunter Jr did everything he could in Saturday's loss to Kansas
Going into Week 14, the critique of Hunter Jr's Heisman Trophy resume for the rest of this season will likely point to the fact that his team didn't make the College Football Playoff. Other contenders like Ashton Jenty, Cam Ward, and Dillon Gabriel are all on teams that control their own destiny to make the twelve-team bracket. In Gabriel's case, No. 1 Oregon could probably lose its last two games and still qualify.
Colorado football, on the other hand, needs a lot of help even to make the Big 12 championship. The No. 25 Buffaloes would need a win on Friday and two teams out of Arizona State, BYU, and Iowa State to lose. That scenario is unlikely, especially considering that the No. 16 Sun Devils and No. 19 Cougars will face unranked opponents in Week 14.
A week ago, Travis Hunter Jr and company were in a position where everything was in their control. Unfortunately, running back Devin Neal and the Kansas Jayhawks had other ideas in Lawrence last Saturday.
In this crushing loss, Hunter Jr did everything he could to keep his team in the game. The junior caught eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns while recording seven tackles. To say that this defeat is a crushing blow to Hunter Jr's chances at college football's most prestigious individual award is foolish.
Overall, Shedeur Sanders' post about his teammate is indicative of the incredible journey the two have been on in this sport. Sanders was a 4-star recruit from the class of 2021, while Hunter Jr was a 5-star recruit from the class of 2022. Travis was the second-ranked player in the country when he de-committed from Florida State to play with Deion and Shedeur Sanders at the FCS school, Jackson State.
Deion was among the few coaches in the country who believed Hunter Jr could consistently play offense and defense on the college level. A year later, Travis followed Deion and Shedeur to rebuild a program in Colorado that was coming off a 1-11 season. Two years later, Colorado football, which hasn't been consistently relevant since the early 2000s, is back on the map.
The program has a bright future now, with 5-star QB Julian Lewis committing for 2025. In addition, Hunter Jr and Sanders are projected to be high first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. The journey for Colorado's dynamic duo is coming to an end soon. While it may not result in a national championship, it will end in one of the most remarkable stories in recent memory for college football and the University of Colorado Boulder.
