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In a recent interview on the podcast The Pivot, Colorado star Travis Hunter revisited what sparked his HBCU journey to Jackson State University. The Heisman Trophy finalist told the hosts of The Pivot that he initially didn’t want to go to Jackson State, but it was former head coach Deion Sanders who convinced him to go.
“When I first told him, it was like, ‘I don’t care who he is”—I don’t want to go there,” Hunter told the panel. “But as I talked to him more, I was like, ‘Oh, this might be the place I want to go.”
In 2021, Hunter shocked the sports world when he committed to Jackson State over Florida State. This decision also opened the discussion about elite athletes choosing HBCUs over other schools. In the interview, Hunter also revealed his then-girlfriend, now-fiancée, Leanna Lenee, helped him make the decision.
“My girl, she was still there. She still is here. So, people don’t know—I had that conversation with her first before I went to my family — had that conversation. And once I had a conversation with them, I’m like, I know it’s a bit of sacrifice. But one day my brothers and sisters might not go D1. So, I still have to shine a light on someone else. And that was my main focus, and that’s what I did.”
Hunter helped Jackson State to a 12-1 record and win a SWAC Championship in his brief one-and-a-half seasons there. In that short amount of time, he played both ways and had some outstanding performances, especially in the Celebration Bowl, where he displayed the same kind of skill that Colorado has seen the past two seasons.
After Deion Sanders left Jackson State, Hunter followed suit in 2023. He often talks about the close relationship between him and Sanders, describing it as “father-son-like.” In an interview with The Richard Sherman Podcast, Hunter gave details on why he decided to play for Sanders.
“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 it to be, and I wanted to learn from somebody like that.”
