The questions about Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter are probably among the most fascinating and optimistic around any non-quarterback in college football in quite some time. That's sort of a vague concept, but let me illustrate it with some examples. With only about a season playing at the FBS level, we aren't questioning Hunter's viability as an eventual NFL player, or whether he's one of the best college players. The bigger questions are: Can he stay healthy playing as many snaps as he does? Will he become the fourth non-QB to win the Heisman Trophy since 2006? How high will he go in the 2025 NFL Draft? When he does get to the NFL, at which position will he be an elite player? Deion Sanders believes his son
Shedeur and Hunter will be top-four picks , with one of them going No. 1 overall, and the other going fourth.
Tyreek Hill endorsed Hunter as the No. 1 pick , even if the team at the top is considered quarterback-needy. In my opinion, if Hunter remains healthy, he'll be in the Heisman conversation. I totally agree he'll be a top-four pick. My feeling is his higher upside as an NFL player is at cornerback, but the most lucrative route to go as of today is obviously wide receiver. Welp. Coach Prime is out here saying that teams won't
need to choose, and that Hunter can play both ways in the pros — despite what some naysayers might suggest.
"How are you gonna tell a man what he can't do? And the scouts ask me every day, 'What is he?' I say, 'He's a football player.' If you put him on offense in the NFL, and you don't have him on defense, you're gonna like a fool. Because he's gonna be your best defensive player not playing. The same thing vice versa. So the best thing for you to do is draft him to whatever [position] and have a package ready for him on the opposing side." https://twitter.com/SkoBuffsGoBuffs/status/1831784173260173317 Since Deion has said that he'll essentially force Shedeur and Hunter to certain teams Eli Manning-style if he can, I would imagine anyone interested in Hunter will need to at least entertain the notion of playing him on offense and defense. He certainly has the skill set to do it. I just wouldn't play Hunter
the whole game on both sides, because there's just no way he can hold up to that level of punishment in the NFL. Or so I'd assume. He's a very functionally strong 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, but is lighter than that listed weight in all likelihood. If I were drawing up a plan for Hunter, it'd be much like what Coach Prime is proposing. I'd place Hunter at receiver on, say, 65-70% of offensive snaps, and cornerback for maybe 30-35% of defensive snaps. You can tweak those splits based on the flow of the game and the scoreboard. Once the playoffs roll around, if Hunter is up for it, give him as much run as he wants on either side. Might as well at that point if he's made it that far. In that scenario, Hunter can still negotiate for contracts as if he's a wide receiver, and can avoid some of the physical toll tackling on defense makes by skewing his snap count toward offense. Plus, his elusiveness and explosiveness in the open field leaves him less susceptible to high-impact collisions, as opposed to when he has to bring an opposing wideout or other skill player to the turf. The obvious high football IQ Hunter displayed from last year on, combined with his freakish ball skills, could make him legitimately the best cornerback prospect I've seen in my entire life. However, the realist in me and the understanding of the business side fully believes the 21-year-old phenom will still excel as an All-Pro caliber wideout. Now we just have to ride out the next several months, pray for his good health, and hope Hunter reaches the NFL as unscathed as possible. What a freaking matchup coming up Saturday night in Lincoln between the Buffaloes and Nebraska, with
true freshman QB Dylan Raiola leading the way! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qugMyFajYRM
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