Travis Hunter

OVERVIEW

it’s no secret Travis Hunter is the most dynamic and versatile player in college football. It’s not just that he plays both cornerback and wide receiver but that he plays both positions at a very high level.

Hunter has become a trailblazer in college football with his high level of play on both sides of the ball. He is doing things on the field that we have not seen in a very long time and projects to be a top-five pick in next year's draft class. It is unlikely that he will play on both sides of the ball at the professional level, but Hunter and coach Deion Sanders are adamant that he has the rare ability to do so.

Hunter’s season was cut short in 2023, but in only nine games he recorded 721 yards receiving on 57 receptions, averaged 12.6 yards per catch, and caught five touchdowns. On defense, he finished with 22 solo tackles(30 total), two tackles for loss, five pass deflections, and two interceptions.

It’s unclear where teams at the next level view Hunter or even where he would prefer to play if he is not allowed to play both sides of the ball. So the question lingers. Hunter has the talent to play either way and, in his mind, both. Heading into what is probably his final college season, Hunter must make a decision, right? We will have to wait and see.

CORNERBACK ANALYSIS

Travis Hunter INTS vs. UCLA

Strengths: In zone-coverage concepts, Travis Hunter shows rare instincts to put himself in a position to make plays on the ball. He shows a superb understanding of getting depth and pass-off zone responsibilities. He also has a knack for baiting/anticipating routes and shows a feel for where a play is going. Hunter has the outstanding ball skills to create turnovers. His sure hands and tracking ability as a receiver allow him to create turnovers at a high level; he can make a bid for a house call anytime he gets the ball.

Hunter’s instincts as a defensive back flash in man coverage. In off and bail coverage, he shows quality route recognition to anticipate leverage at breakpoints and consistently stay on the opponent's hip. Aside from evident instincts, Hunter is a fantastic athlete with very fluid hips to turn and run. He is able to plant and easily flip his hips when mirroring in man. In man or zone coverage, Hunter’s transition quickness is explosive, a major reason he is able to make plays on the ball and create turnovers.

Weaknesses: Although he is usually effective in man coverage, his aggressive ball-react instincts can get him into trouble. Hunter has the modern-day frame of a defensive back — a long corner with a wide wingspan. However, he has a frail overall build, and his slight frame may be a liability against bigger receivers. Hunter struggles against big-body receivers when challenged vertically and can lose leverage when tracking the ball. On 50/50 throws, he can get beat at the catch point against bigger opponents with strong hands. While in bail coverage, Hunter is very good at getting downhill and closing on underneath routes, but he can get lost when challenged vertically. He has difficulty protecting his blind spot and can lose leverage and allow his opponent to create space against him. Due to his slight frame, Hunter can get lost in run support. His overall willingness to get downhill is inconsistent, and his lack of physical strength can make it difficult to disengage from blockers as well as secure tackles vs. physical runners.

RECEIVER ANALYSIS

Travis Hunter vs. Nebraska

Strengths: On defense, your number one rule should be not to let Hunter get free in open space because he can break ankles with his moves and make defenders look silly. Same thing on offense. Hunter is extremely twitchy in space, with remarkable stop-start quickness when changing direction. It is frustrating to try to bring him down in space after a catch. In addition to that elusiveness, Hunter has the true home-run speed to take a slant 80 if he gets a seam. Hunter has a burst of acceleration that both beats you vertically or makes a big play on a drag or bubble screen.

Hunter’s smooth release off the LOS has little wasted motion, and he showcases a quality single move to get upfield and into his route against off/bail coverage. His blink-quick separation allows him to toy with defenders at the top of his routes, to freeze DBs or put them on their heels. He has quick stair-steps to lock up defenders at breakpoints. Hunter’s sure hands are always a plus. He does well extending his arms to make catches with those hands instead of his body. He creates a spatial and timing advantage when he reaches to catch with his hands.

Weaknesses: Although he is generally a good route runner, Hunter could improve his initial stem off LOS. He often relies on his quickness to get a step on the opponent rather than stemming and creating leverage offline to set up his release. When stretching the field vertically, Hunter can make big plays on an accurate ball from his quarterback. However, his poor effort when adjusting to underthrown passes does not help out his quarterback. Hunter’s thin frame can limit him as a blocker on the perimeter, where he lacks the physical strength to sustain blocks against aggressive corners in run support. He shows inconsistent effort as a run blocker, when he tends to watch plays if the action is away from him.

Final thoughts

What Travis Hunter is already doing is nothing short of amazing and groundbreaking. He shows a remarkable ability to play at a high level on both sides of the ball.

Honestly, Hunter has a bright future at either cornerback or wide receiver. It comes down to what position he prefers/enjoys most, and then putting in the work to polish up his technique and IQ.

As a cornerback at the next level, Hunter can be a No. 1 outside coverage player for any team. His athletic ability and instincts make him a dangerous ball hawk. In terms of playing corner at the next level, Hunter’s skill set seems to translate best to a Cover-3 zone-based scheme, where his ability to mirror and anticipate throws would be a natural fit.

Hunter can be a transcendent talent as a receiver, too. His combination of size, speed and escapability after the catch is rare, even at the NFL level. His speed allows him to stretch the field and draw extra safety attention — aka take the top off. This naturally opens up underneath routes, freeing teammates to roam in the perforations he creates. At 6-1 with a wide wingspan, Hunter can play above the rim and make splash plays downfield or in traffic. After the catch, Hunter has the ability to embarrass defenders, which can get inside their heads as he gets into their end zone.

The 2024 season will be a big year for Travis Hunter, who must either excel at one position over the other or prove what he and coach Sanders say: He can play both ways. We have seldom seen — and certainly not for decades — a player sustain consistency and dominance on both sides of the ball in the pros as Hunter has done in college. Let’s see what happens.

-- Justyce Gordon

HISTORY -- Profile from College

AT COLORADO (2023)

• One of the most dynamic players in college football history, Hunter successfully played both cornerback and wide receiver throughout the 2023 season and despite missing 3-and-a-half games due to injury, he played more snaps from scrimmage in the regular season than any other player in the FBS.  
• He won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player, becoming the ninth player to win a major postseason award and bringing home the 11th such award for the Colorado Buffaloes. He was named to the Paul Hornung Award honor roll after five of the seven full games he played.  
• A consensus first-team All-American and first-team Academic All-American, he is just the second player in CU history to earn consensus honors on the field and first-team academic honors in the classroom, joining Joe Romig, who accomplished the feat in 1960 and '61. 
• Academically, on top of being a first-team Academic All-American, he was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll and the All-NFF Colorado Academic Team earning first-team honors as a defensive back an second team as a wide receiver. He received a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester.  
• He is just the eight player to be a consensus first-team All-American and pick up any level of Academic All-America honors.  
• He earned first-team All-America honors from four of the five publications the NCAA uses to determine consensus and unanimous selections.  He was named first-team by the Football Writers Association of America, the Associated Press, Sporting News and American Football Coaches Association.  The only publication that didn't name him first team was Walter Camp, which is the only publication that doesn't include an All-Purpose, Flex or Athlete position on its team. 
• He also earned first-team honors by Sports Illustrated and second-team honors by FOX Sports. 
• He earned the program's 64th first-team All-American honor and is the 60th player to earn first-team All-America status.  It is the 31st consensus first-team All-American season in CU history and he's the 28th player to earn consensus honors.  He just missed becoming the sixth unanimous first-team honoree. 
• He was a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. 
• He played a total of 1,102 snaps including 475 on offense, 631 on defense and 32 on special teams, an average of 114.7 per game, or 121.4 per game when calculating without the second half against Colorado State.  
• He now has the top five scrimmage snaps in a game in CU history, the most coming against Stanford when he played 149 snaps.  He also had 140 against TCU, 125 against Nebraska, 118 against Oregon State and 116 against Arizona. 
• On offense, he finished with 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 80.1 yards per game and 6.3 receptions per game.  
• His 57 receptions ranks 20th in CU's season chart while his five touchdowns ranks 23rd and he already ranks 53rd for career receptions and 51st for career receiving yards. 
• He had at least two receptions in all nine game he played and eight or more receptions on two occassions, including 13 against Stanford and 11 against TCU. 
• Defensively, he had a team-lead tying three interceptions and five pass breakups to go along with 30 tackles, who of which went for a loss. 
• He had two interceptions against UCLA and one against TCU while his PBUs came one each against TCU, Nebraska, Oregon State, Arizona and Washington State.  
• He became the first player in at least the last 25 seasons of college football with 50-plus receptions and 3-plus interceptions, the only other comparable season coming in 1998 when Georgia's Champ Bailey had 47 receptions for 744 yards and five touchdowns to go along with three interceptions. 
• He was named to the All-Transfer team by On3 at the flex position, by The Atheltics and 247 Sports at defensive back and to the second team at cornerback by the CFN. 
• He earned All-Pac-12 honors at multiple positions, including first-team honors at defensive back by the league's coaches, who also named him second team All-Purpose.  The Associated Press named him first team at all-purpose and second-team at cornerback.  The Bay Area News Group had him listed first team at defensive back and College Football Network named him second-team at the flex position.  Athlon named him first-team at both cornerback and all-purpose while the AP and Phil Steele named him second-team. 
• At CU's annual CUSPY banquet, he was named the Athlete of the Year among all CU sports.  
• His FBS debut was a memorable one as CU shocked No. 17 and defending national runner-up TCU 45-42.  He set CU records for most receptions (11) in a starting debut at wide receiver, most receptions in the first game of a career at CU and was the first player in over 20 seasons to record a 100-yard receiving game and have an interception on defense. He was rewarded as the National Player of the Week by the Bronko Nagurski Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Paul Hornung and was honor able mention by the Jim Thorpe award while also being the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
• He had 13 catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns against Stanford while coming up with five tackles defensively.  
• Had eight catches for 98 yards against Oregon State and eight catches for 107 yards, his third and final 100-yard game, in the season finale at Utah. 
• At mid-season, he was named a first-team All-American by Sporting News and FOX Sports and honorable mention by ESPN and The Athletic has him on its midseason all-transfer team. 
• In the preseason, he was named first-team All-American by the AP and Athlon and second-team by Sporting News and Phil Steele, while also earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors with first-team honors coming from CB and Phil Steele and second-team honors by Sporing News and Phil Steele. 
• He was on the preseason watch lists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and Paul Hornung Award before being recognized as a first-team honoree. 
• Preseason honors include being ranked the No. 1 overall player in the transfer portal, he was ranked as the top newcomer by ESPN.  On3 had him ranked the No. 31 player in college football in the preseason and ESPN ranked him No. 70 and the top newcomer.  
• Named Preseason All-Pac-12 by the league’s media at three positions, first-team at defensive back and all purpose and honorable mention at wide receiver.  The only player named first-team at multiple positions and to three overall.

TRANSFER RANKINGS

• The top-ranked transfer prospect in the 2023 class by 247 Sports with a rating of .9900 and five stars (as of 12/19).
• Entered CU as a transfer with four years to play three. 

AT JACKSON STATE (2022)

• Played in eight games as a true freshman at Jackson State in 2022, seeing action on both offense and defense as a wide receiver and cornerback. 
• Named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman player in FCS football.  
• Earned SWAC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-SWAC by Phil Steele. 
• On defense, he finished the season with 20 tackles, 10 pass breakups and two interceptions, also coming up with one fumble recovery.  
• Had two-plus pass breakups in three games, including four against Texas Southern and three against Alcorn. Had interceptions against Alabama A&M and Alcorn.  
• On offense, he finished the season with 18 receptions for 188 yards and four touchdowns.
• Against Alcorn, he was named the BOXTOROW National Player of the WEek and the SWAC Newcomer of the Week when he returned a 44-yard interception for a touchdown and also caught a 10-yard touchdown on offense. 
• In the final four games of the season, the last two regular season games, SWAC Championship and Celebration Bowl, he had 11 receptions for 135 yards and four touchdowns.
• Had four receptions for 47 yards in the Celebration Bowl, including the game-tying touchdown reception on the final play of regulation.  
• Became the first five-star recruit to sign with an FCS program since ESPN began ranking players in 2006.  
• Highest-ranked recruit to commit to an HBCU. 
• Before freshman season, he played in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl, earning Offensive MVP honors with five receptions for 54 yards, while also getting an interception on defense. 

HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

• A consensus five-star recruit and the nation’s top-ranked recruit in the class of 2022.
• 247 Sports rated him a perfect 100 and ranked him the No. 1 recruit in the nation on the Top247, the top cornerback and top player from Georgia. 
• Rivals rated him a perfect 6.1 and ranked him as the top recruit in the class, the top athlete in the class and top-ranked player from Georgia. 
• PrepStar ranked him as the best player in the nation. 
• ESPN rated him 94 and ranked him the No. 2 player in the nation and the No.1 ranked athlete and No. 1 ranked player from Georgia.  
• On3 rated him as a 99 and ranked him as the No. 8 player in the class, the No. 2 athlete and No. 2 player from Georgia.  
• 247 Composite: .9999 Rating, No. 1 player in the nation, No. 1 cornerback and No. 1 player from Georgia. 
• On3 Consensus: 99.56 rating, No. 2 player in the nation, No. 1 ranked athlete and No. 1 ranked player from Georgia.  

COLLINS HILL HIGH SCHOOL (2018-21)

• Played four years of varsity football for the Collins Hill Eagles under coach Lenny Gregory. 
• Helped Collins Hill compile a 36-17 record in four years, including a 27-4 record his junior and senior seasons.  
• Career offensive numbers include 272 receptions for 3,963 yards and 48 touchdowns, 29 rushes for 158 yards and two touchdowns, 4-of-8 passing for 118 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. 
• His 48 receiving touchdowns broke the Georgia state record previously held by Braxton Hicks. 
• Career defensive numbers include 116 tackles, 19 interceptions, 18 pass breakups, four tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one quarterback hurry. 
• Senior season Collins Hill was 15-1 and won the school’s first Georgia State Championship.  
• As a senior, he was named a first-team All-American and the Georgia Player of the Year by MaxPreps and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Georgia Player of the Year. 
• Defensively, he had 25 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. 
• Offensively, he had 85 receptions for 1,284 yards and 12 touchdowns, completed one pass for a 28-yard touchdown and had 5 rushes for 15 yards and one touchdown.  
• Junior season Collins Hill was 12-3 and he was named the MaxPreps Georgia Player of the Year helping Collins Hill to the state championship game. 
• Offensive numbers include 137 receptions for 1,746 yards and 24 touchdowns, 19 rushes for 124 yards and one touchdown while completing 2-of-4 passes for 84 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
• Set new records for Gwinnett County for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. 
• Defensively, he had 51 tackles, eight interceptions, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one quarterback hurry and one tackle for loss.  
• Sophomore season he had 49 receptions for 919 yards and 12 touchdowns, adding five rushes for 19 yards on offense and 36 tackles, seven interceptions, six pass breakups with one tackle for loss on defense. 
• Freshman season he had four tackles on defense and caught one pass for 14 yards and was 1-of-2 passing for six yards on offense. 
• Also played point guard on the basketball team at Collins HIll.