HBCU to the Heisman, Travis Hunter is college football’s best
In December 2021, Travis Hunter, the No. 1 high school football recruit in the country, shocked the sports world by decommitting from attending Florida State University, a Power 4 program with extensive resources, to begin his college journey at HBCU (historically Black college and university) Jackson State University under the tutelage of its then head coach, two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
In April 2023, Hunter again bet on Sanders, commonly known as Coach Prime, and transferred from JSU to the University of Colorado after Sanders took the head coaching job there in December 2022. Now, the wide receiver and cornerback has accomplished something not even his football role model did. On Saturday night at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, the 21-year-old won the Heisman Trophy, awarded to college football’s best player.
Hunter, who has intercepted four passes on defense and amassed 1,152 yards receiving on 92 catches with 14 touchdowns in addition to one rushing TD on offense, has proven to be one of the most uniquely durable players in college football history. He averages an incredible 118 snaps per game, having been on the field for 713 defensive snaps and 709 offensive plays.
His resilience has been hardened through trials and tribulations growing up first in West Palm Beach, Florida, then in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where he moved with his mother, stepfather and three siblings — where he lived in a now demolished Metro Extended Stay before moving in with one of his Collins Hill High School coaches.
Sanders, who refers to Hunter as one of his sons, has often praised the ultra-talented two-way phenom with a 3.7 grade point average for being “a better person and student” than he is football player. Family has been at the center of Hunter’s drive to be great, and last winter he purchased his mother, Ferrante Edmonds, a home in Savannah, Georgia. Hunter approaches his standing as a positive example for his siblings with the same intentional actions as he does football.
During his Heisman acceptance speech, Hunter acknowledged his younger brother Trayvis, a sophomore wide receiver at Effingham County High School in Springfield, Georgia.
“My brother, where you at, Trayvis? That’s my dog, man. You know I do this for you, bro,” Hunter said emotionally. “We have been doing this for a long time. You was always next to me, even at times I ain’t want to take you, my mama made me take you. But I’m doing this for you, bro. I’m doing this for all my siblings, man.”
Colorado will face BYU in the 2024 Valero Alamo Bowl next Saturday at 7:30 pm at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Hunter is projected to be a top-five pick in next April’s NFL Draft, as is his close friend and teammate Shedeur Sanders, the Buffaloes’ quarterback and son of Deion Sanders. Hunter credits Shedeur for persuading him to sign with Jackson State where Sanders was already a star freshman when Hunter was a high school senior.
Many pundits say Hunter and Sanders should sit out the bowl game and to avoid the risk of sustaining a serious injury and jeopardizing their lofty draft status, but both have adamantly said they are playing.
“I started this thing with Coach Prime and Shedeur and most of the coaches on the coaching staff, so I want to finish it off right,” Hunter said. It’s going to be our last game together so we will go out there and dominate and show the loyalty that I have.”
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