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Travis Hunter tracker: Heisman frontrunner dazzles again as Colorado keeps rolling

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1 year ago

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Travis Hunter tracker: Heisman frontrunner dazzles again as Colorado keeps rolling

Travis Hunter was at it again Saturday, making plays on both sides of the ball as Colorado (No. 17 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings) secured its fourth consecutive win, 49-24 over Utah.

Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Hunter No. 1 on his updated 2025 NFL Draft big board — two spots up from Hunter’s preseason slot. Brugler wrote: “Hunter is the best draft-eligible player in the country, and I don’t think that will change between now and April. Does he project best at wide receiver? Cornerback? Both? Those questions will be answered as he progresses through the process, but regardless, Hunter is the clear favorite to be the first non-quarterback drafted.”

More on Hunter’s latest performance:

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Stat line vs. Utah

Five catches for 55 yards; one carry for 5 yards and a TD; three tackles, one INT, one pass breakup

What other player in college football is putting up a stat line like that?

Hunter had an interception and a huge fourth-down reception in the first half alone, then put the icing on the cake with this unbelievable effort on a reverse in the closing moments:

Hunter’s teammate, Colton Hood, deserves an assist for Hunter’s first-quarter interception. On the play, Utah QB Isaac Wilson underthrew a deep corner route to Munir McClain, and Hood recovered in time to pop the ball out of McClain’s hands — and into the arms of Hunter, who broke off his coverage to track the play and record his third INT of the year. Hunter then turned back upfield for a 21-yard return.

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The Heisman frontrunner is now just 89 yards shy of 1,000 yards receiving on the season, with two regular-season games plus possible Big 12 title game and College Football Playoff appearances ahead.

Hunter did have a rare slip-up in coverage. In the third quarter, Utah wide receiver Dorian Singer blew past Hunter, who was playing man coverage with no safety help over the top, and hauled in a beautiful 40-yard touchdown throw from Wilson. It was the first TD Hunter has allowed all season.

Signature moment

NFL evaluators love receivers who can finish contested catches and possess aggressive ball skills in the air. It’d be hard to show off either skill much better than this:

As if the catch itself wasn’t impressive enough, keep in mind that it came on fourth-and-8 in a one-possession game just before halftime. Colorado scored a TD on its next snap when QB Shedeur Sanders hit WR Will Sheppard.

With that 28-yard reception, Hunter has a catch of 20-plus yards in eight of Colorado’s 10 games this season.

go-deeper

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What it means

The only remaining question Hunter has to answer is whether he wants to focus on one side of the ball at the next level. It’ll likely be as much about the needs of his new team — the fit, scheme, everything else — as it will Hunter actually declaring himself exclusively a corner or WR.

He’s good enough to play in the league now, just as he was at the start of the year (and maybe even at the end of last season). Even with some injuries and missed games, the durability it’s taken for Hunter to handle these snap loads over and over — and not lose any of his zip or explosion — is out of this world by itself.

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If you start breaking down Hunter on a more finite level, he’s got the best ball skills of any player in college football. He’d have an argument on that front in the NFL, too. His ability to track, locate, adjust and catch a football in the air against other people is incredibly rare. We even saw an instance Saturday in which he basically set up a defensive back to run into him and commit pass interference.

His interception was a direct result of working back to the ball and, frankly, having absurdly quick reaction speed. Not only did he make it look easy to pluck that deflection, but his transition from a squat to a full-tilt sprint the other way was seamless. He’s one of the most fluid full-body skill athletes we’ve seen come out of the college ranks in a long time. Should Hunter test during the pre-draft evaluation period (and he has nothing to gain from doing so), the numbers will be dazzling.

However, what makes him truly special is his ability to control the pace of other people around him. There’s never a better athlete on the field than him — and he knows it. He’s playing with a special, special football confidence. — Nick Baumgardner

(Top photo: Andrew Wever / Getty Images)

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