Colorado coach Deion Sanders expects two-way star Travis Hunter to miss time due to an undisclosed injury he sustained during a violent hit in the Buffaloes’ 43-35 victory over rival Colorado State on Saturday night will miss.
“The first thing I heard was that he was going to be out for a couple of weeks,” Sanders said in his postgame press conference. “I certainly heard that. But we will do what we have to to take care of him. I know Travis probably wants to be out for two weeks. But we have to make sure he’s okay. His health is more important than this game.”
While playing wide receiver, Hunter was hit hard by Colorado State safety Henry Blackburn in the first quarter of the game and remained on the field to get the coaches’ attention. Blackburn received an unnecessary roughness penalty. Hunter eventually returned to the game after the hit and made one tackle in the second quarter before leaving the game for good.
It was not immediately clear whether Blackburn’s goal was responsible for Hunter’s exit, but it provided an early flashpoint in a contest already fraught with tension. CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders came face-to-face with Blackburn after the hit on Hunter’s defense.
Hunter, who plays both wide receiver and cornerback for the No. 18 Buffs, made an early impression in the Heisman Trophy race with his performance in the first two games of the season after following Sanders from Jackson State.
Ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, Hunter stunned college football by choosing Jackson State over Sanders, turning down a long-time commitment to Florida State. He has developed a close relationship with Sanders, who played both offense and defense during his college football career.
While Hunter’s durability as a two-way player logging more than 100 snaps per game has been questioned, Sanders has found that his experience in a similar role makes him uniquely equipped to handle Hunter’s workload.
“The bad thing about losing Travis is that you lose such an important part of our team,” Colorado safety Shilo Sanders said after the win. “He plays both offense and defense. It’s like losing two players at the same time, it was pretty tough.”