Perhaps no college football team will look more different from the 2022 season to the 2023 season than Colorado under new head coach Deion Sanders. The NFL legend, who is left Jackson State for the Pac-12 program, led a recruiting whirlwind for the Buffaloes, headlined by the transfer of star wide receiver/cornerback combo Travis Hunter.
Sanders joined 247Sports for a Q&A recently, where he spoke about Travis Hunter’s transfer to Colorado and the Buffaloes’ mindset of recruiting.
The coach said other programs attempted to lure Hunter with NIL offers up to $1.5 million, but the highly touted recruit chose to follow Sanders.
“People offered Travis Hunter a bag. About $1.5 million to try to lure him and buy him out of the transfer portal. But Travis is not the kind of guy that can be bought. He isn’t built like that. Travis is a relational young man that is built on relationships and stability. And that’s what he wanted and desired. That is why he decided to ride and stay with us,” Sanders said to 247Sports.
Hunter was the No. 1 prospect in the high school class of 2022 and shocked many when he committed to Jackson State. After a year at the HBCU, where he had 18 receptions for 188 yards and four touchdowns on offense and 20 tackles, 10 pass breakups and two interceptions (including a pick-six) on defense, Hunter announced his move to Colorado.
“I cannot wait until they see what he is capable of doing in these next couple of years. Because he will be a top-5 or top-3 pick after his junior year. But the sky’s the limit, he is going to play both ways and he is a vital part of the offense and the defense, and he wants that,” Sanders said.
“First he needs to have his grades correct and needs to be eligible through our compliance department. Then, he needs to be tough, smart, fast, disciplined and with character. And he has to understand that this coaching staff is old school. Not old fools, but old school. A lot of our principles and the way we attack the game comes from way back when. And we are still that way because that way is the way and it has not failed us yet. So it’s a tremendous expectation, but we go hard and we play fast. And you have to love this thing. We don’t want you to be ‘in like’ with it. We want you to be ‘in love’ with it.”
