How did the No. 1 recruit in the country help turn around a one-win team from 2022?
Colorado's Travis Hunter – the two-way superstar who captivated college football with an incredible Week 1 performance against TCU – has taken a most unexpected road to the FBS.
Hunter had 11 receptions for 119 yards and three tackles with an interception while playing 144 snaps for the Buffaloes in Week 1.
Hunter, who was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022, was born in Florida, played high school football in Georgia and has followed Colorado coach Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado. The next step is no doubt the NFL – but the origin story of Hunter is fascinating.
Where is Travis Hunter from?
Travis Hunter was born in West Palm Beach, Fla.
According to The Athletic, "Hunter grew up idolizing Sanders, the Hall of Fame cornerback and six-time NFL All-Pro, to the point that all Hunter ever wanted to do was play for Florida State, Sanders' alma mater."
Travis Hunter high school stats
Hunter attended Collins Hill High School in Suwanee Georgia, and he emerged as a five-star recruit as an athlete.
Hunter's junior season in 2020-21 is similar to the phenomenon we saw in Week 1 at Colorado — only it happened over a full season. That season, Hunter totaled:
- 137 catches for 1,746 receiving yards and 24 TDs
- 19 carries for 124 yards and a TD
- 2 of 4 passing for 84 yards and two TDs
- 51 tackles, eight interceptions and a pick six
Hunter led Collins Hill to a 7A state championship and 15-0 record the following season.
He finished his career with 272 catches for 4,373 all-purpose yards and a state-record 50 TDs in a great connection with Sam Horn, a four-star recruit who is now a redshirt freshman at Missouri. He also had 19 career interceptions and two pick sixes. Rabun County's Jaden Gibson – now a freshman at Virginia – broke Hunter's record with 59 TDs from 2019-22.
Hunter's high school highlight reel is predictably mesmerizing:
Why did Travis Hunter de-commit from Florida State?
Hunter was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports.com. He was expected to commit to Florida State and was considering Georgia and Auburn, among other schools.
Hunter pulled one of the most surprising decisions in recruiting history when he committed to Jackson State and Sanders, which made him the first five-star recruit to sign with a HBCU program.
Travis Hunter tosses Georgia, FSU, and Auburn hats and is going to Jackson State.
— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) December 15, 2021
Video: @11AliveSports pic.twitter.com/CbZhS1TGqQ
According to The Athletic: "Florida State sent its entire coaching staff to the 2021 7A state title game in Georgia, where Hunter led Collins Hill to the school's first championship as a two-way star, playing cornerback on defense and receiver on offense. Meanwhile, Sanders and his staff at Jackson State never set foot on Collins Hill's campus outside of Atlanta."
Yet Hunter still chose Jackson State. He had this statement on his Jackson State bio:
"Jerry Rice, Doug Williams, and of course the legend, JSU's own Walter Payton— Historically Black Colleges and Universities have a rich history in football. I want to be a part of that history, and more, I want to be a part of that future. … I look forward to working with the iconic Deion Sanders, and especially with my fellow Tigers."
Travis Hunter stats at Jackson State
Hunter missed the first four games of the 2022 season because of injuries, but he emerged as a two-way player for Jackson State last season.
Hunter had two interceptions and eight pass breakups at cornerback He had 18 catches for 190 yards and four TDs as receiver. The highlight of Hunter's season was a game–tying TD catch from Shedeur Sanders on the final play of the 2022 Celebration Bowl against North Carolina Central.
As called on @robjaykappa on Jackson State radio: pic.twitter.com/1WwYe2XaoA
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) December 17, 2022
Travis Hunter's parents
Hunter's parents are Travis Hunter Sr. and Ferrante Edmonds.
Travis Hunter Sr. was a football and track star at Boynton Beach High School – the same school that produced Lamar Jackson.
Hunter Sr. was part of a school-record 400 relay team that ran a 41.63. That record still stands – a few spots ahead of a 400 relay team Jackson was on in 2014 that ran a 42.56.
Travis Hunter Jr. – whose 40-time will be a hot topic of conversation when he enters the NFL Draft – did not run track in high school. He played point guard on the Collins Hill's basketball team.
Hunter Sr. starred in football two as a two-way player and returner, but he chose not to play junior college football in Kansas after graduation. According to the Tallahassee Democrat: "Hunter Sr. played semi pro football in the Florida Football Alliance and Southern States Football League, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year for the latter in 2007."
Travis Hunter's relationship with Deion Sanders
Sanders took the job with the Buffaloes on Dec. 16, 2022. Five days later, Hunter transferred to Colorado. That strong bond between the two playmakers has translated at Colorado and will be on display in Week 2 against Nebraska.
"Love him as a human being, as a young man, as a son to his mother," Sanders said via BuffZone.com on April 17. "He's like a son to me. I love him that much."
Both achieved stardom as two-way players. For Sanders, it was three sports in college.
Sanders starred in football, baseball and track at Florida State before embarking on a Hall of Fame career as a NFL cornerback and returner, not to mention a nine-year career in Major League Baseball.
"Travis is better (than me) at this age and stage," Sanders said. "He may not be as fast, but the intangibles and who he is, he is better. He is better at this age and stage. He really is, by far."
