Buffs Film Room: Travis Hunter will be a star at Colorado

Travis Hunter arrives at CU as the headliner that makes up Coach Prime’s “Louis luggage”. Last year, in his true freshman season Hunter proved immediately that his talent is as advertised.

While he will be facing a step-up in competition this season, last year at Jackson State Hunter provided some epic highlights at both cornerback and wide receiver.

In this edition of the Buffs Film Room, we break down Hunter’s best plays from the 2022 season and project which position he will have the greatest impact at.

Prime Time Protege

When Hunter committed to JSU, he threw a curveball into the college football landscape and certified Coach Prime as a force to be reckoned with as a recruiter.

Coach Prime’s playing career doesn’t need to be explained, but it made perfect sense that the best two-way player in the class decided he wanted to learn from one of the best two-way players and athletes of all time.

Hunter possesses the speed, length and ball skills to be a lockdown corner and he showed that consistently as a freshman at JSU.

Against Alcorn State, Hunter notched his first career pick-six. Let’s start from the very beginning with how Hunter covers the receiver’s release. He’s smooth and square until the receiver breaks towards the sideline and #12 is able to match him stride for stride and sit on the route just as the receiver does. The receiver is blanketed and the Florida native is able to win the battle for the football and take it back for six.

Now let’s focus on the ball skills. This pass is tipped at the line of scrimmage and Hunter makes an incredibly athletic play to try and scoop up the flailing ball. Hunter would fail to complete the catch on the play, but the athletic display is spectacular.

Later on against Texas Southern, we got a chance to see how Hunter operates in true one-on-one situations on an island. The receiver gains a step on Hunter off the line but like a veteran, Hunter shows no panic and chooses the perfect moment to play the ball and force a pass breakup.

This interception is the result of a poorly thrown football, but Hunter shows great ability to play zone and trail receivers down the field to take advantage of these opportunities. The catch is effortless and then the new Buff’s natural talent as a runner takes over.

We will talk about more plays from this game later on, but watch how easy this is for Hunter. He shows his composure, quick feet and technique off the line on the receiver’s release, and watch how easy it is for him to work over the pick route and nearly pick off another pass.

It’s only five clips but the talent is undeniable. Hunter shows better and cleaner movement skills, ball skills and technique than some of the players I watched for NFL Draft purposes last spring. It makes sense why he wanted to play under Coach Prime and learn from one of the best to ever do it.

Yes, these clips are against SWAC players but there is nothing to suggest that Hunter would not be able to create plays like that in the Pac-12 and Power 5 level.

There are things that need to be cleaned up and Hunter is by no means a finished product when it comes to development, but he’s not far off. As good of a player as he already is and can be at cornerback, there is a legitimate argument that Hunter is an even better wide receiver.

Travis Hunter is already CU’s best receiver

Two-way players are rare these days. And even the best of the “true” two-way players are only really great at one position. Travis Hunter is great at cornerback and wide receiver.

In a podcast with Shannon Sharpe in December, Coach Prime said, “That’s what he loves. There’s a love and a like. He loves to play receiver. DB is something that he can do, really well and better than a lot of others. But if I had to put my money on him, he loves catching that football a lot more than he loves defending it.”

The tipping point for Hunter and his ability as a receiver occurred in the 2022 Celebration Bowl. The former number one overall recruit became Shedeur Sanders’ go-to receiver in crunch time and was one of the reasons why Jackson State had a great shot at winning that football game.

On a third and goal from the 20-yard-line, Hunter gets himself open with a beautiful route and scores a massive touchdown that put JSU ahead in the fourth quarter.

https://twitter.com/JakeDNVR/status/1604246087313027072?s=20&t=-h3WWjXt9GifyJFDlRZpSg

With the one last play to tie the game before the buzzer, Hunter came up clutch and shows that he can win in contested catch situations and he got both feet in bounds.

The chemistry that Sanders and Hunter have as a passer and pass-catcher combo must be further explored in Boulder.

This is Hunter’s most spectacular catch in his young career. He stumbles out of his release allowing the cornerback to keep up with him but Sanders throws a pin-point perfect pass and Hunter’s left foot gently grazes the end zone to secure the pass. The toe-drag-swag of Hunter’s left foot should also be pointed out.

Just before the previously mentioned touchdown reception, 2022’s number one overall recruit had another incredible catch that put Jackson State into position. Those tremendous ball skills are on display again as he is easily able to adjust to the throw, secure the catch and get both feet down in bounds.

Hunter is the definition of “get the ball in his hands and good things will happen”. When he gets in the open field, good luck tackling him.

Which position should Hunter focus on?

Evidence from both sides has been provided, so should Hunter be utilized more as a cornerback or wide receiver for Colorado?

The truth is, there is no wrong answer. The potential that last year’s top overall recruit has shown at both positions suggests that he will thrive in either role.

But after witnessing his ability to come up clutch in big moments and the chemistry that Sanders and Hunter have both on and off the field, the answer is clear to me.

He could end up being a top-10 pick whenever he enters the NFL Draft at cornerback, but in my opinion, when Hunter is at his best he is lining up on offense.

In Sean Lewis’ offense at Boulder, Hunter would be given the opportunity to make plays at all three levels of the field. He can force a missed tackle and easily pick up a first down on a screen, he has the route-running ability to get himself open in the short and intermediate levels of the field and he has the speed and ball skills to be Colorado’s best deep threat today.

Time will tell where Coach Prime and Hunter feel that his skills are best utilized, but judging Coach Prime’s quote on which position Hunter loves to play, the answer seems quite clear.

Either way, the Buffs have one of the best overall football players in the nation. Chances are we will see Hunter playing both sides in Boulder. So the task for us as analysts and fans is simple, sit back and enjoy the ride.