Colorado two-way football star Travis Hunter is expected back again in his team’s next game Saturday against Cincinnati and “will contribute a lot more than he did a week ago, because he’s healthier,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said Tuesday.
“Travis is better than last week,” Sanders said at his weekly news conference in Boulder. “I think he’ll have more productivity because he’s feeling much better than last week. You can just tell with his little giddy-up and the way he goes about life, a little more pep in his step today.”
Hunter injured his right shoulder in a loss to Kansas State Oct. 12 but still returned to play in the first half of his next game last weekend, a 34-7 win at Arizona. He just wasn’t 100% healthy. Sanders said after the game that Hunter was sore and didn’t play in the second half as a precautionary move – the second straight week he didn’t play after halftime.
Can Travis Hunter revive his Heisman Trophy candidacy?
His absence hurt his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, dropping him from second to fourth in the odds to win the award, according to BetMGM.
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This week he could revive his candidacy with the Buffaloes playing a key game in the race for the Big 12 Conference title. Both Cincinnati and Colorado are 5-2 with 3-1 records in Big 12 play. The winner of Saturday’s game in Boulder would stay near the top of the pack with BYU (7-0) and Iowa State (7-0).
With four regular-season games remaining after this, a victory also would make the Buffs eligible for a bowl game in Sanders’ second season as head coach – a big milestone for a program that finished 1-11 before Sanders’ arrival in 2022.
Deion Sanders: Getting hated at road games ‘kind of sexy’
The time and place of Saturday’s game against Cincinnati normally might not be a big subject of discussion. But these are Sanders’ Buffs, who have thrived on the road this year with three straight wins in hostile environments. This week they return home, where they lost their last game against Kansas State, a game that didn’t start until about 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. This game also is scheduled for a 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN, the eighth straight game for the Buffs on national television. The Buffs are 4-5 at Folsom Field under Sanders in two seasons.
“We like to be booed and nay-sayed and hated,” Sanders said of his team’s road success. “That turns us on. It turns us on. It’s kind of sexy as a matter of fact. That’s how I felt when I played. I loved to be on the road and get booed and nay-sayed and hated on. I think we like being the underdogs and we like being those types of people.”
Sanders is not a fan of the late kickoffs, however, in part because his team usually practices in the morning during the week.
“We hadn’t started off quick in the night games because it flips our whole schedule,’ Sanders said. “We fared better in day games because that’s who we are. But we plan to make adjustments this week to make sure we get the proper sleep, the proper rest and we’re ready and prepared for kickoff.”
Colorado’s NFL selling point
Colorado’s defense is a big reason for its success this season under new defensive coordinator Robert Livingston. The Buffs rank 13th nationally and first in the Big 12 in quarterback sacks with 21. Livingston came to Colorado after previously serving as a defensive backs coach with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. He is one of several assistant coaches on Sanders’ coaching staff with NFL experience, which is a big part of his message to potential recruits, more so than getting money for their names, images and likenesses (NIL).
“NIL is cool, but the real money is in the league,” freshman offensive lineman Jordan Seaton said Tuesday.
Seaton’s position coach, Phil Loadholt, also played in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Seaton aspires to be a top NFL draft pick in a few years.
“He has the cars that we want,” Seaton said of Loadholt. “He has the money that we all trying to get. So I feel like, me personally, I like listening to people who’ve done it, you know?… I know that he has done it, and it’s proof that he has done it, so why not just listen to him and take his advice?”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com