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Deion Sanders Makes Thoughts on Travis Hunter Playing Both Ways in NFL Extremely Clear

Sanders doesn't think Hunter is like any other player the league has seen.

Dan Lyons

Colorado Buffalos wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) with head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.
Colorado Buffalos wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) with head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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Travis Hunter dominated on both sides of the ball while in college at Jackson State and Colorado, but will he be able—or allowed—to do the same in the NFL? His college coach Deion Sanders believes its a no-brainer.

When asked whether he thinks Hunter's eventual NFL team should play him at both wide receiver and cornerback during Colorado's pro day (which was televised on NFL Network), Sanders didn't hesitate.

“He doesn’t know any other way,” Sanders said, per ProFootballTalk. “What else would he do, just sit there by the water cooler while the offense is getting their butts kicked, and you’ve got the best receiver probably on your team over there with the coach waiting for his turn to go back on the field? That doesn’t make sense to me. Just because a person hasn’t done this in the majority of the NFL, don’t say what another man can’t do.”

Hunter, who is in the mix to be a top-five pick in April's NFL draft, fully intends to play both ways at the next level, and ideally 100% of the snaps on offense and defense.

"That's not my job to figure it out," Hunter said at the scouting combine last month. "I'd like to play both sides of the ball. If they give me the opportunity to play both sides of the ball, I'm going to play both sides."

Playing every single snap, as he often did at Colorado, seems a bit ambitious, but any team taking Hunter near the top of the draft likely sees the value in bringing him along so that he can make an impact both offensively and defensively.

Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense, while racking up 35 total tackles, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and one game-winning forced fumble on defense.

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Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.

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