Travis Hunter injury: Deion gives big update on Colorado star

Deion Sanders gave an update as to how much Travis Hunter will be able to play for Colorado against Cincinnati this weekend.

Colorado Buffaloes football star Travis Hunter should be expected to take a bigger role this week, Deion Sanders said. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders shared a notable update on the status of two-way football star Travis Hunter heading into this week’s game against Cincinnati.

Hunter sat out the second half of last week’s win against Arizona as a precaution, and it appears he’s due for a bigger role in the weeks ahead, his coach said.

“Travis is better than last week,” Sanders said.

“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. 

“Little more pep in his step today. I think he did some conditioning today, for sure, to make sure he’s on point with his conditioning because he never tires and we want to keep that what it is. But I certainly think he will certainly contribute a lot more than he did a week ago because he’s healthier.”

Hunter sustained a shoulder injury in the Buffaloes’ loss to Kansas State and did not return to the game after exiting near the end of the first half of action.

He played last week in a 34-7 victory against Arizona, but returned to the Colorado sideline in street clothes in the second half of that game in what appeared to be a precautionary measure to preserve his health.

Hunter has emerged as a Heisman Trophy contender thanks to his stellar play on both sides of the ball, emerging as a principal contributor to Colorado’s overall improvement this season.

Offensively, he has 51 receptions for 605 yards and 6 touchdowns while posting over 112 yards per game and just under 12 yards per reception.

Hunter has +1500 odds to win the Heisman Trophy, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, ranking fourth nationally among all players.

Despite his proven production, the repeated exposure to potential injury over so many snaps has understandably raised some questions around Hunter’s long-term durability and whether he can shoulder such an intense workload.

But as questions around potential vulnerability to future injuries mount, at least this week we should see Hunter back on the field in a more prominent role for the Buffaloes.

Colorado (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) is a 5.5 point favorite against Cincinnati this week.

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