Analyst Shares Bold Prediction for Colorado Buffaloes Star Travis Hunter
The Colorado Buffaloes are entering the 2024 college football season with big-time expectations. After a hyped up start to the 2023 campaign, Deion Sanders and company completely fell apart.
Heading into 2024, the Buffaloes are receiving major hype once again.
Led by both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, Colorado has a few elite pieces. However, they will need their team as a whole to step up and play to its full potential in order to be a winning team.
Hunter is one of the most unique players throughout the entire country. His ability to play both cornerback and wide receiver has made him entertaining to watch and an intriguing NFL prospect.
While he definitely has a bright future outlook when it comes to the NFL, there are some questions.
ESPN NFL Draft expert Matt Miller revealed a major prediction for Hunter's future. He stated that the two-way star will need to make a decision on what position he's going to play at the professional level.
“But I do think at some point, he’ll be really forced by NFL teams to make a decision. We saw last year, he was playing more snaps than anyone in college football early in the season. And then, he had an injury – not related to his playing time – and he had to miss multiple games. So I think Step 1, he’s got to prove he can stay healthy. He’s not a big guy. He’s an undersized player. And then, I think that ability to just hone in on one position. To say, I’m gonna work on understanding the intricacies of the wide receiver position or the technique of the corner position. He’s gonna have to make that decision. But he is a playmaker where you want the ball in his hands.”
Miller continued forward, opening up about where he believes Hunter should play at the next level.
“Personally, I think he has better upside as a receiver and a return man than he does at corner. But that decision will ultimately be his. When we get to the NFL Scouting Combine in February, I bet we’ll have teams saying ‘Travis, where do you want to play in the NFL and how do you see yourself fitting into the program we have going here?'”
During the 2023 season with Colorado, Hunter ended up recording big numbers on both sides of the ball.
Defensively, he racked up 31 total tackles to go along with three interceptions and five defended passes. Offensively, he caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns.
Clearly, he has found a way to be a massive impact player on the field. Hunter has also found a way to be very successful off of the field in the NIL market.
As of right now, Hunter has turned himself into the No. 4 overall NIL earner in college sports. He has received an NIL valuation of $2.7 million. With the NFL right around the corner, Hunter is setting himself up for major financial success.
Expect to see the young two-way star have another big-time season in 2024. After that, he'll be ready to break into the NFL, but he will need to figure out where he wants to play at the next level.
EVAN MASSEY
Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers both the NFL and NBA. He has worked for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net, and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.