Michael Irvin predicts the dog comes out in Travis Hunter

Michael Irvin believes the dog in Travis Hunter will come out during Colorado versus TCU on Saturday.

The NFL legend visited the Buffaloes and Deion Sanders throughout the summer, where he had a front-row seat to watch the two-way star in Hunter cultivate his craft. Ahead of Hunter’s Colorado debut under Sanders’ tutelage, Irvin stopped by Big Noon Kickoff to lay down some interesting information regarding the athlete who doubles as a defensive back and wide receiver.

“Dude, listen. Y’all know that boy he’s got playing both ways. That young Deion Sanders. He wanted to challenge everybody. I said, ‘Young dude, you ain’t ready for this smoke I’ll bring.’ He said, ‘I’ll get you Michael, I’ll get you.’ Because you’ve always got to try it. You’ve got to see if they got that dog in them. If they ready to fight.

“It’s going to be interesting to see. Deion talked about how this game is going to unveil. Watching TCU and their quarterback, how he likes to throw into the boundary. He’s going to put that dog over there. Make him throw a little deeper. I better not give up anymore secrets, I better not give up anymore secrets.”

It’s going to be exhilarating to see Travis Hunter against some solid competition in 2023, and it all begins on Saturday. Michael Irvin can’t wait, and neither can we. Colorado will see how bright his star can burn this season.

Kirk Herbstreit explains what he’s looking for in Deion Sanders’ first game at Colorado

Deion Sanders talks about his team like they can win the national championship, but on Saturday’s College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit explained what success really looks like for the Buffaloes in year one under Coach Prime. 

The ESPN analyst admitted he hasn’t seen this level of optimism around a program like Colorado in a long time. 

“Well I think what happened is the buildup and excitement in the offseason — and there’s been so much on social media — so the anticipation… I can’t remember a team that hasn’t been relevant for 20 years having so much excitement,” explained Herbstreit, crediting Sanders’ resume in the sports realm. 

“And it’s because of him and what he creates and what he did as an athlete himself, what he did as a coach at Jackson State. And now, here he is at Colorado. So there’s a lot of buildup, a lot of excitement.”

Of course, you can’t talk about Colorado this season without noting their immense roster overhaul, where the Buffs added transfers at literally every single position on the football field this offseason. 

“He brought in a ton of transfers. What is there, four or five guys that were on the team a year ago are still on the team this year?” asked Herbstreit.

He was close, because the answer is just 10 guys who were on scholarship last season for CU are still on the roster.

That sort of roster remodel creates concern, and so does the unknown nature of Deion Sanders as — not just a Div. I coach — but a power conference coach at one of the weaker power conference schools in the country. Plus, they open the season against the defending national runner-up. 

“So I think it’s more about — people just want to see what this team is about. They want to see Coach Prime on the sidelines,” Herbstreit continued. 

“And I keep trying to remind people they are playing a team that was pretty good last year, and I think they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder. So they’re going to have their hands full today against TCU.”