Travis Hunter after winning Heisman: Deion Sanders 'changed my life forever'

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter had an emotional night in New York. Perhaps no moment better exemplified that than his embrace with Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.

While making an appearance on SportsCenter on the Sunday morning after the Heisman Trophy ceremony, Hunter spoke about his relationship with Sanders, explaining the impact that his coach has had on him throughout his career.

“Like I always say, I tell him, he’s more than a coach to me,” Travis Hunter said. “He’s another father for me and I really mean that. I love him as much as he loves me, probably even more. He don’t know what he did for me, but it changed my life forever.”

Travis Hunter began his career by making waves and surprising the college football world by flipping his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State. There, he had the opportunity to play for Deion Sanders and after one season there he followed his coach to Boulder for the next two seasons with Colorado.

The relationship culminated with their embrace at the Heisman Trophy ceremony, telling one another, “Love you.”

Since getting to Colorado, Hunter has been a sensational player in his college career, playing both wide receiver and corner, rarely coming off the field during games. On top of that, he’s been phenomenal at both spots. That has helped to make him the most outstanding player in college football.

As a wide receiver, Hunter caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. He then turned around to the defensive side of the ball and had 32 tackles, 11 deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble at corner.

Being a two-way player was unique among players in college football, particularly one who played nearly every snap during the season. That was an opportunity that Hunter believes wouldn’t have been available to him with a different coach.

“I don’t think any other school in the world was gonna let me do that. It took him a minute to let me play both sides of the ball,” Hunter said on The Pivot Podcast. “Like he said, I had to dominate on one side of the ball first to earn my stripes to play on the other side. That’s the conversation we had before I got here. Like, ‘Coach, I’ve got to play both sides. I’m too bored on the sideline. I don’t like sitting on the sideline. I’m eager to go out there and get the ball in my hands and show you what I can do.’ That first year, did what I had to do and this last year it’s been very special because he already knew coming into the year that I was gonna be that guy.”

Now, Travis Hunter will have a final bowl game with Deion Sanders before moving onto the NFL.