Travis Hunter details relationship with 'father figure' Deion Sanders amid Colorado's 6-2 start

From the beginning of Travis Hunter’s collegiate career, it was evident his relationship with Deion Sanders was a special one.

The two-way star has followed Coach Prime from Jackson State to Colorado, and their bond is as strong as ever. On the Week 10 edition of ESPN’s College GameDay, Hunter joined the set in Happy Valley while enjoying the Buffaloes’ bye week, where he shed some light into his relationship with Sanders.

“He’s a Nike guy now, so I can’t get no Jordans off of him, but when I get to his house, I steal whatever I can,” Hunter joked, regarding some of Coach Prime’s incredible shoe collection. “… He’s like a father figure to me. I mean, I went to his house yesterday and whatever I wanted, he was able to just let me get it. I took it, if he didn’t want me to take it.

“We have that great bond, it’s like a father and son bond. I know whenever I need something I can go and ask him, and I’m pretty sure I can get it, 100% of the time.”

As you can tell, Hunter and Sanders don’t have a normal coach-player relationship, it’s something more than that, and it’s helped Colorado immensely over the past year-and-a-half. The love is reciprocated, as Sanders speaks glowingly of Hunter anytime he’s interviewed.

“He don’t drink, he don’t smoke, goes right home after practice, study a ton of film, is one of the best human beings that I know,” Sanders said, via an appearance on College GameDay earlier this season. “We have a race every Saturday morning to see who wakes up first to text one another. And he beat me this morning. He’s like, ‘let’s go, coach.’ I’m like, let’s go, alright. So Travis, he loves the darn game of football.

“And that’s what I love about it. We don’t have to worry about what he’s going to do on Saturday because we already know, and I love every bit of it.”

Deion Sanders, Travis Hunter and the Colorado program as a whole has been incredible in 2024, amassing a 6-2 record and ranked No. 23 in the nation at the moment. They’re enjoying a bye week in Week 10, and they’ll get back on the horse in Week 11 against Texas Tech, looking to make a run in the latter part of the year.