Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders explain the pressure of playing for Deion Sanders

Colorado star players Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have been excellent through the first two weeks of the college football season. The two have helped lead the Buffaloes to statement victories over Power Five foes and become the story of college football.

They were on ESPN’s First Take on Friday talking about the season so far and they were asked about the pressure playing under a coach like Deion Sanders.

“We know he got a lot of pressure and we’re the players that gotta go out there and handle the pressure for him,” Hunter said. “He can’t go out and play anymore. We got to go out there and dominate. We got to do what he’s telling everybody we’re going to do. We know we got to go to take the pressure off of him and play the best game.”

Hunter was the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. A star as both a wide receiver and cornerback, people weren’t sure which position he would end up playing in college.

Sanders has allowed him to play both at a rate unheard of in recent times.

For Shedeur Sanders, there’s the extra weight of also playing for his father. But he’s been dealing with those expectations throughout his entire life.

The only different is that now he has a lot more camera chronicling his moves.

“I don’t really think it’s too much pressure because it’s always been the expectation year after year,” Sanders said. “Just being his son, just being the quarterback (in) high school, college, it just led me to this moment to where now everybody here is able to see us shine. So that’s what it is. It’s no pressure. It’s just like year after year after year, it’s the same thing, just now at a different magnitude.”

Sanders has established himself as a bonafide star. He is second in the country in passing yards despite only playing in two games while many of the others at the top of the list have played in three games.

Shannon Sharpe then asked Sanders a follow-up question about how does he handle being the son of a transcendent athlete because it is not an easy thing to do.

“You got to know yourself,” Sanders said. “You got to know what triggers you, what don’t. Stay around positive people and don’t really let outside noise and people’s opinions that don’t matter really affect you at all. That’s really the main thing. Kust having a level head, understanding, taking a realistic look at how you play and what you’re good at, what you’re not good at and just dominating that and getting better at in the offseason”