Deion Sanders reacts to Travis Hunter Heisman pose, award candidacy

Deion Sanders wasn’t even aware Travis Hunter hit the Heisman pose following his interception against UCF Saturday.

But what he did see was Hunter’s latest standout performance where he caught a touchdown pass and nabbed an interception. The two-way star is firmly in the race for the award at the end of the year.

Heck, Hunter might be the most deserving player to this point.

“It’s who he is man, it’s who he is,” Sanders said. “The guy works his butt off at practice. That’s why nobody trips when he gets Sunday, Monday, Tuesday off. Nobody trips. Nobody say nothing. Because if they would, I would say, ‘Well, if you do what he does. You get that off too.’ It’s just that simple, with 100-some snaps a game, and he never tires. He’s just, he’s that kind of kid, and I can’t wait to see him continuously play. 

“I mean I wish to God, the game was in a way that we could have got it and kept going with his 100-yard mark, even though he don’t care. We care because we should be proactive when it comes to these young men.”

Hunter finished the game with nine catches for 89 yards and a score while logging two solo tackles and an interception. Sanders referred to Hunter’s streak of 100-yard games, which was snapped in the win.

Still, when you beat a team 48-21 to improve to 4-1, you can’t really complain. And as Sanders pointed out, Hunter doesn’t care about the gaudy stats, just wins.

However, that could be Hunter’s downfall when it comes to potentially winning the Heisman. As On3’s Ari Wasserman pointed out, voters might be too concerned with the wins, losses and stats rather than the pure product on the field.

“We’ve seen two-way players before,” Wasserman wrote in his column. “What we haven’t seen is a two-way player who plays every single snap on both sides of the ball, one who so tangibly impacts the game on every single play whether he’s involved or not. Hunter is one of the faces of Colorado football. It’s because he’s one of the best college football players we’ve ever seen. Hunter is Colorado’s best receiver and best defensive back. He’s one of a kind.

“With all of that information, how should we view him in the context of the Heisman Trophy if we aren’t viewing the Buffaloes as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender?”

Hunter and Colorado head into the bye week before taking on Kansas State in a big spot in two weeks. Should Colorado find a way to win that one and improve to 5-1, we’re looking at a legitimate ranked team, with a Heisman candidate of course.