Deion Sanders on Travis Hunter's status for Stanford game: 'He's most likely going to play'
Saturday will mark four weeks since Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter suffered an injury against Colorado State that has kept him on the sidelines. Deion Sanders previously said he wouldn’t rush Hunter back, but added he’d like to see him wait until after the bye week to return.
It turns out, that won’t be the case. Sanders confirmed Hunter is “most likely going to play” on Saturday when Colorado takes on Stanford.
Sanders shared the news on the coaches show on Wednesday. Hunter has practiced this week and Sanders pointed out how good he looked considering he hasn’t played since Sept. 16. While Hunter’s return isn’t entirely official — Thursday’s practice will be critical — Sanders sounded optimistic.
*Follow all Colorado Buffaloes news on Facebook here*
“Travis looks good,” Sanders said. “Shoot, Travis is Travis, man. God don’t make too many of those. He’s most likely going to play. We’ve got to see how he practices tomorrow. Today was a day off for him. You can’t just work him, work him, work him. He had to take it easy today — he practiced both ways yesterday because that’s who he is. He has the protection on his ribs.
“And we’ve got to see how he goes through practice tomorrow. I promise you, he’ll be in my office before I get there tomorrow waiting on me, telling me how much he wants to play.”
Deion Sanders on if Travis Hunter will be on a ‘pitch count’: ‘Travis is the kind of guy, you just let him go’
As for whether Hunter will be on a “pitch count” of some kind to ease back into the game, Sanders shot that down right away. He said Hunter’s mentality is to be on the field as much as possible, and a pitch count wouldn’t be an effective way to bring him back up to game speed.
“No. No, no, no,” Sanders said. “Travis is the kind of guy, you just let him go. You can’t do that with him. He’s not that kind of guy. It’s like when pro scouts come and ask me, should we draft him as a receiver [or] a defensive back? I say, you’ve got to draft him as both. If you play him on one side, you’re not going to get the best out of him. He’s a grown man out there playing amongst boys.”
Hunter dazzled as a two-way standout through the first few games of Sanders’ tenure in Colorado. He not only has 16 receptions for 213 yards on offense, but added nine tackles and an interception on defense prior to his injury.
Colorado and Stanford kick off Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.