One of the biggest reasons for Colorado’s early season success has been the play of Travis Hunter, the former No. 1 recruit in America who followed Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Boulder. Hunter has been a star on both sides of the field, as he’s been a productive receiver for the Buffaloes’ offense and a dominant cornerback for the team’s defense.
On Saturday night, Colorado played host to Colorado State in a game that had a whole lot of excitement. Unfortunately for the home team, their star two-way player wasn’t able to finish the game due to a late hit. Hunter was playing wide receiver in the first quarter when Shedeur Sanders lobbed one up to him. There was a whole lot of contact and Hunter wasn’t able to bring the ball in, and after the play was over, Rams defensive back Henry Blackburn came in and laid him out.
Travis Hunter took a late hard shot from Henry Blackburn and was flagged for it 😮pic.twitter.com/sECI7xcmwv
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 17, 2023
Travis Hunter has been taken off the premises to a local hospital for evaluation and is reported done for the night by Colorado pic.twitter.com/wdBnt861UD
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 17, 2023
It’s as clear of a late hit as you’ll see, and it left Hunter in some obvious pain. While he kept trying to play, during the game’s third quarter, Hunter was taken to a local hospital to get evaluated.
Travis Hunter is out of the game and has been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation, per CU
— Kevin Lytle (@Kevin_Lytle) September 17, 2023
Losing Hunter would, in general, be a gigantic loss, but it’s an extra tough pill to swallow because the Rams have given the Buffs quite the game. At the time of his departure, Colorado State had a 21-14 lead over Coach Prime’s squad.
UPDATE: After completing a comeback win in overtime, Deion Sanders said in his postgame press conference that Hunter would likely miss “a few weeks” with what his injury — the specifics of which we still don’t know.
“The first thing I heard is that he would be out for a few weeks,” Sanders said in his postgame press conference, via CBS Sports. “I heard that for sure. But we will do what we must to take care of him. I know Travis probably will want to be out for two weeks. But we got to make sure he is OK. His health is more important than this game.”