How Travis Hunter is excelling as a two-way player -- Is it sustainable? - ESPN

BOULDER, Colo. — When Deion Sanders first laid eyes on Travis Hunter, then one of the most highly touted high school recruits in the country, there wasn't really a need to evaluate him. It was obvious what he was looking at.

«He's different, as the young folks say,» Sanders said.

Then the coach at FCS Jackson State, history indicated Sanders had no business recruiting Hunter. The idea that someone of Hunter's caliber would pass on every college football power — let alone the entire Football Bowl Subdivision — to play at Jackson State could have been easily dismissed out of hand.

But with the confidence that perhaps only comes from being one of the sport's all-time greats, Sanders recruited Hunter anyway.

«You try to find out what makes him tick, what makes him him, and you recruit to that,» Sanders said. «You're not gonna find anyone in the country with that talent, but with the thought process of how he goes about life, that's what you're trying to identify and go select young men that you can then accompany him on his journey.»

For Hunter, having Sanders on board for his journey outweighed any other factor, and now, after a year together in Jackson, Mississippi, his generational talent is on display for the country to see at the heart of Colorado's resurgence. Through two games, both wins, Hunter has played a mind-boggling 274 snaps as a starter at cornerback and wide receiver — 129 of 158 (81.6%) on offense, 136 of 142 (95.8%) on defense and nine on special teams — and has joined the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Playing two ways was always part of the plan. Hunter dipped his toes into the offensive waters last season (18 catches, 190 yards, 4 TDs), but he and his coach have been preparing for him to go both ways, full