Travis Hunter is the most talented college football player to occupy the Boulder campus in several decades, maybe ever, and as a result, Coach Prime is looking to play him as much as possible this upcoming season.
That means playing snaps on both offense and defense, plus learning both playbooks.
So far, Hunter has been working exclusively with the offense, though that appears to be the plan.
“Right now, I’m focused on learning the offensive playbook, because defense really comes naturally to me,” Hunter shared. “It’s just easier for me to go to defense and learn the playbook faster than offense.”
That method of getting Hunter ready to contribute on both sides of the ball was the result of an agreement that he came to with Prime.
“We had a conversation because I didn’t play a lot of snaps of offense last year, so I wanted to come in and know the playbook so they didn’t have to tell me ‘sneaky signals’ and [have] other teams get used to it, knowing when I’m coming in the game, if I’m getting the ball or not,” Hunter told the press on Thursday. “So, we just came in and said, ‘Alright, learn the playbook,’ and once I learn the playbook, then I’ll go back to defense, learn the defensive playbook, and then [it will] just all be together, and I can go both ways, no matter what.”
On top of the mental challenge that’s presented, Travis Hunter has also been working on improving his route running more, so that he’s not relying as much on his tremendous physical talents.
“Nah, it’s not the formations,” He quickly responded, when asked about the most challenging part of his transition to receiver. “It’s a lot of route running. [There are] a lot of techniques you gotta learn, so I’ve learned a lot of techniques since I’ve been here — how to step on people’s toes, how to influence and go by. [There are] just a lot of things we’ve gotta learn in order to get open.”
That’s been such a focal point for Hunter because it seems to align with the things that bring him the most glee and with what will most help him unlock his near-limitless potential.
“I just want to be open more, get my ball in my hands more, attack more, [and] just be a nice threat all-around, no matter if I’m going deep or I’m running short routes,” Travis Hunter said.
The more of a threat he becomes, the more he’ll get to make defenders look silly — which seems to be his ultimate joy.
“That’s my favorite thing,” Hunter admitted with a coy smirk that seemed to stifle a chuckle. “I like to make people look bad.”
“It’s just funny to me,” he elaborated. “It’s just me wanting to go out and dominate. I want to dominate everything I do, so, pretty much, me going out and dominating them is just natural to me.”
Aiding in this pursuit of polishing his route running and embarrassing opponents is the fact that he’s already a very intelligent cornerback, and can use that understanding of defense to his advantage while playing at receiver.
“That’s why, in practice, you see me open a lot,” Travis Hunter said while describing his ability to read opposing coverages and manipulate leverage.
If, at wide receiver, he’s able to even come close to replicating the type of success he’s experienced at cornerback, Hunter’s Heisman hopes might not be so far-fetched.
