On Saturday, during ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban raved about one member of the Big 12 Conference.
Saban spoke about Colorado’s Travis Hunter with glowing remarks and compared him to former Heisman winner DeVonta Smith.
“First of all, I love a great competitor, and this guy wants to play that many plays to help his team,” Saban said. He’s not worried about himself. I think, in this day and age, though, with the technology that we have, you know, Catapult systems to tell you about speed and explosive power and all that. If you could manage a guy in practice because corner and wide receiver are not really positions to take multiple reps in practice, right? You know, they’re easy to prepare for the game. He might be able to sustain the season.”
Hunter put on an incredible performance in his 2024 debut, snagging seven catches for 132 yards and three scores while corraling North Dakota State’s top wideout on the defensive side of the ball.
Saban finished his thoughts by saying, “We had Smitty (DeVonta Smith), you know, back in Alabama a few years ago; he was probably one of the best corners on our team and wide receivers. We never had to play him both ways, but we really watched closely what his Catapult numbers were, so we weren’t going to minimize his opportunities to be successful because we’re wearing him out.”
The balance between offensive and defensive reps for Travis Hunter has been a major talking point among those in the college football sphere, and while Hunter seems able and ready to sustain the endurance, Saban’s insight is certainly a tool for Colorado.
