Colorado Buffaloes two-way player Travis Hunter is one of the most exciting players in college football, and he only need one play to remind everyone.
On Thursday, the Buffs hosted the North Dakota State Bison in the season opener for both teams at Folsom Field. It was one of those classic early-season trap games for the Buffs, who are coming off a 4-8 season.
North Dakota State is a nine-time FCS national champion and is ranked No. 2 in the FCS preseason Top 25.
How dangerous could the game be for the Buffs? Last Saturday No. 4 Montana State beat another 4-8 team from a season ago, New Mexico, 35-31.
Well, early in the game NDSU kicked a field goal to up 3-0. That was preceded by a huge offensive play that put them in field goal range.
Colorado got the football after that and once Hunter caught a pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders, his run down the field for his first touchdown of the season matched the game’s hype.
The touchdown gave the Buffaloes an early 7-3 lead.
Hunter is one of college football’s few two-way players, as he can play both wide receiver and cornerback. He played both positions last season, even though he missed nearly four games due to injury, and played more snaps from scrimmage in the regular season than any other player in the FBS.
He was named the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player. He was also named a consensus first-team All-American and first-team Academic All-American.
He played a total of 1,102 snaps, including 475 on offense, 631 on defense, and 32 on special teams, an average of 114.7 per game.
On offense, he finished with 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 80.1 yards per game and 6.3 receptions per game.
Defensively, he had a team-lead tying three interceptions and five pass breakups to go along with 30 tackles, who of which went for a loss.
