After making a historic decision to switch his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State on the first day of the early signing period last year, former No. 1 overall prospect Travis Hunter announced Sunday night he is entering the transfer portal.
The news comes after JSU coach Deion Sanders accepted the Colorado job and indicated that he plans to bring plenty of talent with him to revitalize a CU program that finished 1-11 in 2022.
Hunter has not announced where he will play next.
The 6-foot-1 speedster showed promise on both sides of the football in seven games for JSU as a true freshman after finishing atop the 2022 recruiting rankings. He had two interceptions, 10 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery while playing as a defensive back. He also caught 18 passes for 188 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver for a Jackson State team (12-1) that suffered a heartbreaking 41-34 overtime loss to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl on Saturday.
When Hunter flipped to JSU last December, 247Sports director of national recruiting Steve Wiltfong described the move as "the biggest signing day moment in the history of college football." While his decision to transfer isn't quite as historic, it will still reverberate nationally.
Hunter won't be eligible for the NFL Draft until 2025, meaning he has at least one more collegiate stop ahead. While the obvious choice would be for him to follow Sanders to Colorado, other programs will no doubt try and make a pitch to Hunter, who is regarded as a rare talent.
What he would bring to Colorado
If he chooses to follow Sanders, Hunter would be just one of several transfers that Sanders uses to fill out his first roster at Colorado. But he could be the most important. Like Sanders did as a college star at Florida State in the late 1980s and then as an NFL icon in the 1990s and early 2000s, Hunter boasts elite speed and playmaking ability in multiple facets of the game.
Only six teams in Division I finished the 2022 regular season with fewer plays of more than 20 yards than Colorado. Should Sanders choose to use Hunter's game-changing speed on offense, he would immediately bring an element of explosiveness that the Buffaloes were missing this past season. If he plays on both sides of the ball, Hunter would immediately become the most high-profile college football player to do so in years.
Symbolism of a star
Beyond the on-field implications, Hunter potentially following Sanders to Colorado would reinforce the notion of CU as a destination for top talent under Sanders. As he enters the Power Five ranks for the first time in his coaching career at age 55, Sanders faces the monumental task of revitalizing a program that has enjoyed only sporadic success over the past couple of decades.
But USC coach Lincoln Riley demonstrated this season that, in the era of mass transfers, quick turnarounds are possible in the Pac-12. With a bevy of transfers on his team, Riley guided the Trojans to an 11-1 regular season and an appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game after they finished 4-8 in 2021 before his arrival.
While that level of success may not be practical in Year 1 for Sanders at Colorado, given the current depths of the program, Hunter could help put the Buffaloes immediately back on the path to respectability. Perhaps more importantly, as players around the country would take notice of Hunter's loyalty to Sanders, it would only boost Sanders' credibility as a talent developer.
A blow for Jackson State
When Hunter decommitted from a historic powerhouse like Florida State to attend an HBCU that competes at the FCS level, it sent shockwaves through college football. Hunter had been committed to the Seminoles for nearly two years when he flipped and suddenly became the most important signing by an HBCU in the modern recruiting era.
Losing such a celebrated player after just one season is a blow for Jackson State and HBCU football. But Hunter's decision to sign with the program in the first place certainly elevated JSU's national profile. In the era of name, image and likeness, landing highly-touted high school players will remain a challenge for FCS and HBCU programs -- or anyone without a booster-backed war chest of money.
Sanders' celebrity briefly gave Jackson State a leg up in that uphill battle. While the level of recruiting and status that the program enjoyed during his tenure will be nearly impossible to sustain now that he's gone, Hunter's decision to sign with JSU in December of 2021 will remain a historic moment in college football.
