Travis Hunter is easily the most intriguing prospect in this year’s draft class.
There’s no doubt that the dual-threat star is the top prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. While he may not go No. 1 overall, that is merely due to the fact that the team with the top pick in the draft — the Tennessee Titans — have a huge need for a quarterback. Hunter is regarded as the top wide receiver and cornerback prospect, although no one is sure whether he’ll play both positions or whether he’ll concentrate on just one.
Hunter has made it clear that he’s open to playing whatever role a team wants him to play. It also doesn’t hurt that he happened to learn under Deion Sanders — or Coach Prime as he likes to call him — who made a name for himself as a cornerback, but also played a little wide receiver in the NFL.
“It was great being able to play for Coach Prime,” says Hunter in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Snickers. “He taught me a lot about just being a professional, how to be on time and just how to be ready for anything, how to face adversity. It was very good to learn from him and know I still have him in my corner.”
Hunter received an extreme amount of media attention as one of the star players for Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes program. Hunter and his Coach Prime’s son, Shedeur Sanders, brought the program back to relevance, with the team posting top 18 rankings over the past two seasons.
During the 2024 season, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy and helped lead the Buffaloes to a 9-4 season, an Alamo Bowl appearance and a final AP ranking of No. 25. It was the first time the Buffaloes finished an entire season ranked in the top 25 and with a winning record.
Hunter’s one-of-a-kind season saw him post 92 receptions for 1,152 receiving yards for 14 touchdowns to go along with four interceptions during the 2024 season. He played in 84.6% of Colorado’s total snaps, including 86.8% of the offensive snaps and 82.9% of the defensive snaps.
That amount of media attention also was mixed in with scrutiny after the Buffaloes finished the 2023 season 4-8 after starting out the year 3-0. That experience obviously has prepared Hunter for the NFL, where he’ll enter the league with the most attention of any prospect in his rookie season.
“Just be where your feet are, don’t let anything distract you,” says Hunter on Coach Prime’s best advice to him. “You only get to do this one time, so go ahead and give it your all.”
Hunter and Sanders are two of the top prospects in this year’s draft and they could easily be either the top two picks in the draft or two of the top three picks.
Coach Prime has made it no secret that he believes both of his alumni should be the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“He’s been sitting here for the last two-to-three years saying that,” Hunter says while smiling. “It’s kind of crazy that a lot of people don’t want that to happen. They’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen. But we’re here to just do our job when we get to the team we get to.”
Hunter: Shedeur Sanders Never Feels Pressure
Both Hunter and Sanders obviously benefited from playing with each other, with the former winning the Fred Biletnikoff Award — given to the nation’s best receiver — and the latter winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award — given to the nation’s top upperclassman quarterback.
Sanders is one of the top two quarterback prospects in this year’s draft and is expected to be a top 10 pick.
“What makes Shedeur a great player on the field is he doesn’t fold under the pressure,” says Hunter of what makes Sanders a great quarterback. “I don’t think he feels pressure at all. He just goes out there and is Shedeur.”
Hunter raves about how “confident” Sanders always is no matter the situation. That applies on and off of the field.
“He’s going to always be sure he’s super confident in himself on and off of the football field,” says Hunter of Sanders. “He’s the same person, he’s goofy, he’s going to be himself. He’s not gonna let anybody tell him what he can’t do. He’s a fun guy to be around.”
The biggest thing Hunter has learned from Sanders is his work ethic.
“What I learned from Shedeur is his work ethic,” says Hunter. “He’s always going to get his work in. He’s not going to let anything distract him from getting his work in.”
Hunter: I’m Back To Work Day After the Draft
Hunter has obviously met with a number of teams, but it’s hard to envision him slipping past the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 or the New York Giants at the No. 3 in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“There’s a lot of things that are notable,” says Hunter of his meetings with teams. “You start to recognize if a team is really interested in you, they’ll call your phone just talking randomly. The visits are a lot more different than other teams. The communication with the teams are a lot more different.
“But I’m doing fine, it’s good with me,” Hunter continues to say.
As far as how he plans on celebrating being drafted on April 24, Hunter continues to keep things low key by saying he has no plans. He actually mentions getting to “work” the day after he’s drafted.
“Nah,” says Hunter when asked if he has plans to celebrate the draft. “I’ve just been talking with my family and we’re just going to take that moment in together, have fun that night. But the day after, it’s time to get to work.”
