Travis Hunter Jr. (born May 18, 2003) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

and wide receiver for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

. He previously played for the

Jackson State Tigers The Jackson State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Conference affiliation Jackson State University's athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Confe ...

. A consensus five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

in high school, he made headlines in December 2021 when he committed to Jackson State, becoming the highest-ranked prospect to ever commit to an

HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

or FCS program.

High school career

A native of

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

, Hunter moved to Georgia as an eighth grader. He attended

Collins Hill High School Collins Hill High School is a public high school in Gwinnett County, near Suwanee, Georgia, United States. The school is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools. The only school which feeds into it is Creekland Middle School. Collins Hill wa ...

Suwanee, Georgia Suwanee is a city in Gwinnett County and a northeastern suburb of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,355; this had grown to an estimated 20,907 as of 2019. Portions of Forsyth and Fulton counties ...

, where he played cornerback and wide receiver for the Eagles. As a sophomore, he led the county with seven interceptions while recording 49 receptions for 919 yards and 12 touchdowns. As a junior, Hunter made eight interceptions and 51 tackles in addition to catching 137 passes for 1,746 yards and 24 touchdowns, earning MaxPreps Georgia Player of the Year honors. He also set

Gwinnett County Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton C ...

single-season records in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, leading the Eagles to a 12–3 record and an appearance in the Class 7A state title game. As a senior, Hunter recorded 76 receptions for 1,128 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense and 23 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble on defense, even after missing five games due to a mid-season ankle injury. In the state title game, he made 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, as well as a forced fumble, to cap off a perfect 15–0 record and Collins Hill's first state championship in school history. In his final high school game, Hunter made 10 catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns in their 40–36 defeat to Washington state champs Graham-Kapowsin in the GEICO State Championship Bowl Series. He also broke the Georgia state record in career receiving touchdowns, previously held by Braxton Hicks, with 48. Hunter was selected to play in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl, where he won Offensive MVP honors after recording five receptions for 54 yards, in addition to an interception on defense.

Recruiting

Hunter was considered the number one overall recruit by both 247Sports.com and

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, as well as number two by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

(behind Walter Nolen). After having received a scholarship from

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in November 2019, he committed to the Seminoles on March 3, 2020, one day after making his first visit to the school. He made his choice over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, Clemson,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, among others. On December 15, 2021, Hunter flipped his commitment to the

coached by

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...

, a Florida State alum, in an unprecedented move. He had visited the school the month before, attending their sellout

Soul Bowl The Soul Bowl is an American college football rivalry between Jackson State and Alcorn State. Mississippi's two largest historically black colleges and universities have played over 80 times in the game dating back to the late 1920s. The game ...

victory on November 20. As the number one recruit in the nation, Hunter became the first five-star recruit to ever sign with a

or an FCS program. Dustin Lewis of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' called it "probably the most shocking decision in the history of college football recruiting" while Steve Wiltfong, the national director of recruiting for 247Sports.com, said it was "the biggest signing day moment in the history of college football".

College career

2022

Hunter recorded two receiving touchdowns and two interceptions in the Jackson State spring game, which was the first HBCU spring game to ever be nationally televised. Hunter recorded his first collegiate touchdown as well as his first interception against Alabama A&M on November 12, 2022. As a freshman, Hunter accumulated 15 total tackles, nine pass breakups, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown in seven games played. On offense, he added 14 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns. With Deion Sanders departing Jackson State for the head coaching position at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, it was widely reported that Hunter would likely follow Sanders to the program. On December 19, Hunter entered the transfer portal. He officially announced his transfer to Colorado two days later.

Personal life

Hunter's father, Travis Sr., starred on the football and track teams at

Boynton Beach Community High School Boynton Beach Community High School is a public high school located in Boynton Beach, Florida, United States, and it serves grades 9–12 in the School District of Palm Beach County. Students have the opportunity to tackle AICE and Advance Plac ...

. He went on to play semipro football in the

Florida Football Alliance The Florida Football Alliance (FFA) is an American football minor league based out of Boynton Beach, Florida. Founded in May 2007, the league opened its first season of operation on January 19, 2008 and remains the oldest continuous operating orga ...

and the Southern States Football League, winning the latter's Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2007.

Social media and endorsements

On February 16, 2022, it was announced that Hunter signed a

Name, Image and Likeness In college athletics in the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA") has historically resisted efforts to compensate college athletes. However, after years of effort by those in favor of student athlete compensation, c ...

(NIL) deal with J5 Caffe, a Black-owned coffee company based in

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterwa ...

. On July 27, 2022, Hunter signed a multiyear endorsement deal with Greenwood, designed to create awareness around all that fintech has to offer to his community. He is the first NIL deal for Greenwood. In September, he became a brand ambassador for

Michael Strahan Michael T. Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television personality, journalist, and former professional football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Giants of the Nation ...

's brands.

References

External links

Jackson State Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Travis Living people American football cornerbacks Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida People from Suwanee, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Florida Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Jackson State Tigers football players 2003 births Colorado Buffaloes football players