Travis Hunter delivered a rare double for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 18, scoring a touchdown and intercepting C.J. Stroud in a 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans in London. Now the two-way star is drawing attention for something he said off the field.
His words centered on a person who has shaped his career since high school, and they answered a question many fans kept asking.
Travis Hunter clears the air on his bond with Deion Sanders
Hunter addressed the Deion Sanders question on Chasing No. 1, the podcast hosted by Ja’Marr Chase and Annie Agar. The episode dropped around Oct. 28.
Talk of distance had built since Hunter left Colorado for the NFL. People close to both men insisted nothing had changed. He now confirmed it himself.
Hunter said Sanders still reaches out before kickoff. In his words: “He still checks up on me every game. We like since I’ve been able to go to the school with him and been to Jackson State with him since he been recruiting me. Every game day, he texts me and says, ‘Let’s go.’ That’s awesome. Every game day,”
The timing stands out. Colorado sits at 2-5 after five straight losses and is 0-4 in Big 12 play. Questions about Sanders’ future in Boulder keep growing, yet his former star chose to back him.
Hunter also looked back at his recruitment. “I was 100% going to Florida State,” he said. Sanders pitched him on playing both ways, with a warning that he would have to earn it. Hunter said money never drove his choice.
He credited Sanders for far more than football. Hunter added: “He really changed my life for real.”
That loyalty arrives just as Hunter’s own game is taking off in Jacksonville.
Travis Hunter’s two-way play is turning heads in Jacksonville
Travis Hunter’s rookie season ended after seven games with a knee injury, and he finished with 298 receiving yards and one touchdown. This year, Jacksonville made him a cornerback first.
It paid off in London. Hunter started at corner, caught all four of his targets for 59 yards and scored from seven yards out to cut Houston’s lead to 31-28. On the next Texans drive, he intercepted Stroud in the end zone.
He became the first NFL player since 2002 to score an offensive touchdown and record an interception in the same game, per CBS Sports.
Through six games, he has two interceptions, three passes defended and 22 tackles. His 49.7 passer rating allowed is the lowest in the league among defenders with at least 30 passes thrown against them.
Jacksonville is 4-2 heading into Week 8. The Jaguars host the Indianapolis Colts, who are 2-5, on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at EverBank Stadium. Hunter looks to build on London, while Indianapolis tries to turn its season around.
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