Democracy Dies in Darkness

Colorado’s Travis Hunter can do it all, including revive the Heisman Trophy

The quintessential football player, the Buffaloes standout has the substance to back up his and his team’s prime-time style.

7 min
Colorado's Travis Hunter jokes with teammates as he waits to do a television interview after a victory over Utah. (David Zalubowski/AP)
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There’s a modesty to Travis Hunter that makes his dominance all the more captivating. He’s the baddest man on any college football field he inhabits, a thorough menace on offense and defense, yet when he takes his helmet off, he’s almost blushing.

He leaves an impression far different from the distorted perception of Colorado football: What a nice, young, game-wrecking man. He’s not an outlier. He epitomizes what Deion Sanders is building in Boulder, an admirable substance beneath all the bravado that orbits Coach Prime.