It’s not often that Colorado’s football team has had one of the most recognizable stars in the country, let alone two.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter are hoping to help the Buffaloes achieve newfound success this year after starring together at Jackson State last season. But, they’re also doing their best to make each other better.
Hunter, who was the top-rated prep player in the country in the 2022 class, has elite skills at cornerback, but he’s not perfect, and Sanders knows that.
“Just him coming in and attacking me, seeing my weaknesses on defense,” Hunter said of Sanders. “He knows I’ve got a problem with the back shoulder ball, so in practice, he’s attacking and attacking. So it’s basically him working against me and I’m working against him to figure out what I need to do and what type of good quarterback is gonna come at me. So when he come at me in practice, I know I’ve got something to fix.”
This spring, Hunter has also displayed exceptional speed and skill at receiver and he said having Sanders throwing him the ball makes him better.
“On offense I just know out of my break, the ball is coming, so I can’t take extra steps, I can’t be too high on my breaks,” Hunter said. “I’ve got to be focused.”
Sanders, who threw for 6,963 yards and 70 touchdowns in his two seasons at Jackson State, said playing against Hunter has helped both of them progress as players.
“He’s a great DB, so he knows what the DB is thinking. I do too,” Sanders said. “So it’s just an IQ level that we both have when we get on field and just get in sync. It’s definitely situations on the field where we mess up just in practice, but it’s definitely worth the conversation – what I’ve seen, what he sees, what we thought together. And, then we just come up with a solution for the problem that just happened.”
Spring game festivities
During Saturday’s spring game at Folsom Field, CU is looking to create a great experience for fans. The game starts at 1 p.m. (ESPN).
CU has partnered with Momento, which provides new technology that will enable photos and GIFs to be sent to your phone during the game. Cameras will be stationed throughout the stadium to capture fan reactions. The app is free through the Buffs Mobile App or at app.mymomento.com.
From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., there will be a fan Field Day at Franklin Field. Free and open to all fans, the event will include face painters, inflatables and yard games, as well as student-athletes from other CU teams interacting with fans.
There will also be a Buffs Legends Autograph session from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Franklin Field. More than two dozen former Buffs are expected to attend the session, including current NFL players Chidobe Awuzie, David Bakhtiari, Mason Crosby, Nate Landman, Isaiah Oliver, Laviska Shenault Jr., Juwann Winfree and Ahkello Witherspoon. Others expected to attend include Chad Brown, Daniel Graham, Darian Hagan, Mike Pritchard, Mickey Pruitt, Matt Russell, Kordell Stewart and College Football Hall of Famers Michael Westbrook and Alfred Williams.
No photos are allowed and only one item per person may be signed.
All tickets are general admission and fans are encouraged to enter the stadium after field day. Game day policies, including clear bags, will be enforced. There is no re-entry for those who leave the stadium.
Coach Prime improving
During his first fall season as Jackson State’s head coach in 2021, Deion Sanders had femoral arterial blood clots that led to compartment syndrome in his leg. Through a series of surgeries, he also had two toes on his left foot amputated.
Now CU’s first-year head coach, Sanders still deals with daily pain and can’t run. He relieves some of the pain by getting around campus and the football field on a bicycle, Segway or golf cart at times.
Throughout the course of a game last year at JSU, Sanders has said the pain would get progressively worse. But, he is working with a company that is hoping to help him get through games easier this year.
“Usually at halftime, you’re gonna see a tremendously noticeable limp,” he said. “I’m limping because my foot can’t take it that long, so hopefully they’re preparing something for the shoe and for the fit and the insole and all that that I can make it through the fourth quarter without any pain.”
Notable
CU was off on Tuesday and will return to the practice field on Wednesday. … Coach Sanders said the Buffs’ position coaches are in charge of deciding which players earn their numbers. As of Tuesday, only 11 players were announced as having earned numbers. “I think it’s a few more should be in numbers, but I don’t make that call,” Sanders said, adding that walk-on running back Charlie Offerdahl is one who deserves a number. “He goes 100 miles an hour at all times. One of our equipment guys should earn his number, too. He’s the fastest equipment man I’ve ever seen in my life.”
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