Has a 4-8 staff ever acquired extra media protection than the 2023 Colorado Buffaloes?
Final season, tens of millions of eyeballs targeted on the Buffs, who pulled off early upsets and featured the large character of head coach Deion Sanders and the two-way exploits of Travis Hunter.
What largely acquired misplaced within the shuffle is that Colorado made main enhancements over the 1-11 season from 2022 towards a more durable schedule. As controversial as Sanders’ strategies is likely to be, he is starting to get outcomes.
Subsequent, we’ll see how his gamers pan out within the NFL.
Listed here are the perfect three Colorado prospects to look at forward of the NFL Draft, which begins April 24, 2025:
Travis Hunter | cornerback/large receiver
ESPN’s Matt Miller on Hunter: “A throwback, do-it-all soccer participant.”
Prospect rating: Pro Football Focus (No. 10), Tankathon (No. 5), Pro Football Network (No. 4)
The most important query with Hunter (6-foot-1, 185 kilos) is what position he’ll have within the NFL.
When breaking down most draft boards to positional rankings, he grades extremely as a cornerback and a large receiver. However when he hits the NFL, do not anticipate him to have as many snaps at each positions as he does in faculty (greater than 100 per sport generally).
There isn’t any doubting Hunter’s skill on offense (57 receptions, 721 yards in simply 9 video games in 2023), however his skill to endure the physicality of the NFL and play in each phases is open to query. Anticipate him for use primarily as a defensive again within the league and take occasional snaps on offense, as his head coach did in his NFL enjoying days.
As a nook, Hunter is among the finest in faculty, with good size and ridiculous athleticism that permit him to hold with nearly any receiver within the nation. (Besides Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor, who burned Colorado and Hunter for 294 yards receiving and three TDs final season.)
It is unimaginable to undertaking how excessive he’ll be picked given the energy of the 2025 cornerback class, which ought to embrace Michigan’s Will Johnson, Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison and Ohio State’s Denzel Burke. However the further enhance offered by his offensive and special-teams potential might carry Hunter into the highest 10.