Travis Hunter’s time at Colorado faced unfair criticism for the way he split his play between offense and defense. It all started when Eli Manning had a talk with the Jaguars’ HC, Liam Coen, about Hunter’s WR duties. “They said when he [Travis Hunter] was at Colorado practiced zero with the offense.” Eli Manning said on the Omaha Productions Podcast to Peyton and Glen Powell. “He only practiced defense. They just kind of had a special system where they had signals.” If that’s true, it’s wild. It’s because Hunter looked like the most naturally gifted guy on the field against the Chiefs.

He fired up the crowd with a 44-yard leaping grab, muscling past two defenders and jump-starting the Jaguars’ comeback from a two-touchdown deficit. The truth came out when someone shared a clip from Hunter’s Colorado practice with his former QB Shedeur Sanders, exposing the false information. “But he didn’t practice with offense @EliManning,” a person writes on X above the clip. “WHO DID YOU SPEAK TO AT CUUUUUUU BECAUSE THIS IS HIM AND HIS QUARTERBACK IN PRACTICE ON OFFFFFFEEENNNSSEEEE TF! GTFOH!” Both Shedeur and Travis were seen arguing in this clip based on one of their plays.

The clip clearly shows how Hunter was an essential part of Colorado’s primary. The fact is, Hunter used to be college football’s ultimate shape-shifter. In Colorado, Hunter was such a beast at both corner and receiver that when the NFL Combine came around, they officially listed him as a defensive back. And the bizarre part is, his resume as a WR was really shiny as he hauled in 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense last season. On defense, he rang up four interceptions and 36 tackles while swatting away 11 passes. He played well enough to earn first-team All-American honors at cornerback.

The only thing is that the Buffaloes’ coaching staff knew Hunter was such a rare athlete that they tailored a system just for him. Travis would work primarily with the defense. But then on game days, coaches would signal the offensive formation and then individually signal his route from the sideline. It was almost like a game show codebreaker. But it was not that different. Coaches sincerely gave Hunter the freedom to practice on both sides of the ball. Plus, even Deion Sanders validates the fact that Hunter balanced his expertise on both sides of the ball.

“Every week we’ve got a ton of scouts coming to practice, and they ask me that question, What do you think he is? I say I’ll tell you what,” Sanders said last year. “If you put him on defense and don’t let him play offense in the pros, you’re going to look crazy because you’re not moving the ball down the field, and you’re best receiver is over there on the defensive side of the ball. The fans are going to start booing, and they’re going to say Put Travis in.” To back it all up, no college player today matches Hunter’s two-way impact. Even Charles Woodson, who was the ’97 Heisman winner, didn’t put up the kind of receiving numbers Hunter has.

Deion Sanders Jr’s unwavering support for Travis Hunter

The Sanders’ sons are keeping no voids open for Eli Manning’s false Travis Hunter assumptions. And this time it’s Deion Sanders Jr, aka Bucky, for Hunter’s defense. He fired back publicly, calling Manning out on what he saw as a straight-up lie, tweeting, “Don’t let them lie to you, Mr Manning, he practiced WR & DB equally.” The numbers backed the narrative, proving that Hunter’s reputation as a true two-way star shouldn’t be tarnished.

During his Colorado days, Hunter averaged around 118 snaps per game. It was split pretty evenly, with 713 snaps defending and 709 snaps working the offense. That’s a player who earned his stripes running both sides of the ball at an elite level. Travis maintained his reputation as a 1,100-yard receiver and an elite cover corner at the same time.

And that even earned him back-to-back Paul Hornung Awards for versatility. Stats from the early NFL season actually showcase this dual-threat impact. In 2025, Hunter has already played more offensive snaps (159) than defensive (101) this year with the Jaguars. Even in games where he logged a ton of snaps on defense, his offensive snaps were close behind, proving he’s far from a one-dimensional player.