Shades of former Colorado receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter echo in the Buffaloes’ new man, Chauncey Gooden. And that’s the best possible thing that could’ve happened to head coach Deion Sanders, who gets another shot to make history with a new two-way player.
Gooden ran the show during Colorado’s season-opening 14-13 win over Georgia Tech. Sanders announced that Gooden “was the only interior lineman in all of Division I football that played both ways” on Tuesday, per USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer. Coach Prime made his appreciation for the lone interior lineman clear ahead of their Week 2 game against Weber State.
“Chauncey, I always say, is one of my favorites because all these guys are darned in one of my favorites. Great personality, and he listens, and he gets it,” Sanders told Mark Johnson on Buffs TV. “He’s not only in the weight room, but his mentality at the guard position, he tries to run through them, and he tries to punish them when he gets on them.”
The 380-pound, 6-foot-3 guard made his impact on the offensive line and also at defensive tackle against Georgia Tech. With 65 offensive snaps and another seven on defense, Gooden was pivotal in the comeback win.
“Coach Prime just gave me the opportunity, like, ‘Chauncey, what can you do on that D-line?'” said Gooden. “I was like, ‘Coach, I can go over here and show you now.’ So I went over there. I was just causing havoc and being myself and things like that. Next thing you know, he just trusted me to throw me in there.”
College football had not seen anything like Hunter when he came onto the scene. However, his success was also down to Deion Sanders’ willingness to play on both sides of the ball. Usually, that’s more common in high school football. But when players arrive in college, coaches limit them to one side of the ball because of the toll it takes on a player’s body.
In 2024, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, but his impact is far greater than the accolades. For the Buffaloes, Hunter finished with 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns as a wide receiver in 2024. And that’s just the offense. On defense, the Heisman Trophy winner recorded 36 tackles, 11 pass deflections, and four interceptions. On top of that, he, along with Shedeur Sanders, revolutionized the culture of the Buffaloes’ program.
As he now shines in the NFL, showcasing immense versatility and consistency, the name of Sanders pops up every time the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL is talked about. Coach Prime can just repeat history through Gooden.
After appearing in only four games during his freshman season in 2025, Sanders will systematically mentor his new two-way man to full efficiency, just like he did with Hunter. During his first spring in Boulder, Hunter was primarily on offense before he started doing wonders on defense.
“Once he dominated one side, it was easy to say, ‘OK, now let’s venture off to the other one,'” Sanders said, as reported by Fox Sports. “He earned his right to get on that other side and do his thing. Chauncey’s earned it.”
Gooden’s all set for the big stage and considers it an achievement to be compared to Hunter. In his Heisman Trophy-winning season, the Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver averaged roughly 120 snaps per game that season. Gooden could only achieve half of that.
“Best player to do that,“ Gooden said of Hunter. “The fact that I can do what he did even in the trenches, it’s just remarkable.”
Coach Prime can run it back. Hunter, the sport’s first true two-way star, was a beast on both sides of the ball. He proved himself in college football and is now doing the same in the NFL. Gooden has the map, but can he follow in Hunter’s footsteps?