Deion Sanders is legitimately trying to repeat the success he had with Travis Hunter. He needs to do something about Colorado’s 3-4 record so far. Hunter has been the poster boy for playing both sides of the ball since his college days at Colorado. He excelled as a cornerback and wide receiver, making history in college football by winning awards on both sides and even taking home the Heisman Trophy in 2024. Sanders may have found another player like Hunter who can play both sides of the ball.

Enter freshman WR Kam Mikell. “Wherever we put him, he works his but off, now he’s at running back,” Sanders said. “He’s definitely still going to have an opportunity to play both sides of the ball. I love the way he goes about life and the game.” Now, let’s mix it up a bit. Mikell plays as a wide receiver and also as a cornerback, just like Travis Hunter. He hails from Statesboro, Georgia, and has been a four-star recruit for Colorado’s 2025 class.

Travis Hunter was absolutely different. On top of that, Sanders himself is the ultimate two-way player. So he knew exactly what to do. As a wide receiver last year, Hunter racked up 1258 yards with 96 catches in total. On defense, he snagged four picks, made 36 tackles, and broke up 11 passes. His play was good enough to land him first-team All-American honors at cornerback. It’s like both his potentials were nicely met during his college days.

Hunter primarily spent most of his time with Colorado’s secondary, and then on game days, things were a bit different. During gamedays, Hunter was supposed to be the reliable weapon for former Colorado QB, Shedeur Sanders, and the offense was tweaked that way. But more or less, Hunter had the freedom to practice whichever side of the ball, and there is a reason for that. “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,” As per Coach Prime.

“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.” Now Prime wants to sing the same praises for Mikell. As of now, he is still developing in his roles, because let’s face it, it’s not just one position he needs to master. Mikell played two games this season against TCU and Iowa State, where he couldn’t really hold onto any catches, and defensively, he had just one solo tackle against Houston.

But let me tell you, he really made a start as a rusher, the thing Sanders is preparing him for. Against the Hawkeyes, Mikell ran for 6 yards on 5 carries. Sure, it’s not great, but he is under Sanders’ tutelage, so let’s face it, nothing is impossible.

The misconception about Travis Hunter

Travis Hunter was a full-grown success in Boulder, no doubt. But there were some rumours a few weeks back on how Hunter divided his time on both sides of the ball. The rumor is that Hunter didn’t practice at all as a wide receiver in college. During a Monday Night Football broadcast, Eli Manning suggested Hunter just improvised on offense. And he did that by following simple signals from the coach.

The rumour was first started by Hunter’s pro team, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, Liam Coen. He told Eli that Hunter had zero practice at offense during his time at Boulder. But soon after that rumour hit national media, Coach Prime’s son and Hunter’s buddy, Bucky, hit the pause button. He jumped on social media, saying bluntly, “Don’t let them lie to you, Mr. Manning, he practiced WR & DB equally.”

Hunter’s wide receiving numbers don’t show someone “winging it” on offense. Not only did Hunter excel defensively as a lockdown cornerback, but offensively, he led the receiving corps alongside Shedeur Sanders. Reports showed he played over 86% of offensive snaps, averaging more than 110 snaps per game. This guy was basically on the field all the time. His college film screams NFL-ready two-way talent, not someone fumbling through offense on a whim.