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No one is more confident in Travis Hunter’s chances of winning the Heisman Trophy than his coach, Deion Sanders.
After Hunter’s standout performance in Colorado’s 52-0 win over Oklahoma State, where he recorded 116 receiving yards on 10 receptions and three touchdowns, Sanders believes the competition has been decided.
“Travis won the Heisman with his performance,” Sanders told reporters after the game.
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Coach Prime Says Travis Hunter Should Be Heisman:
“Travis won the Heisman with his performance.” pic.twitter.com/Jx5EmDq8Ai
Hunter recorded one tackle and one interception while defending and his all-round performance was more than enough for Sanders to praise him after the game.
“What did he (had)? Three touchdowns, 100 yards and an interception and two passes broken up,” Sanders said. “He should have been singled out again and hit him right in the damn chest. I’m not happy with that, but I’m happy with him.”
Sanders’ Heisman endorsement comes just days after he expressed frustration over Hunter’s exclusion from the list of finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award.
The Buffaloes’ head coach won the award himself in 1988 while at Florida State.
“How does Travis Hunter get snubbed by the Thorpe Award?” Sanders told reporters on Tuesday, according to USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer. “You can have my award. You can have him back. In fact, I’m going to give him mine. I don’t use it. It’s just sitting there collecting dust. So Travis can get my Thorpe Award, because If this isn’t the craziest thing in college football, that he’s not a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and he is, I’d say, but I don’t think it’s really an argument that this young man is the best defensive player. back in college football.”
Hunter has -10,000 odds to win the Heisman Trophy, ahead of competitors Ashton Jeanty (+2500), Cam Ward (+20000) and Dillon Gabriel (+25000), according to DraftKings Sportsbook.