Buffs two-way star Hunter ‘for sure’ entering draft

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, projected as a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft, says he will be turning pro after the Buffaloes’ season.

Hunter, the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, had been widely expected to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL in 2025. ESPN’s Mel Kiper lists Hunter, who plays both cornerback and wide receiver for Colorado, as the No. 1 prospect for the 2025 draft.

“That’s definitely for sure,” Hunter said on a call with reporters Thursday.

Hunter would like to play both positions at the next level. He has increased his production at wide receiver — setting career highs for receptions (74), receiving yards (911) and receiving touchdowns (9) — while recording three interceptions at corner and regularly logging more than 120 total snaps per game.

“It’s never been done,” Hunter said of playing two positions full time in the modern NFL. “I understand that it will be a high risk, [teams] don’t want their top pick to go down too early and I know they’re going to want me to be in a couple packages. But I believe I can do it. Nobody has stopped me from doing it thus far.

“I like when people tell me I can’t do it.”

Hunter and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders are both top candidates for the Heisman and projected top picks for the 2025 draft. Sanders, the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer, said Hunter should win the Heisman if it’s a choice between the two close friends.

Colorado’s only Heisman Trophy came in 1994, when running back Rashaan Salaam won the award.

“If it’s between me and him, I would want him to get it,” Shedeur Sanders said. “He does a lot of amazing things and things that haven’t been done before. I’m not a selfish guy. I know what he’s capable of, so I would rather him win.”

Hunter said he would be thrilled if Sanders wins the Heisman and hopes Sanders at least gets invited to New York as a finalist for college football’s top individual honor.

“Even if he not invited, he’s invited,” Hunter said.

Kiper projects Sanders as the No. 7 overall prospect and the top quarterback for the 2025 draft. Sanders has completed a career-best 72.9% of his passes this fall for 3,222 yards and 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Colorado, which went 4-8 in Deion Sanders’ first season as coach, can reach the Big 12 championship game with wins Saturday at Kansas and next week against Oklahoma State.

“I feel like I was the best quarterback in the last draft, too,” said Shedeur Sanders, referring to April’s draft, where quarterbacks went with the top three picks and five of the first 10. “Ever since I was draft eligible, I knew I’m the best quarterback. It’s not up for me to prove myself to talking about why. … The main thing now is you either see that or you don’t.”

ESPN BET opened its market for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft with Sanders (+200) and Hunter (+300) at the top of the oddsboard. Miami’s Cameron Ward is next closest at +700, with four other quarterbacks (Garrett Nussmeier, Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart and Quinn Ewers) occupying the fourth spot on the board at +2000. Hunter is the odds-on favorite to win this season’s Heisman Trophy at -400.

Sanders, who along with Hunter started his college career at FCS Jackson State while playing for Deion Sanders, added that his draft profile and Hunter’s increased once critics were able to “overcome the hate for [Deion Sanders] and overcome the hate for what he’s doing for college football.”

“We came on a bigger stage and where, I guess, people respect football a little bit more and are doing the same thing,” Shedeur Sanders said. “So now it’s like, ‘Oh, these guys were actually players,’ but we’ve been doing everything since day one.”