Colorado star Travis Hunter is ahead of schedule as it relates to his on-field return. The former five-star prospect was back at practice with the Buffaloes this week going through football activities for the first time since he suffered a lacerated liver in a Week 3 win against Colorado State. According to coach Deion Sanders, Hunter could even see some action Friday night against Stanford.
"There's a tremendous chance he could play," Sanders said during his Tuesday press conference. "It goes by how he looks, how he performs in practice. How his wind is. He has to be in shape. I don't want him to be a liability. I want him to always be a tremendous asset. Travis, he came to me yesterday morning and he said, 'What more can I do to help us get to the point that we need to get to?' So I love the team aspect of Travis, 100%. But I hope he can play."
Sanders confirmed that Hunter is medically cleared for a return to action as Hunter wears extra protection around the areas affected by his injury. The focus moving forward is on conditioning and getting Hunter back up to game speed.
Sanders originally stated last week that the hope was Hunter could resume football activities during Colorado's bye, which falls on the week of Oct. 21. If Hunter is unable to play against Stanford, then there's a good chance he's back in the starting lineup for the Oct. 28 game against UCLA.
Prior to his injury, Hunter was making a major impact for the Buffaloes on both sides of the ball amid an undefeated 3-0 start. He had 16 catches for 213 yards, nine total tackles, one interception and two pass breakups.
Hunter, the former No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2022, signed for Sanders at Jackson State. He was the first five-star prospect to ever sign with an FCS program out of high school. He followed Sanders to Colorado in the offseason.
