The Colorado Buffaloes, powered by three touchdown passes from quarterback Shedeur Sanders and a trio of touchdown receptions by two-way star Travis Hunter, opened the 2024 season with a 31-26 victory over North Dakota State at Folsom Field on Thursday night.
Sanders and Hunter, as they often did during the 2023 season, made several impressive plays but one particular play from Hunter stood out.
Leading 24-20 with just under eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Buffaloes had a third-and-goal inside the five when Sanders fired a pass to Hunter, who somehow got his hands in position to make the catch with a North Dakota State defender draped all over him.
RIDICULOUS TD CATCH 😱
— ESPN (@espn) August 30, 2024
Make that three touchdowns for Travis Hunter tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zzohGx3ybZ
The touchdown reception gave the Buffaloes some much-needed breathing room. It also left pretty much everyone, from star athletes like Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James to sports pundits like former ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III to college football fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, in awe of Hunter.
MAN TRAVIS HUNTER IS RIDICULOUS!!!!! WOW
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 30, 2024
Whoever got that first pick , idc if you need a Lineman or QB Travis Hunter is one of one
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) August 30, 2024
WATCH A CATCH by Travis Hunter. When you throw one like that as a Quarterback you are looking for some HBO. He helped a brother out on that one.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 30, 2024
NFL scouts watching Travis Hunter pic.twitter.com/ad9zAYqSlM
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) August 30, 2024
ESPN NFL analyst and Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark declared Hunter the best player in college football, a sentiment many fans and pundits seemed to agree with.
Draft Travis Hunter Top 5, & let him play whatever position he wants!! If there’s a better player in college ball he’s gonna have to show me!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 30, 2024
Colorado haters aren’t gonna like this, but if Travis Hunter keeps this up and stays healthy, he’s taking home the Heisman https://t.co/uuiXcEVAo6
— Bordeaux (@bordeauxyoutube) August 30, 2024
Travis Hunter might legitimately win the Heisman if he can stay healthy. He’s the best player in College Football.
— Big Game Boomer (@BigGameBoomer) August 30, 2024
This is no disrespect to Shedeur Sanders, who is amazing, but I’m here for this Travis Hunter Heisman campaign. Kind of miss the days when the award wasn’t automatically designated to the quarterback. A two-way player is exactly the kind of juice this award needs.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) August 30, 2024
Hunter, who caught seven passes for 132 yards and three scores at receiver while also playing over 40 snaps at cornerback, is already regarded as one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL draft.
If he keeps up this level of play on both sides of the ball, Hunter could indeed be taking home some hardware at the end of the college football season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Colorado's Travis Hunter Left Fans, Sports Stars in Awe With Jaw-Dropping TD Catch.
