Travis Hunter would quit football if he can’t play both ways

Travis Hunter would quit football if he can’t play both ways

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter told CBS Sports that none of the teams he has met with in the weeks ahead of the NFL draft has made an issue of him playing both offense and defense.

However, if an NFL team told him he had to focus on wide receiver or cornerback and not play both, it would be game over for him.

“It’s never playing football again,” Hunter told CBS Sports. “Because I’ve been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it.”

Hunter, projected to be among the top picks, earned national honors on both sides of the ball, and as a junior last season won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Award, the Biletnikoff Award as top wide receiver, the Bednarik Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy as defensive player of the year and his second consecutive Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player.

Hunter played 713 snaps on offense and 748 on defense for the Buffaloes in 2024. He was the first player since at least 1976 with at least 500 receiving yards (he had 1,152 last season) and four interceptions in a single season, according to ESPN Research.

He led the FBS in both 2023 and 2024 in snaps, totaling 2,625 despite missing almost five games because of injury.

Hunter, 21, doesn’t want to slow down when he gets to the next level.

“I just feel very confident in myself,” he told CBS Sports, “And I got a competitive spirit that I can do whatever I put my mind to, and I feel like I can do it.”

Cleveland Browns general manger Andrew Berry, whose team picks second when the draft starts April 24, said at the scouting combine in February that Hunter could play both ways, with wide receiver the priority.

“In terms of Travis Hunter, cornerback or receiver? The answer is yes,” Berry said. “He can play both, I think that’s what makes him special. I think receiver primarily first, but I think what makes him a bit of a unicorn is the fact that he can do it at a high level.”

Hunter’s response to CBS Sports: “It’s not up to me. When they call my name, if they call my name, then we’ll figure that out, but it’s not up to me. That’s what they think about me right now.”

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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