Travis Hunter says his transfer process was “kind of weird,” and the key detail is that he did not simply follow Deion Sanders to Colorado without looking around first. The former No. 1 recruit admitted he did “a little exploring” before deciding that Sanders was still the coach he trusted most.
Hunter, who flipped from Florida State to Jackson State University on Signing Day in December 2021, later entered the transfer portal in December 2022 after Jackson State lost to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl. Shortly after that, Sanders was named the new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, and the pair reunited once again.
Why Hunter’s admission matters
The important point is not simply that Hunter ended up at Colorado. It is that the path there was not automatic. On the Chasing No. 1 podcast on October 28, Hunter explained that he had a hard time separating the football decision from the personal respect he had for Sanders.
“That transfer process was kind of weird,” Hunter said.
He then added that even while he was looking at other options, he felt the process was complicated by the relationship he had already built with Sanders. “At the same time, I had too much respect for Coach Prime, so even going out there and exploring my options just a little bit, I felt like it was kind of disrespectful,” he said. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s definitely going to Colorado; he’s definitely going to Deion,’ and stuff like that. But I also did a little exploring.”
That is what makes the transfer process such a notable part of Hunter’s story. He was not just a recruit chasing the biggest name available. He was weighing what was right for him, while also acknowledging that Sanders had already changed the direction of his career once before.
The question Hunter really cared about
Hunter also made clear that money was not the issue. What mattered to him was whether he could continue as a two-way player, something he had become at Jackson State and later at Colorado.
“I didn’t care about the money, and how could they get me there? What could they do for me when I get there? I wanted to know if I could play both sides of the ball,” Hunter said. “That’s the only question I had for him. I didn’t care about the money; I wanted to know if I could play both sides.”
That helps explain why Sanders remained central to the whole decision. Hunter said Sanders had already redirected his path after coming in to sway him away from Florida State, and that connection clearly carried weight when the next transfer decision arrived.
“He came and got me to not go to Florida State and changed my mindset and changed the picture of everything,” Hunter said. “He really changed my life, for real. When I made that news, man, my followers and everything just went up from there.”
In the end, the story is less about Hunter wandering aimlessly and more about a high-profile player taking a real look at his choices before returning to the coach who had already shaped his career. Colorado got the player, but the transfer process shows that the decision was still thoughtful, personal and far from simple.
