This is just dumb. You know, whoever said that people do hate Deion Sanders because he is successful was right. See, there has been an ongoing issue around Coach Prime and the people who play for him. This started small. Remember back when Julian Lewis first said he wanted in with the Buffs? Before his final flip, of course. Lewis was marked as a 5-star by both 247Sports and On3. The moment the kid mentioned “Deion Sanders,” that rating dropped to a 4-star instantly. And let’s get down to the crux of the problem. Even for Travis Hunter, this has been a problem from the start. This guy was the No.1 overall player by On3. Commits to Deion Sanders and his rating is dropped to No.8.

Coincidence? We think not cause this problem is happening yet again. Back on Coach Prime’s Playbook, Deion Sanders made it clear; “You can’t punish him because he plays for me.” See, Hunter is in a pickle right now. The Jim Thorpe Award is important for all DBs out there. This is practically given to the top defensive backs of the nation, and taking Hunter out of the finalist list seems like a borderline dumb move.

But let’s check some facts. If we go through the current finalist list, Jahdae Barron, Caleb Downs, and Malaki Starks are all on it. A quick stat comparison will show you that these guys, on average, have around 40-50 tackles to their name. In terms of pass defense, Barron has 8, and Downs and Starks have 3 and 2, respectively.

Finally, for interceptions, Starks has 1, Downs has zero and Barron has 4. Now your argument here could be that on the defense, these players have done much better than Hunter, right? Here is the problem: if we look past tackles, Hunter isn’t that far off in terms of the other stats.

The dude has 30 tackles along with 3 interceptions, a forced fumble during the Baylor game, and 9 pass defense. How can you snub him out of the list when he is doing on par with some of the country’s best defensive players? We might have an answer.

Only one side of the football for Travis Hunter

Might be a far-fetched assumption, but Hunter and his capability of playing on both sides of the football could be a major reason for this snub. Now, stay with us. See, Hunter on the offensive end has done God’s work for the Buffs.

82 total catches with over 1000 yards and 11 touchdowns in. His stats on the offensive go right above the completion. You have to keep in mind that he is bringing this in after playing multiple snaps during a single game. So, yes, it is much more impressive than what, say, someone like Ashton Jeanty is doing.

Here is the thing: there could be a major possibility that because Hunter is doing so well on the offense, the snub was placed to just solidify the fact that Hunter should probably focus on his WR role more than his CB role. His two-way style has been up for debate for a long time (because of how sustainable it can be in the NFL).

The award committee could’ve just skipped him because they see a WR in him rather than a CB. He is already up for the Maxwell, Biletnikoff, and Chuck Bednarik awards. Losing out on a single nomination isn’t a big deal, but yeah, it’s kind of understandable that it hurts. Regardless, at least no one is going to stop him from winning the Heisman.