Colorado Buffaloes Football

Jackson State cornerback Travis Hunter is following Deion Sanders to Colorado, he announced Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

It didn't take long for the former No. 1 recruit to make a decision on his next destination as he revealed just two days ago that he would be entering the transfer portal.

Hunter said in a YouTube video posted to his channel, per Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports:

"I committed to Coach Prime at Jackson State when he was there and I want to honor my commitment and stay with him. I felt like I learned a lot with him at Jackson State so I'm going to stick with him so I can continue to grind, continue to show love, continue to put the work in so I can get to the next level."

Colorado announced the arrival of Sanders as its next head coach earlier this month, and the Pro Football Hall of Famer indicated that he planned to bring other top-tier talent with him to revive a Buffaloes squad that finished 1-11 this season.

Hunter joins quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders, as the latest former Jackson State Tiger to commit to Colorado. Shedeur Sanders also made his transfer decision official on Wednesday.

Hunter, who was listed as the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class, initially committed to Florida State as a high school prospect before flipping his commitment to Jackson State.

As a true freshman in 2022, the 19-year-old proved to be impactful on both sides of the ball. He posted two interceptions, 10 pass breakups and one fumble recovery while playing as a defensive back. The 6'1" star also caught 18 passes for 188 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver.

It's reasonable to believe Hunter will play a similar role under Sanders in Colorado given his speed and talent.

Before committing to Colorado, Hunter was also considering Georgia, per 247Sports recruiting analyst Rusty Mansell. He added Miami and USC were looking to get in the mix for the speedster.

Deion Sanders has faced some backlash after leaving Jackson State this winter to take on the job as the Colorado head football coach.

On Tuesday, Sanders said he understood the criticism and where it was coming from.

"I understand because it's love," Sanders told Shannon Sharpe of the Club Shay Shay podcast (3:40 mark). "You fell in love, and I fell in love too. And I felt like we did more than we were expected to do. We just did it so expeditiously that it overwhelmed you and you thought it was easy. Because what would normally take someone several years, we did it in two-and-a-half. That's what was staggering."

Sanders said that when he was hired in Sept. 2020, vice president and director of athletics Ashley Robinson asked Sanders to give him two years. Sanders ultimately spent three seasons at the school, going 27–6 at the school and leading them to back-to-back bowl games.

One of the criticisms Sanders addressed in the interview was why he felt as though he couldn't build up Jackson State into a national powerhouse on par with the Power Five schools.

"Tell me how you build that into a Power Five," Sanders said (10:58 mark). "Because if you go into the Power Five conference, just say the SEC, you know all the other sports have to go too. ... And also, it's criteria that the school has to pass to be in those conferences. And I don't know if that was going to be applicable to what we're trying to accomplish."

At Colorado, he'll be looking to rebuild a program that has had just six winning seasons since the turn of the century. And Sanders said he understood why some of the parting shots from some Jackson State fans weren't kind.

"People are hurt, and when people are hurt, often times their first response isn't the response that should be given," Sanders said. "They say things out of emotion and anger, but I listen. Because when a person says stuff out of emotions and anger, that's how they really feel."

The brief Deion Sanders era has already been profitable for his new school.

According to Doug Greenberg of Front Office Sports, "sales of officially licensed Colorado products are up 700 percent year-over-year since Sanders was first hired on Dec. 3."

In particular, Colorado has been selling T-shirts and sweatshirts with "Coach Prime" written on the front and a copy of Sanders' signature on the back.

Sanders, who led Jackson State to a 27-6 record across his three seasons and two bowl appearances, will be tasked with transforming a football program that has only had one winning season since 2005.

The jury's out on whether Sanders can work his magic for the Buffaloes. But it's very clear that there is major excitement about his hire.

Cornerback Travis Hunter is leaving Jackson State, and it's not a surefire lock that he will follow head coach Deion Sanders to Colorado.

Hunter posted a YouTube video revealing he is in the portal. He said, "I don't know what I'm going to do next" and will "weigh his options" with his family before he makes a decision.

Notably, he also said "I want to follow Coach Prime too, but I need to know if it's a fit for me. If it's not a fit for me, I'm not going. I just want everybody to know that."

Hunter was a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 player in the recruiting class of 2022, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Hunter helped Jackson State go 12-1 this season with its only loss coming to North Carolina Central in Saturday's Celebration Bowl. He finished the campaign with 19 total tackles, eight passes defended, two interceptions and one defensive touchdown while also catching two scores on offense.

Sanders found immediate success at Jackson State and eventually parlayed that into the head coaching job at Colorado, but it still turned heads when he landed the No. 1 overall player in a recruiting cycle.

In fact Alabama head coach Nick Saban created some controversy when he told reporters, "Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division I player to come to school. It was in the paper. They bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it."

Saban, who eventually apologized, didn't mention a player by name, but Hunter and his coach responded to the comments:

Now all eyes turn to Hunter as one of the most high-profile departures from Jackson State after Sanders left for Colorado.

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN noted 22 players from Jackson State have entered the transfer portal this offseason. Sanders "made it very clear he would bring some of his former players with him," including quarterback Shedeur, who is the head coach's son.

Sanders also notably said on Instagram (h/t Nick Gray of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger) that Hunter would join him in Colorado "real soon."

That may eventually be the case, but the cornerback is keeping his options open for now.

Travis Hunter, the 2022 5-star cornerback who was recruited by Deion Sanders and joined him at Jackson State, may be sticking with his head coach and making the move to Colorado.

"When is Travis coming? Real soon. I saw (speculation) online the other day," Sanders said during an Instagram chat this week (h/t Nick Gray of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger). "What do you think Travis is going to do? What is wrong with y'all? What is wrong with y'all sometimes? Some of the stuff y'all say puzzles me, puzzles the heck out of me."

Sanders already introduced his son, Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, as "your quarterback" during his Colorado introductory press conference. So the expectation is the young quarterback will follow his father to Boulder.

"He's going to have to earn it, though, believe that," Sanders added.

The young Sanders would be an upgrade for Colorado after he threw for 3,383 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions ahead of Saturday's Celebration Bowl. He completed 70.2 percent of his passes while also rushing for 174 yards and five scores.

While speaking with the team, Sanders indicated he would bring some players with him from Jackson State.

"We've got a few positions already taken care of because I'm bringing my luggage with me," he said. "I'm coming. It ain't going to be no more of the mess that these wonderful fans, the student body and some of your parents have put up with for probably two decades now. I'm coming. And when I get here, there's going to be change."

The hope in Boulder is that Hunter will be among them. The star freshman dealt with injuries this season but made an impact on both sides of the ball, recording 15 tackles and two interceptions on defense while adding 14 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns on offense.

There's no doubt that Hunter has electric talent, and his addition would be huge for a Colorado program that has had just one winning season since 2005.

If Sanders is going to transform the Buffaloes into a perennial contender, bringing stars like Hunter to Boulder will be key.

Four-star running back Dylan Edwards has committed to Colorado, per Hayes Fawcett of On3.com. He was previously committed to Notre Dame before announcing Thursday his decision to decommit from the Fighting Irish program.

Edwards cited the recent hire of Deion Sanders as a reason for joining the Buffaloes.

"I've known coach Prime since I was four years old," Edwards said, per Fawcett. "He was actually my coach with my dad when I was younger. We are like family. I'm coming to make make big plays and to be the best all-purpose player in the country."

Edwards, a 5'9", 165-pound running back out of Derby, Kansas, is the 10th-ranked running back in the 2023 class, per 247Sports composite rankings. He is also ranked as the second-best prospect out of Kansas behind quarterback Avery Johnson.

During his senior season at Derby High School, Edwards rushed for 1,900 yards and 32 touchdowns. Additionally, he is one of the fastest players in the country, running a 4.3 40-yard dash, per Fawcett.

Edwards was also the 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas after finishing with 3,214 total yards and 40 touchdowns.

247Sports' national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu wrote of Edwards:

"Very productive high school back who is dangerous in multiple phases of the game and can score from anywhere on the field. Has excellent acceleration and good top-end speed. One of his best qualities is the ability to change direction or elude a tackler without needing to throttle down. Is not a big back and is not likely to run through many tacklers in college, but is very slippery and hard to land a clean hits on for tacklers."

Colorado's roster is expected to undergo some major changes ahead of the 2023 season following the hire of Sanders. Shedeur Sanders, Sanders' son, is expected to enter the transfer portal and join the Buffaloes.

If Shedeur Sanders joins Colorado, he will likely be the team's starting quarterback.

However, Edwards may not see much playing time in his freshman season as Deion Smith and Anthony Hankerson are lined up to be the team's lead running backs.

Alabama associate defensive coordinator and safeties coach Charles Kelly will join Colorado head coach Deion Sanders' staff as the Buffaloes' next defensive coordinator, per Brian Howell of BuffZone.

ESPN's Chris Low confirmed the news on the 55-year-old Kelly, who has coached at Alabama for the past four seasons. He notably worked as a defensive coordinator at Florida State under then-head coach Jimbo Fisher from 2014 to 2017. In between, he served as Tennessee's special teams coordinator and safeties coach.

Kelly also served as a defensive coordinator for Jacksonville State, Henderson State, Nicholls State and Georgia Tech throughout his career.

ESPN's Pete Thamel previously reported that Sanders hired Kent State head coach Sean Lewis to be Colorado's offensive coordinator.

Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back and returner who also played professional baseball, just led Jackson State to a 27-5 record over three seasons. The 12-0 Tigers won the SWAC, which gave them their second straight Celebration Bowl berth.

Sanders, Lewis and Kelly have a lot of work to do at Colorado, which has posted its fifth losing season in the past six years capped by an 1-11 mark this year.

Colorado is hiring Kent State head coach Sean Lewis to be its offensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

This is the Buffaloes' first major addition to their staff since naming Deion Sanders their new head coach.

Lewis went 24-31 in his five seasons with the Golden Flashes and led them to a bowl game in 2019 and 2021.

Focusing on the record alone doesn't do justice to the work the 36-year-old did.

Kent typically schedules challenging non-conference games to pad its financial coffers, meaning it's essentially guaranteed three losses every year outside of MAC play. In 2022, it played Washington, Oklahoma and Georgia all on the road.

Lewis also inherited what might've been the most difficult rebuilding job at the FBS level.

Kent State won 11 games and climbed to No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll in 2012, but that was a significant outlier for the program. The Golden Flashes had just one bowl appearance before that, and they immediately fell back to earth after Hazell left for Purdue before the 2013 season.

Paul Haynes succeeded Hazell and compiled a 14-45 record over five years. Kent State never won more than four games in a single season.

The Golden Flashes enjoyed a level of success with Lewis they hadn't seen for decades, and they did it with an entertaining brand of football, too.

It was only a matter of time before Lewis left for greener pastures, with The Athletic's Justin Williams including him among the candidates for Cincinnati before the Bearcats hired Louisville's Scott Satterfield.

This move qualifies as a coup for Colorado since he presumably could've held out for another job if he had been so inclined. It's also an encouraging sign for the fanbase as to how Sanders will run things.

The Hall of Fame cornerback has never coached at the FBS level and remains somewhat inexperienced as a coach, having worked for three years at Jackson State. By poaching Lewis, he seems to be recognizing his own limitations and showing a willingness to empower his top assistants.

As much as Lewis is downgrading in terms of his title, going to Colorado and transforming the offense might be a better showcase toward putting him on track for an attractive Power Five gig down the road.

Deion Sanders was officially introduced as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday, and we now know what the former Jackson State bench boss will earn in his new role.

Sanders agreed to a five-year, $29.5 million deal with Colorado, according to Brian Howell of the Boulder Daily Camera.

Full details:

Sanders coached Jackson State over the last three seasons, amassing a 27-5 record while leading the Tigers into the national spotlight during his tenure.

Jackson State put together its first undefeated season in program history in 2022, finishing 12-0. The Tigers won the SWAC title Saturday with a 43-24 win over the Southern Jaguars and will take on the North Carolina Central Eagles in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17.

During his introductory press conference in Colorado, Sanders expressed his desire to rebuild a Buffaloes squad that finished last in the Pac-12 this year with a 1-11 record.

Sanders said, via Zach Koons of Sports Illustrated:

“Now that I’ve gotten here and I see and I can understand it and I can grasp it, and I can feel it and I can touch it and I can taste it. I truly understand what you want. All you want is an opportunity to win. To compete, to dominate. To be among the elite, to be among the best. And darn it, I’m gonna give you that.

“We’re not here to compete but to win. Not to show up but to show out. Not to be among the rest but to be the absolute best. We’re coming to work, not to play. We’re coming to kill, not to kick it. Baby, I got to believe that we’re coming.”

The Buffaloes fired head coach Karl Dorrell following an 0-5 start to the 2022 season and replaced him with interim head coach Mike Sanford. Dorrell had been the coach at Colorado since 2020.

Sanders will be tasked with leading Colorado to its first winning season since 2016 when his team hits the field in 2023. While that could be a difficult task, the Buffaloes are expected to receive commitments from some top recruits with Sanders aboard.

Colorado already landed a commitment from five-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. on Sunday. Additionally, Sanders hinted at his son, Shedeur Sanders, transferring from Jackson State to Colorado for the 2023 season:

During the 2022 season with the Tigers, Shedeur Sanders completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 3,383 yards and 36 touchdowns against six interceptions, in addition to rushing for 174 yards and five scores.

Sanders spent 14 seasons in the NFL and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He won two Super Bowl titles and the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year award. Additionally, he was a six-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler.