Ain’t nothing holding back Travis Hunter from grabbing the Heisman trophy other than his coach Deion Sanders. The main reason behind it is kind of sad and unfair. Hunter is now THE big thing in CFB. Against Baylor, where he managed to pull the game-winning fumble in overtime, all eyes were suddenly on the No.12 player from the Buffs. The hype never stopped and kind of kept on flying high from there. Travis Hunter is currently standing on a +1800 odds on the Heisman ladder as per DraftKings. But the question is; can he make the cut?

The 2-way star thinks not. In the latest episode of Kickin It With Dee, Hunter explains why there is a chance he might not make it to New York. “I could be at the top of their list. They just not saying nothing. And I can also be at the bottom of the list because they just don’t like who my coach is,” Hunter pointed out. This is a straight fact that there is a different type of hate for Deion Sanders in the world of CFB.

As Andy Staples had pointed out long back, “Everybody who plays Colorado wants to kick the crap out of Colorado.” This is mostly because of the image Deion Sanders has cultivated around the Buffs. Most coaches refer to Deion and his team as people who “play for clicks”.

While the 2024 season has managed to change a lot of the opinions regarding Coach Prime and his boys, it still hasn’t wiped the slate clean. If we go way back in time, before Hunter even committed to Colorado, he was marked as the No.1 overall player in the world of CFB.

However, the moment Travis Hunter announced his commitment, he was pushed down to No.8. While it is true that the Heisman is for the “best overall player” in college football, the reputation Deion Sanders carries could become a major roadblock for Hunter and his dreams. The sad part about this entire situation is that Hunter ain’t the only player who has been affected by this.

Under Coach Prime’s shadow

We gotta bring back JuJu fever. Imagine being hailed as the “Most Accurate Passer” by Elite11 and being wanted by major programs like Auburn, Buffs, etc, and still watching your ratings tank because of no valid reason. Well, this is what has been happening with Julian Lewis.

Lewis was marked by 247Sports and On3 as a 5-star player. However, the moment the rumor surrounding him joining Coach Prime’s gang started spreading on the internet, his ratings quickly dropped to 4-star. Back on the 2Legendary podcast, Shedeur Sanders also brought up this entire discussion. “How did they drop you to a four-star though?” Shedeur had asked.

Lewis didn’t really have a proper answer for it. What he did mention is that he got to know that his ratings were dropped to “balance” things out. Apparently, he had reached his peak and the 5-star tag wasn’t valid anymore. This guy is 16. He is nowhere near his peak. While Buffs fans can only hope the same fate does not follow Hunter and his Heisman dreams, only time will tell if our prodigy makes it to New York or not.