Travis Hunter proudly basked in all the glory as the cover athlete of the EA Sports CFB 25 game and has been doing so for years at Boulder as their star-two-way player. Hunter’s charm was nearly unmatchable in Boulder until Colorado added Preston Hodge to their roster. The Liberty transfer made Colorado his new home in the early months of this year, and he is effortlessly making waves. Deion Sanders’ success on the transfer portal this season was no joke, but in Hodge’s case, Deion Sanders found a gem. Hunter has always been the star player of Colorado. But that, in no way, was going to rob Hodge of the attention he deserved.

An ardent supporter of Deion Sanders, who often plays the role of his wingman in several debates, made a case for Hodge this time. Speaking to Adam Munsterteiger on the show BuffStampede on The Pregame Show, Uncle Neely channeled some much-needed attention to Hodge. “He’s a guy that the die-hards are pretty high on, but I don’t think enough people are talking about him,” Uncle Neely iterated. The reason for it was the mightier stature of Hunter in the locker room.

Hodge was the finest defender coming out of Liberty. Along with that, he ranked #1 on the highest-rated returning Big 12 cornerback list with a 90.0. His almost flawless season during his junior season for Liberty Flames in 2023 saw him deflecting 8 passes while snagging 2 INTs. While he was advocating for Hodge, Uncle Neely also added how he would be the ultimate secondary depth game-changer that Deion Sanders needs.

Now that Coach Prime has secondary depth in Travis Hunter’s position, it allows him “to be a bit more free,” as Munsterteiger puts it.

How would Preston Hodge add the secondary depth to Colorado?

The 6’0, 195 pounder brings in a wealth of finely honed skills and experience of accumulating impressive stats for two seasons straight at Flames. Along with impressive stats, Hodge also has experience in defending for a team that lost just one game in their whole season in 2023. While his role in CU D-line is still being finalized, the anticipation that the Buffs Nation has to witness the phenom making an impact is undeniable.

Even Cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis was impressed with Hodge’s spring game performance, earning him some praise and importance alongside Travis Hunter and DJ McKinney. Speaking of Hodge’s versatility, Mathis added, “It’s gonna be a sight to see and we are excited about that.” He might have a chance at getting a starting position this season with that hint. Not only does this secure some much-needed experience in Colorado’s secondary depth, it also makes CU’s major transition to the Big 12 a bit easier for Deion Sanders and Co.