Is Travis Hunter related to Deion Sanders? Explaining the relationship between Colorado's two-way star and head coach

09-06-2024
3 min read
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Colorado has become one of the most talked about teams in college football.

That's, of course, in large part to Deion Sanders, who's made headlines for a wide variety of reasons over his time with the Buffaloes. 

But Colorado also has a pair of stars in QB Shedeur Sanders and WR/CB Travis Hunter. As Shedeur is Deion Sanders' son, some have wondered whether Hunter is also related to his head coach. 

The Sporting News fills you in on if Hunter is related to Sanders, with some background on Colorado's two-way star. 

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Is Travis Hunter related to Deion Sanders?

No, Hunter is not biologically related to Deion Sanders. Shedeur Sanders is, though — he's one of "Coach Prime's" five children. 

However, Hunter and Sanders do have an interesting player/coach relationship, stemming from Hunter's high school recruitment.  

As a recruit, Hunter wasn't just a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports; he was the outlet's No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class. That kind of hype earned Hunter interest from some of the nation's top programs, including Florida State, Alabama and Clemson. 

After originally committing to the Seminoles, Hunter later flipped to Jackson State, where Sanders was coaching at the time. It was among the most surprising moves in college football recruiting history, as Hunter became the first 5-star prospect to sign with a HBCU. 

Sanders' recruiting effort convinced Hunter to make an unprecedented commitment, and he continued to become a two-way star at Jackson State. Hunter later joined both Deion and Shedeur Sanders at Colorado when "Coach Prime" was hired as the Buffaloes' new head coach after the 2022 season.

Travis Hunter stats

Here's a look at Hunter's collegiate stats so far on both sides of the ball, including his time at Jackson State. 

Year Team Rec (WR) Yards (WR) TDs (WR) Tackles (CB) PD (CB) INTs (CB)
2022 Jackson State 18 190 4 19 8 2
2023 Colorado 57 721 5 31 5 3
2024 Colorado 7 132 3 3 0 0

Where is Travis Hunter from?

Hunter was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, but later moved to Suwanee, Georgia. 

He attended Collins Hill High School in Georgia and played both WR and CB, as he does now with Colorado. Hunter broke the Georgia state record for career receiving touchdowns in his senior year with 48, and later began his college career at Jackson State.