Deion Sanders: ‘Tremendous chance’ Travis Hunter returns vs. Stanford

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is closer than ever to returning to game action after suffering a lacerated liver Sept. 16.

Colorado (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) hosts Stanford on Friday night before a bye week.

"There's a tremendous chance he could play," Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders told reporters Tuesday. "It goes by how he looks, how he performs in practice, how his wind is. ... He has to be in shape. I don't want him to be a liability. I want him always to be a tremendous asset."

Sanders previously said it was his "dream and desire" that Hunter stayed out until after the bye week, but Hunter has been persistent.

"He came to me (Monday) morning saying, ‘What more can I do to help us get to the point that we need to get to?'" Sanders said. "So I love the team aspect of Travis 100 percent. I hope he can play."

Sanders added that Hunter will be wearing "protection" around the liver area.

Hunter suffered the injury during the Buffaloes' 43-35 double-overtime win over Colorado State on Sept. 16. The wide receiver/defensive back took a tough late hit at the sideline from Rams safety Henry Blackburn and hasn't played since.

A former five-star high school recruit, Hunter plays wide receiver and cornerback for Sanders at Colorado after following the coach there from Jackson State. In the first three games of 2023, Hunter had 16 catches for 233 yards on offense and one interception, two pass breakups and nine tackles on defense.

—Field Level Media