Travis Hunter’s ongoing tryst with redefining what it means to be a “football player” is facilitated courtesy of his college head coach, Deion Sanders. A more conventional coach would’ve never given the 2-way phenom the green light to play both sides. Neither would he have had this sort of platform or eminence under somebody else’s tutelage. Hunter owes Coach Prime a ton, and the reciprocal is also true. As cliched as it sounds, this is a relationship that transcends player-coach. Even transcends a protege-mentor dynamic. And Deion concurs.
For the No.1 rated recruit in the country to thwart offers from blue-chip programs and go to an HBCU was unprecedented. But unprecedented is synonymous with Travois Hunter. Deion Sanders managing to lure him to an HBCU in Jackson State epitomizes the implicit trust and synergy between the pair. Hunter trusted Sanders to forge his career. After a Heisman Trophy, countless other accolades and becoming the 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft, it’s safe to say this trust paid dividends with interest. Simultaneously, Coach Prime’s own stock and rep in the coaching realm have increased multifold for how he developed Hunter. But this relationship isn’t merely a transactional barter either.
Deion Sanders is as polarizing a figure as any. Some adore his outlandish eccentricity. Or his proactivity with his sons Shilo and Shedeur Sanders’ careers. Others despise it. But either camp will acknowledge that the guy loves his family. A microcosm of this love is how he has coached Shilo and Shedeur along every step of the way right until their ascension to the NFL. Making sure he’s directly involved in moulding their futures. The same goes for Deion Sanders Jr. as well. Who doesn’t wear cleats on the weekend but instead shoots with a camera, and has cultivated a bit of a powerhouse in Well Off Media. All this is to say when Prime refers to Travis Hunter as his “son”, it still doesn’t feel out of place or hyperbolic. Because that really is the purest way to describe this dynamic.
Deion Sanders took to X to wish Travis Hunter a happy birthday. The Colorado alum and now Jacksonville Jaguar turns 22. Which, in itself, is alarming given how long he seems to have been around. “@TravisHunterJr Happy Birthday Son. Love ya man. Be Greater & don’t negotiate your Peace,” wrote Sanders, alongside a graphic of Hunter grinning ear to ear with all his individual trophies in the foreground.
@TravisHunterJr Happy Birthday Son. Love ya man. Be Greater & don’t negotiate your Peace. pic.twitter.com/lfVY02kcYS
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) May 18, 2025
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