Colorado coach Deion Sanders said defensive back/wide receiver Travis Hunter should play more against Cincinnati than he did against Arizona.
Hunter played just the first half for the second straight week after suffering a right shoulder injury against Kansas State. Hunter didn’t return for second half of the game against K-State after the hit, and didn’t dress out for the second half of Colorado’s win over Arizona in Week 8 after he aggravated the injury in the first half.
“Travis is better than last week,” Sanders said. “I think he’ll have more productivity because he’s feeling much better than last week. You can just tell with his little giddy up and the way he goes about life. A little more pep in his step today. I think he did some conditioning today for sure to make sure he’s on point with his conditioning because he never tires and we want to keep that what it is. But I think he will certainly contribute a lot more than he did a week ago because he’s healthier.”
Hunter played just 13 defensive snaps in the first half against Arizona as Colorado appeared to be limiting his playing time. He did appear in 41 offensive snaps and had two catches for 17 yards.
Hunter’s ability to be Colorado’s best player on both offense and defense is a big reason why he’s still the No. 4 favorite for the Heisman Trophy despite playing in just two halves of football across Colorado’s last two games. However, if he’s limited by the shoulder injury in the near future, his Heisman chances will continue to dwindle. Hunter is still Colorado’s leading receiver with 51 catches for 604 yards and six touchdowns. He also has 18 total tackles with two interceptions and three passes defensed.
Cincinnati and Colorado enter Saturday night’s game in a four-way tie for third in the Big 12 at 3-1 in the conference. BYU and Iowa State are tied atop the Big 12 at 4-0, while Kansas State, Texas Tech, Cincinnati and Colorado are all a game back.