College football stars, Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter led the Colorado Buffaloes to a 31-26 win against North Dakota State on Friday, where the wide receiver’s two TDs proved decisive in the win.
The pair’s performance, especially Hunter’s, who is projected to be a top pick on the 2025 NFL Draft day, impressed former NFL linebacker and current ESPN analyst, Bart Scott.
Scott praised Hunter and likened him to MLB star Shohei Ohtani, a Los Angeles Dodgers player who thrives as a dual-threat weapon. Similar to how Ohtani shines in baseball as both a pitcher and a batter, Hunter can pull off being both a WR and a CB.
Scott didn’t just stop at that point though. He continued to make the case that Hunter should be the number one overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. The 2006 Pro Bowl winner’s argument was strong, calling Hunter a rare “unicorn”:
“To me, he’s the Shohei Ohtani of college football. We’ve never seen anything like this dude…I’ve seen guys like Charles Woodson play a couple of snaps on offense, but this dude is like a marathon runner.”
Moreover, Scott considers Hunter’s exceptional abilities to be indispensable for any team, even for a team that requires a quarterback, mentioning,
“He should be the number one pick, and I’m thinking that the New England Patriots might have the number one pick. I don’t know if I’d trade down for a quarterback because I wouldn’t want to miss out on talent like this.”
In Bart’s view, Hunter is a generational talent, and not only deserves the Heisman Trophy but also has enough potential to become a game-changer in the NFL soon. And Bart’s colleague completely agreed.
Hunter is a true superstar: Stephen A. Smith
The analyst strongly emphasized that Hunter excels no matter if he’s playing in the cornerback or wide receiver position. He compared Hunter’s abilities to Terrell Owens—a Hall of Fame receiver known for his physical powers and big plays.
The analyst expressed his delight in seeing Owens now guiding Hunter on the sidelines.
According to Smith, what truly makes the CU star unique is his skill to turn the game around during critical times with impactful plays. Whenever he finds himself in a one-on-one situation, Hunter is the one coming down with the ball- a clear indication of his defensive capabilities and elite wide-receiving skills.
Furthermore, Smith made another comparison by likening Hunter to Deion Sanders, who has been the greatest cornerback in NFL history and at the same time, had the skills to shine brightly at the wide receiver position too.
Considering the versatility of the Jackson State alum, the sportscaster thus believes that Hunter is surely destined for greatness–both in college football and beyond!