Former No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter commits to play for Deion Sanders at Colorado

Travis Hunter is following Deion Sanders to Colorado.

Hunter was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022 who backed out of his Florida State commitment to play for Sanders at Jackson State. And now that Sanders has left JSU for Colorado, Hunter announced Wednesday night that he will join his coach in Boulder.

"I committed to Coach Prime at Jackson State when he was there and I want to honor my commitment and stay with him," Hunter said in a video posted on his YouTube channel. "I felt like I learned a lot with him at Jackson State so I'm going to stick with him so I can continue to grind, continue to show love, continue to put the work in so I can get to the next level."

Hunter put his name in the transfer portal on Sunday, a day after Jackson State's season ended with a loss to NC Central in the Celebration Bowl. Hunter's primary position is cornerback but he also caught four passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

Hunter finished his freshman season with 20 tackles, 10 pass breakups and two interceptions as a defensive back and 18 catches for 188 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver.

After putting his name in the portal, Hunter said following Sanders to Colorado was something he was considering but he also wanted to weigh out all of his options as well. Hunter is from Suwanee, Georgia, and the reigning national champions were a program rumored to be in pursuit of Hunter. Others like USC and Miami were also mentioned, but Hunter chose to head out to Colorado.

With the early signing period opening on Wednesday, Sanders and his staff added a slew of new players to the program — both from the high school ranks and the transfer portal. A few of Hunter’s Jackson State teammates have already signed with CU, including quarterback Shadeur Sanders (Deion’s son) and offensive lineman Tyler Brown.

JSU has seen a significant exodus of players to the transfer portal, so there could be others who follow suit.

Colorado went 1-11 in 2022, so Sanders has work to do from a roster-building perspective if he wants to field a competitive team in the Pac-12 next fall. Adding a player like Hunter will certainly help his cause.