After sitting out the second half of Colorado football’s Week 8 win at Arizona for precautionary reasons, injured cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter is expected to return for the Buffs’ Week 9 matchup with Cincinnati.
Hunter suffered a shoulder injury against Kansas State in Week 7 and was still in visible discomfort on Saturday in Tucson. The two-way star played in 54 total first-half snaps against Arizona before his removal.
On the season, Hunter owns 604 receiving yards, six touchdowns, 18 total tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
Colorado will host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. MT (ESPN).
Travis Hunter injury update
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders gave the following update on Hunter:
“Travis is better than last week,” Coach Prime 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, (there’s) 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. I think he will certainly contribute a lot more than he did a week ago because he’s healthier.”
How long will Travis Hunter be out?
Based on Coach Prime’s comments, I’d expect Hunter to return for Colorado’s Week 9 game against Cincinnati on Saturday. The Heisman hopeful may not see his typical load of 120-ish total snaps, but expect Hunter to be in uniform and available.
Colorado depth at wide receiver, cornerback
Fortunately for the Buffs, they’re plenty deep at both wide receiver and cornerback. Offensively, freshmen wide receivers Drelon Miller, Jordan Onovughe and Asaad Waseem are candidates to see more playing time if Hunter remains sidelined.
At cornerback, Colton Hood has made the most out of his increased opportunity. The former Auburn Tiger recorded an interception in each of Colorado’s past two games.
Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.