Former Colorado Star Travis Hunter Reveals Powerful 9-Word Lesson Deion Sanders Taught Him at Colorado

Travis Hunter just wrapped up his college career, where he finished with one of the most legendary and impressive resumes of all time. He capped off his final season by winning the Heisman trophy and becoming the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The two-way superstar was a five-star recruit but chose to go to Jackson State, an FCS school, to play under the tutelage of Deion Sanders. Then, he followed Sanders to Colorado, where the pair continued to develop their relationship. Hunter has a ton of respect for Coach Prime and recently revealed a powerful nine-word lesson that the legendary coach taught him.

Travis Hunter Reveals What He’s Learned From Deion Sanders

In an interview with Action Sports Jacksonville, Hunter was asked what he learned from Deion Sanders to deal with the challenges of being a superstar athlete.

Hunter said the best lesson Sanders ever taught him was, “You got to be a professional at all times.”

Travis Hunter on what he learned from his former head coach Deion Sanders “you got to be a professional at all times” @BrentASJax pic.twitter.com/7uXVIvswDL

— BrentDanStuartMarcelAlivia (@ActionSportsJax) June 8, 2025

It’s an important lesson that Hunter said he’s learned from Sanders in both conversation and just by watching him, and if you watch the way Hunter has operated in the spotlight, you can see that lesson paying off.

Hunter wasn’t your normal college athlete. He didn’t drink, he didn’t smoke, and he didn’t party. In a feature with ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, Hunter said, “I literally wake up, go do my football stuff, get my recovery in, and I’m back at home,” he said. “Football, school, fishing, and playing my video game. That’s it.”

Hunter is strictly about football, and that seems to be a lesson that he learned from his coach. Hunter and Sanders did not have a regular player-coach relationship, and Hunter has said on multiple occasions that he sees Coach Prime as a father figure.

It makes sense that Hunter has followed the lessons that Deion taught him if he holds him in that high of a respect. Whatever lessons Hunter has learned from Sanders have worked, as Hunter became the best two-way player in college football history, was just taken second overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, and will become the first two-way player in the league.

It’s cool to see how much of an impact Sanders has on Hunter, and it reminds you just how important coaching can be off the field as it is on the field.

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