Colorado fans watching Monday Night Football were taken aback by comments made by Eli Manning on the "Manning Cast." Manning relayed information he was told by Jaguars head coach Liam Coen that Travis Hunter never practiced offense during his time at Colorado.
"I talked to Liam Coen, he said when he was at Colorado, he (Hunter) practiced zero with the offense," Manning said. "He only practiced defense. They kinda had a special system where the coaches would signal the formation to him and then signal the route to him. So he just improvised."
That was a stunning revelation. And one that could quickly be dispelled by anyone who has followed the team the last couple of years. There's video of him in practice working as a WR, for goodness' sake.
Coen clarified his comments in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. It certainly sounded like a coach who was trying to explain that there would be a learning curve for Hunter as he learned all the nuances of being an NFL WR while also spending time learning the defense. But it came off as a shot at Coach Prime and Colorado, and one Deion Sanders certainly didn't appreciate.
"That was a lie," Deion Sanders responds to Eli Manning and Liam Coen
Coach Prime was asked about the comments during his Tuesday media availability.
"That was a lie," Sanders responded when asked about Manning's comments. "Travis Hunter played offense and defense... I don't know why people lie, why do they do that kind of stuff?"
Sanders called it 'misinformation', and made it clear how they used Hunter in practice during his time at Colorado. He practiced both ways, just like he played in the games. Saying otherwise is foolish when there's plenty of proof.
Hunter is certainly an extraordinary talent. He's got God-given ability that can't be coached. But he also played for the perfect coach and the perfect program to develop him on both sides of the ball. He probably wouldn't have been afforded the opportunity at other schools, and that's why the former 5-star high school recruit signed with Sanders and Jackson State in the 2022 recruiting class before following Coach Prime to Boulder in 2023.
Hunter was always going to take time before he made a star turn in the NFL. That has nothing to do with how he was developed at Colorado. He won the Heisman Trophy after all, so obviously Coach Prime did something right with him.