Colorado football-supporting FOX analyst dials down hype on Travis Hunter

RJ Young, typically an ardent supporter of Deion Sanders' Colorado football program, dialed down the hype on Travis Hunter ahead of a make-or-break 2024 season that could go a long way in determining what NFL teams are willing to do to accommodate the two-way star.

His first in a series of tweets about Hunter pegged him as the fifth-best wide receiver in the Big 12.

"Tetairoa McMillan, Jayden Higgins, Dorian Singer, Brennan Presley,' Young prefaced before saying, "And then Travis Hunter. And that's just the Big 12. Until Travis Hunter gives Elich Ayomanor and the Stanford secondary 13 catches for 294 yards with three TDs let's wait on calling him the best WR."

Young then (correctly) claimed that there's a good chance LaJohntay Wester slides into Xavier Weaver's role as Shedeur Sanders' WR1 over Hunter.

"Travis Hunter might not even be the best WR at Colorado if LaJohntay Wester turns out to be who he was at FAU: averaged 19.9 yards per punt return, is All-He Down There Somewhere after catching 108 passes for 1,168 yards with eight TDs in 2023, First Team All-Slept On," Young wrote.

RJ Young doing Travis Hunter a solid before 2024 Colorado football season

In a roundabout way, Young is showing support for Hunter with these comments. With the hype Coach Prime has built up for the 2022 No. 1 overall recruit, many in NFL circles unfamiliar with how Colorado games have actually gone in the "Prime Era" may assume Hunter is going to be a WR1 and legendary CB.

And he just might be one of those things. But not both. Many believe Hunter needs to pick a side of the ball to focus on, and given the dearth of shutdown corners relative to big-play receivers in the pros, CB feels like the most likely path for him.

So Young is merely letting everyone know that before the hate starts piling on a kid who has been humble throughout his career and doesn't deserve it.