Shedeur Sanders-Travis Hunter rift rumored: Colorado football 'ongoing cold war'

Colorado v UCLA
Colorado v UCLA | Ryan Kang/GettyImages

Are subtle social media sub-posts and the lack of off-field interaction this offseason driving a wedge between Colorado football stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter?

It's a possibility Essentially Sports' Soheli Tarafdar believes is behind Shedeur excluding Hunter in a promotion of the game on his Instagram and Hunter hanging in a social circle that didn't include Deion Sanders' youngest son.

"Nothing goes unnoticed by the Buffs fans, and the speculated ongoing cold war between Shedeur and Hunter did not surpass the critical eyes of the fanatics," Tarafdar prefaced before saying, "When EA Sports came up with the trailer, knowing very well that he missed out on the grand opportunity, the quarterback shared the trailer on his Instagram story. But it was found that in his story, Shedeur (presumably unconsciously) omitted the part that had Hunter in it.

"However, the story goes deeper than that. In the latest Well Off Media video, both Shedeur and Hunter are featured, but the pair is not seen together. While Shedeur was seen with his dad in an earlier part of the video, Hunter is near the lake with some of his teammates. The Buffs were enjoying at a lake with Shedeur noticeably missing, adding fuel to the fire of the rumors."

Do Colorado football stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter have an ongoing cold war?

Tarafdar did well to point out the various angles that could suggest a rift is real, but the phrase "ongoing cold war" seems a bit on the hyperbolic side. Perhaps a lot on the hyperbolic side come to think of it.

Shedeur could've covered all bases by ensuring Hunter's appearance in his IG story, but it just didn't go down that way. Maybe this brings awareness to it and it's corrected. Perhaps Shedeur is waiting on EA Sports to send a personalized Hunter video to the CU graphics team so it can be reposted.

It might not be that deep, or it is something Hunter is upset about; making the idea of a rift between them more feasible. Let's be real though: Hunter likely no-sold this if he even had time to be checking his teammates' IG stories anyway. That man has top 2025 NFL draft money on his mind and at least six wins to deliver on per Coach Prime's Black and Gold game expectations speech in honor of 99-year-old CU superfan Peggy Coppom.

This didn't spark a cold war in Colorado. The cold won't be a full-time storyline in Boulder until November.

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