Travis Hunter made sure to leave one more mark on the CU history books before he said goodbye.
The Buffs’ two-way receiver/cornerback star and second-ever Heisman Trophy winner became the highest-ever CU player taken in the NFL draft Thursday night, being selected by Jacksonville with the No. 2 pick overall.
The Jaguars thought so much of Hunter that they traded up from the No. 5 spot to No. 2 to take the Buffs star. The trade saw Jacksonville send a future first-round pick to Cleveland, in addition to other pick swaps.
CU hadn’t had a player taken in the first round since tackle Nate Solder went 17th overall to the Patriots in the 2011 draft. The last Buffs player taken inside the top 10 took place in 1997, when guard Chris Naeole was taken by the Saints with pick No. 10. The last CU football star selected within the top five was wideout Michael Westbrook (Washington, pick No. 4) in 1995.
RELATED: 2025 NFL draft tracker: Picks, instant reaction and more live coverageThe former Georgia prep product won the Heisman last fall after catching 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns while also picking off four passes as a defensive back.
Hunter transferred into CU before the 2023 season from Jackson State, where he signed as the No. 1 overall prep recruiting prospect in the country in his class. As a collegian, the ex-Buff caught 171 passes for 2,167 yards and 24 receiving touchdowns while breaking up 26 passes and intercepting nine more.
Hunter has stressed for months that he intends to try to play both ways in the NFL, something that hasn’t been done regularly in the league for decades.
“There’s a lot of people telling me I can’t do it (both ways) in the NFL, but I’m gonna still do it in the NFL,” Hunter said late last fall. “A lot of people just let other people get in their ear so they don’t let them do it. And some people just don’t have the right body type to be able to go both ways full-time.”
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“Travis is ‘him,’ man. Travis is that dude,” Buffs coach Deion Sanders said of Hunter last November. “He’s that guy. And his draft status is going to tell everyone who he is. Shouldn’t that tell you who he is? He’s probably going to be first or second pick out of the whole draft. That should tell you how dominant and prominent he is.”
Coach Prime was fairly close, in hindsight. The Buffs hadn’t provided the NFL with two first-round picks in the same draft since 2011, when Solder went at No. 17 to New England and teammate Jimmy Smith, a cornerback, was taken with pick No. 27 by the Ravens.
It’s been 51 years since CU produced two top-10 selections in the same draft. In 1974, fullback Bo Matthews was taken second overall by the San Diego Chargers and tight end J.V. Cain went seventh to the St. Louis Cardinals.
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