Travis Hunter of the University of Colorado is the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Player of the Week for the second straight week.
Highlighting Hunter’s performance in Colorado’s 38-31 overtime win over Baylor in Boulder last Saturday at Folsom Field was a game-clinching forced fumble at the goal line on the final play in overtime; the ball went through the endzone to end the comeback Buff victory in the extra period.
Considered the nation’s top two-way performer, Hunter finished the Baylor game with seven catches for 130 yards, his fifth straight 100-yard receiving game, extending his CU record (old record 3, 3 times). On defense, he had zero targets and three tackles before the game-clinching a forced fumble.
Hunter is the 32nd Buff to receive the honor. The Buffs now have 46 recipients of the Colorado Chapter POW award since the start of the program in 2003. Hunter is also the second “slash” player to win the honor, as Robert Felberg of Colorado Mesa was a quarterback/wide receiver recipient for the Mavericks in 2010.
On Tuesday, Hunter was named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll for the fourth straight week. He was the 2023 Hornung recipient as the nation’s most versatile football player. READ MORE
Here are the other nominees for Player of the Week honors presented by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame – Cameron Cooper, Avery Morrow, and Howard Russell V.
On Monday, Hunter was named the Big 12 Conference defensive player of the week. READ MORE
Earlier Monday, Morrow from Colorado State was honored as the Mountain West Conference offensive player of the week. He joins Hunter as an NFFCC nominee this week. READ MORE
Monday afternoon Russell V of CSU Pueblo was honored as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference offensive player of the week. READ MORE
The recipients of the first two POW certificates were Devin Larsen and Reggie Retzlaff of Colorado State Pueblo.
Colorado (W, 38-31 OT vs. Baylor)
|
Name: Travis Hunter |
Year: JR |
Position: DB/WR |
Ht: 6-1 |
Wt: 185 |
|
Hometown/Previous School/High School: Suwanee, Ga. – Collins Hill/ Jackson St. |
||||
INDIVIDUAL STATS: Offense – 7 catches for 130 yards. Defense – Zero Targets, 3 tackles, game clinching forced fumble at the goal line on the game’s final play in overtime, the ball went through the endzone to end the comeback victory in overtime
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Offense – Played 75 of 83 offensive snaps and on 50 of 55 passing plays. Finished with 7 catches for 130 yards, his fifth straight 100-yard receiving game, extending his CU record (old record 3, 3 times). He is one of two players in FBS to have four 100-yard receiving games this season. He had 40 yards after the catch and 31 yards after contact. Five of his seven catches went for a first down, including two on third down and one on 3rd-and-15. Was spread right as a decoy on the final play of regulation to enable single coverage on the touchdown that sent the game to overtime, just the third touchdown on the final play of regulation that ended in a CU victory joining the Miracle at Michigan in 1994 and the Fifth Down game in 1990. He played in 139 total snaps, including all 62 on defense and two on special teams to go with his 75 offensive snaps. Defense – Played all 62 defensive snaps for the Buffs and had zero targets in coverage while also grading out to 90.0 on for his run defense, which included the game-clinching forced fumble on the game’s final play in overtime at the 1-yard line. The ball went through the end zone for a touchback to end the game. He had three tackles in all, the other two in pass support coverage, neither of which led to a first down for Baylor. He played in 139 overall snaps, the second-highest total of his career, including 75 of 83 on offense and two on special teams.
Colorado State (W, 27-17 vs. UTEP)
|
Name: Avery Morrow |
Year: Gr. |
Position: RB |
Ht: 6-0 |
Wt: 210 |
|
Hometown/Previous School/High School: Fresno, Calif. / Nevada / Washington Union |
||||
INDIVIDUAL STATS: 21 carries, 156 yards, two touchdowns; 2 receptions, 20 yards
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Racked up 176 all-purpose yards (156 rushing, 20 receiving) and scored twice for Colorado State. Broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Two carries of 20-or-more yards. Averaged 7.4 yards per carry.
Colorado State Pueblo (W, 38-14 vs. Colorado Mesa)
|
Name: Howard Russell V |
Year: Sr. |
Position: RB |
Ht: 6-1 |
Wt: 200 |
|
Hometown/Previous School/High School: Phoenix, Ariz. / Eastern New Mexico / Phoenix Christian Prep |
||||
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: First Pack running back to score three or more rushing touchdowns in a game since Marche Dennard scored three touchdowns against New Mexico Highlands in 2018.
- The three-rushing touchdown game by Russell is tied for the sixth-most in a game this season in Division II football.
- His 57-yard run on the Pack’s first offensive play was the longest rush of the season for a Pack player.
- The 142 yards rushing by Russell was his Pack career high and the most rushing yards in a game by a Pack running back since Howard Russell gained 103 yards in last season’s home win against Colorado Mesa.
INDIVIDUAL STATS: In the Pack’s 38-14 win over Colorado Mesa in its home RMAC opener, Russell accounted for three of the Pack’s four offensive touchdowns as he scored three rushing touchdowns as he carried the ball 18 times for 142 yards and averaged 7.9 yards per carry. Russell’s touchdown runs came on runs of 1 yard, 18 yards, and 11 yards. On the Pack’s opening play of the game, Russell recorded a 57-yard run, which is the longest run of the season for the Pack and set up the Pack’s first touchdown as Russell would eventually score his first score of the game on a 1-yard run with 11:05 left in the first quarter. He becomes the first Pack running back to score three or more rushing touchdowns in a game since Marche Dennard scored three rushing scores against New Mexico Highlands in 2018. The three rushing touchdowns are tied for the sixth-most in a game this season in Division II. Along with the 142 rushing yards, Russell also caught two passes for 10 yards and tallied 152 all-purpose yards. On the season, Russell has carried the ball 63 times for 373 yards and has scored four touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and 93.3 yards per game, which is second-best in the RMAC.
Western Colorado (W, 38-0 vs. Adams State)
|
Name: Cameron Cooper |
Year: FR |
Position: LB |
Ht: 6-2 |
Wt: 230 |
|
Hometown/Previous School/High School: Gilbert, Ariz. / Chandler HS |
||||
INDIVIDUAL STATS: 4 Solo/3 assist – 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Led a defense that limited Adams State to just 100 net yards and allowed the Grizzlies to cross into Mountaineer territory just twice in the game.
