NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center:Why Deion Sanders believes Travis Hunter can still play both ways in NFL

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders recently had a discussion with NFL scouts about Travis Hunter.

The NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Centertopic was his potential, according to Sanders. Can Hunter do in the NFL what he’s been doing at Colorado?

In other words, can he play on offense and defense at the next level without taking much of a break?

In last week’s 28-9 win at Colorado State, Hunter had 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns on offense. On defense, he had five tackles, an interception return for 38 yards and a pass breakup. He played 123 of 138 snaps from scrimmage, according to Colorado.

Now, Hunter and the Buffaloes (2-1) play Baylor (2-1) at home Saturday in an 8 p.m. ET game on Fox.

Sanders said Hunter “cannot help but be a great pro” on both sides of the ball.

“I think he’s a great complement to their game (in the NFL), and he can continue to do what he’s doing now,” Sanders said at a news conference Tuesday in Boulder.

How Deion Sanders broke it down

Georgia’s Champ Bailey and Michigan’s Charles Woodson also played both ways in college but generally only played one way in the NFL. Both are Pro Football Hall of Famers after settling in as defensive backs in the NFL, in addition to returning punts.

Sanders, also a Pro Football Hall of Famer, still broke it down like this: The NFL would be a slower game for Hunter because offenses there huddle more than they do in college, giving Hunter a break from the faster “tempo” offenses in college.

“A lot of teams are tempo (in college), so he don’t get a lot of rest,” Sanders said. “Just think about this. I just finished talking to scouts about this, about what he can and cannot do. Pros go to huddle, so he’s even getting more time to rest, so most teams you play (in college), they run some type of a tempo or the transition is much greater than pros from snap to snap. So with him getting that amount of rest, he cannot help but be a great pro. The practices are limited. There’s barely no contact. You can’t even hit a receiver downfield in the NFL no more.”

Hunter last week became the first player in school history to have four straight games with 100 yards receiving. He ranks second nationally in catches per game with 10 and second in touchdown catches with five.

Hunter praised his blockers after the win at Colorado State and admitted he got tired at one point, but only for a moment. He took himself out of the game after a long chase-down of a Colorado State player in the fourth quarter.

“It’s probably the first time I did that,” he said of taking himself out.

The Baylor-Colorado game, injuries and RGIII

Saturday’s game is a homecoming game and Colorado's Big 12 Conference opener. The game at Folsom Field is sold out. Sanders said running back Dallan Hayden, a transfer from Ohio State, is questionable to return with an unspecified injury after missing the CSU game. He said defensive linemen Taurean Carter, a transfer from Arkansas, recently had surgery for an unspecified injury and is out for an indefinite time.

Saturday’s game also will test the friendship between Sanders and Robert Griffin III, who won the Heisman Trophy at Baylor in 2011. Griffin has been on Colorado’s campus at times to meet with Sanders and on Tuesday he released a podcast discussion with Sanders' sons, Shedeur and Shilo.

“RGIII, when he was at Baylor, it was poetry in motion,” Sanders said. “He had the country by the throat, and he was applying pressure. I love what he stands for as an athlete, as a father, as a man, period, especially for our culture. I’ve got nothing but love for RGIII, but I’m pretty sure he’s gonna be conflicted inside, because he wants us to do our thing. But that’s his alma mater, so I’m pretty sure he’s leaning, he’s gonna be wearing green with probably a gold necklace on.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]