Travis Hunter evidently struggled in the NFL after a very loud senior year at Colorado during which he won the Heisman and pushed himself up to the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. But he’s finally starting to come good on that massive two-way potential by Week 5. He arguably had his breakout game in prime time against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football last week.
Advertisement
Hunter caught all three of his targets for a career-high 64 yards. That included a nifty 12-yard catch where he shook off a couple of defenders to get the first down, as well as a 44-yard bomb that showcased his elite athleticism. The 67 percent snap share he saw on offense was a season-high, and his 39.1 percent share on defense was his third-highest of the year. He also recorded his second pass break-up of the season.
Despite that big performance in the 31-28 upset win, some people believe Hunter is still not being shown the respect he deserves. Skip Bayless has been vocal about it, and even Cam Newton has stepped up to defend him.
On a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club with Ashley Nicole Moss, his co-host on BET’s new show 106 & Sports, Newton talked about the pride he has in seeing Hunter succeed.
“Travis Hunter is a person that does not get respected enough because he has not done anything wrong. He’s been exceptional on the football field, and yet we couldn’t find no dirt on him, so we have to attack somebody close to him. Never had a DUI, not a domestic, from what I’ve heard and seen, he’s an unbelievable person. All he does is smile,” said the former QB.
Newton and Hunter go way back to the latter’s days in junior high and high school, when he participated in Newton’s prestigious C1N 7-on-7 football camps. Hunter’s younger brother, Trayvis (yes, that is his name), is part of the program now.
Newton also talked about how impressed he was with Hunter’s off-field maturity, especially when it comes to women, a trait that definitely wasn’t one of Newton’s strong suits during his superstar NFL career from 2011 to 2021.
“When I see Travis at his age, to see how he has morphed into the individual now. Of course everybody’s entitled to their own opinion about who he is. ‘Aw, he a sucka, he a this, he a that.’ He’s married. He has a family. I thought that’s what couple goals were supposed to be? I should take a page out of his book.”
Hunter married his college sweetheart, Leanna Lenee, earlier this year in May, and the pair quietly welcomed their first child, a son, in August with no fanfare whatsoever.
Newton, meanwhile, announced in May that he was expecting his ninth child. This one will be the second with his current girlfriend, actress Jasmin Brown. Two of those nine are step-children from his girlfriend’s previous relationships. Though Newton says he doesn’t like calling them step-children, and that he treats all of his children equally.
Travis Hunter may have learned a lot about football and life from Cam Newton. But the latter might want to take some pointers from the former when it comes to love and relationships.
