Urban Meyer compares Colorado's Travis Hunter to former Florida star Percy Harvin
Urban Meyer was in Boulder recently to spend a few days around the Colorado football program. With the Buffs set to play on FOX the first two weeks of the season and Meyer in the area, he reached out to Deion Sanders and asked to do some in-person prep work.
What he observed was not what he expected.
“I called this thing the grand experiment,” Meyer said this week during an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I saw a very good team. I saw talented players. His son’s an excellent quarterback.”
And, of course, Travis Hunter caught his eye.
“I looked at Prime and said, ‘I’ve had one of those.’ I called him Percy Harvin,'” Meyer said. “I just pushed him to the side. You don’t need to practice him much longer. He’s that good.”
Hunter plans to play defensive back and wideout for the Buffs this season after a standout freshman campaign with Sanders at Jackson State. The former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2022 class was the SWAC Freshman of the Year last season.
But a comparison to Harvin is high praise. Few in recent college football history have been as electric as the former Gator wideout.
Harvin is one of only two D1 wide receivers since 1996 to record more than 1,500 rushing and 1,500 receiving yards in a career. And he did it in three seasons. In 36 career appearances, Harvin totaled 1,852 rushing yards, 1,929 receiving yards, and 32 total touchdowns.
He partnered with Tim Tebow and helped Florida to a national championship in 2008.
Hunter is still young, but the potential is off the charts. He and former Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders are hoping to jumpstart the Buffs and engineer one of the biggest turnarounds in the country. CU went 1-11 last fall. With Coach Prime, expectations are much higher.
“The thing they’re lacking is depth. If they can stay healthy — they have a tough schedule — they’re gonna make some waves in the Pac-12,” said Meyer.