University of Colorado phenom Travis Hunter is one of the most talented and dynamic players in all of college football. A force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, Hunter played virtually every snap with the Buffaloes this season, alternating between wide receiver and cornerback. He easily won the 2024 Heisman Trophy and is expected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft. But if you really get down to it, the Heisman winner would rather be bass fishing.
During an interview with ESPN’s Sportscenter in December, one of the hosts brought up Hunter’s skills as both a defensive star and offensive playmaker. He asked Hunter if, when he dreams at night, he’s scoring touchdowns or picking off passes.
“When I dream at night, I’m fishing on a boat,” Hunter said without hesitation. Then he cracked a smile.
Hidden among his highlight reels and other football clips, you can find plenty of Hunter’s bass fishing videos on his YouTube channel. A Floridian by birth, Hunter is all about big largemouths and he’s gotten plenty of footage out of the South. But the two-way star isn’t afraid to mix it up, either. One video shows him fishing a trout lake in South Park, Colorado, with the former president of KastKing, Al Noraker.
The two fishermen must have bonded over that trip because in January, Noraker presented him with a special gift: an iReel 2 baitcaster made of 24-karat gold.
“You can [use it],” Noraker says as he hands over the golden fishing reel. “But I’d ask you not to.”
Noraker gave Hunter the one-of-a-kind reel in honor of his 2024 Heisman. According to the New York Times, Noraker was so sure that Hunter would win the trophy in December that he had the reel made well before Thanksgiving.
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“What I realized that day was not only is this guy a top-notch talent in college football, he’s just a heck of a good kid,” Noraker told The Athletic. “Him and I couldn’t be any more different. I’m this old white guy from the ‘burbs, and here’s this world-class athlete, a young Black guy from the South. But when we get on the boat, it’s like we’ve been doing it all our lives, and that’s all we care about.”
Hunter’s deep love for bass fishing is also shared by CU’s head coach Deion Sanders, a versatile superstar in his own time who won two Super Bowls in the NFL. The two are reported to have a father-son like relationship, and Sanders was clearly one of Hunter’s idols growing up as a kid. Hunter went to CU specifically to play under “Coach Prime,” transferring to Boulder after Sanders made the move there from Jackson State University, where Hunter had first committed to play.
The two all-star competitors bring that spirit to the water, too. One of the best clips on Hunter’s YouTube channel, in the humble opinion of this fishing writer, is a rip-lipping competition between him and Sanders.
The friendly comp took place during a bye week on Lake Prime, Sanders’ private pond on his ranch outside Dallas. And even though Sanders had home-field advantage, Hunter wasn’t afraid to outshine his coach, catching 10 bass to Sanders’ 3.
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