Travis Hunter Spurns Florida State for Jackson State
When kids get together for a game, they usually choose sides. And it is always the bigger, stronger, and faster kids who get chosen first. You know who they are and you also know your place in the pecking order. If you happen to be one of those kids then the world is a beautiful place but if you’re not, then you just cross your fingers and hope you won’t be picked last.
And that’s pretty much the same for college football programs looking to recruit the best high school players in the country. The Power 5 conferences have the swag of being big-time football programs while the others puff out their chests and say, “C’mon, take a look at me!”
Generally speaking, the schools that reside in the smaller FBS conferences get the crumbs of what’s left after the real talent heads to greener pastures. And sometimes a good, small program will get a Power 5 caliber player who’s very good but not first-year SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, or Pac-12 starting material good. Maybe in the future, he’ll start…but maybe not…and definitely not now.
Those are the kids that the smaller schools are hoping to woo, enticing them with an immediate opportunity in which they will be the cornerstone of the offense or defense, and perhaps a visit to the stadium with their picture and name lit up on the scoreboard. That can get their attention and maybe their signature on a letter of intent.
But what never happens, at least until recently, is the No. 2 recruit in the nation, not at his position in a certain geographic region but the legitimate Can't-Miss Kid, eschewing a Power 5 program for the opportunity to play at a school that many would assume is an FCS entry because it is so heavily buried in the tiniest of FBS conferences. The Sun Belt Conference, perhaps, or maybe the MAC.
But no, it wasn’t even a small but mighty school nestled in a little FBS conference, it was a small school in the Triple-A of college football, the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Five-star cornerback Travis Hunter of Suwanee, Georgia Collins Hill, who refers to himself as the “Lone Wolf”, decided to de-commit from Florida State and sign with a member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Jackson State.
His decision shook the college football landscape at the highest levels and even the NCAAF odds at all of the best online sportsbooks dropped on Jackson State to win the FCS national championship next year. When all of the best U.S. licensed sportsbooks take notice of a single signing at anything but the highest levels of college football then you know it is a watershed moment.
The 18-year-old Travis Hunter decided to do what many have not, put his money where his mouth is, and provide more than just lip service to the Black colleges and universities that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“[HBCUs] have a rich history in football,” Hunter said in a statement. “I want to be part of that history, and more, I want to be part of that future. I am making this decision so that I can light the way for others to follow, make it a little easier for the next player to recognize that HBCUs may be everything you want and more – an exciting college experience, a vital community, and a life-changing place to play.
“Sometimes we are called to step into a bigger future than the one we imagined for ourselves,” Hunter said. “For me, that future is at Jackson State.”
And while Hunter’s decision is groundbreaking for many reasons, Jackson State is not bereft of NFL alums. In fact, running back Walter Payton and offensive lineman Jackie Slater are both NFL Hall-of-Famers who graced the Jackson State roster.
And the man who made it all happen is Jackson State football coach, the legendary NFL, and College Football Hall of Fame member himself, Deion Sanders. Ironically, Sanders plied his trade at Florida State as a cornerback and was ultimately drafted by the Atlanta Falcons as the fifth overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft.
Rumors began to swirl that Jackson State had paid Hunter $1.5 million to use his image and likeness, now that college athletes are allowed to be compensated according to a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. But that was quickly refuted by Sanders.
"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. You know what that is, that means we kicked your butt, we took what was ours and now you gotta make up an excuse why. Ain't nobody got no million and a half. I wouldn't pay my son a million and a half,” said Sanders.
And so, Travis Hunter has opened quite a few eyes before he ever set foot on a college gridiron. Let’s hope his success at Jackson State is as spectacular as his decision was historic.
