Coach Prime breaks silence with emotional words on Travis Hunter’s fatherhood

Brian Schaible

Coach Prime breaks silence with emotional words on Travis Hunter’s fatherhood image

Travis Hunter has already made headlines as a generational talent. The former Colorado Buffaloes All-American, now a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars, seems destined for stardom in the NFL. But his latest milestone came off the field as Hunter and his wife, Leanna, recently welcomed their first child.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders opened up this week with raw and emotional words about the news. “Oh my god,” Sanders said. “I’m taking a deep breath because I love him to life. I love him like he’s a son. It’s funny when your son is now a father. So that’s why I had to really step back. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Their bond extends far beyond football. Over the summer, videos surfaced of Hunter visiting Sanders while the coach was recovering from cancer surgery. The two spent time fishing together, a reminder of the father-son relationship they shared long before Hunter’s NFL debut.

Sanders said his message to Hunter about fatherhood was simple but lasting. “The thing that I told him is let’s correct all the things that we purposely think that we didn’t receive as a child and let’s correct that in our fatherhood. Let’s do that. And no matter what happens in life, let’s make sure we [are] the best darn father that ever walked.”

For the Jaguars, Hunter represents the future of their franchise. For Coach Prime, he will always be family, and watching him step into fatherhood is, as Sanders put it, “a beautiful thing. I’m proud of him…and I miss him dearly.”

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Brian Schaible

Brian Schaible is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is an award-winning journalist with over 25 years of experience covering college and professional sports. Brian holds a master’s degree in journalism/public relations from Kent State University.