Election season is mercifully over but Courtland Sutton took a couple of minutes at his locker Monday night to stump.
After spending five minutes explaining the Broncos’ wild, 41-32 victory over Cleveland on Monday Night Football, the Broncos’ top receiver explained his choice of shirt.
It featured Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter striking the Heisman pose and read, simply, “He12man.”
Sutton and Broncos All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II each wore the shirts during pre-game warmups, too.
Sutton went to SMU with Deion Sanders Jr., so he’s known the Sanders family and Hunter for several years.
“I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m mad, mad close to them, but I’ve known the family for a while,” Sutton said.
Then he got to the business of outlining why Hunter should win college football’s most prestigious award this year.
“To see Travis Hunter doing what he’s been doing at Colorado, I mean, the kid is special. He is the epitome of an athlete. Shoot, he goes out there and plays 120 snaps a game offensively and defensively and he thrives on both sides of the ball,” Sutton said.
“It’s fun to watch him play. Whenever they play, it’s like, ‘Alright, what did Travis Hunter do today? How many touchdowns did he have? How many interceptions did he have?
Hunter finished the season with 92 catches for 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense and picked off four passes on defense. He’d be a first-round pick on either side of the ball and will likely make a case as the No. 1 overall pick — even in a quarterback-first draft era — by the time April arrives.
“We have debates about this all the time in the locker room: Who’s going to win the Heisman? It’s just really hard to take it away from a guy who has been dominant — not just playing both sides of the ball, but has been dominant on both sides of the ball,” Sutton said.
“It’ll be a shame if the Heisman committee doesn’t take that into account. Not taking anything away from the other people who will be nominated, but it’s really hard to do what he’s been doing at a high level and knowing that teams are looking for him. Offensively, they’re trying to go out there to stop him at receiver and defensively, they’re like, ‘Alright, man, we can’t throw the ball at him’ and he’s still making plays.
“I’m happy for him and the success he’s having. I’m happy for Shedeur (Sanders) and Coach Prime. That whole community up there in Boulder, they’ve got a lot of real good things going on and Sheduer, Shilo, Travis and all those guys have a bright future and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do at the next level.”
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