BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Two-way standout Travis Hunter returned to the University of Colorado lineup against Stanford on Friday night nearly a month after a late hit from a Colorado State defender last month sent him to the hospital with a lacerated liver.
Hunter lined up at defensive back when the Buffaloes deferred to the second half and Stanford started off with the ball. As Hunter took the field, coach Deion Sanders walked out and hugged him as he prepared to line up at cornerback.
When the Buffaloes got the ball, Hunter lined up at wide receiver and later scored on a 24-yard catch-and-run, after which he went to his knees, looked up with his arms outstretched and his palms up as if in thankful prayer.
A flag was thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct following the gesture by Hunter, whose first career touchdown for Colorado made it 14-0.
Hunter missed games against Oregon, USC and Arizona State and Coach Prime originally slated his star's return for Oct. 28 at UCLA following the Buffaloes' bye next weekend.
Hunter, however, received medical clearance to return to practice earlier this week and showed enough to get the starting nod against the Cardinal (1-4, 0-3 Pac-12).
“It goes by how he looks, how he performs in practice, how his wind is,” Sanders said Tuesday. "He has to be in shape. I don’t want him to be a liability. I want him to always be a tremendous asset.”
Hunter was playing every snap on offense and defense for the Buffaloes (4-2, 1-2) before he got hurt on Sept. 16.
He was running a deep route in the first quarter of the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Folsom Field when he was hit by Rams defensive back Henry Blackburn shortly after the ball sailed over his head.
Hunter returned to the game but later left to go to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a lacerated liver.
In the days that followed, Blackburn received death threats, which Coach Prime passionately condemned. Hunter chimed in, too, saying he held no grudge against Blackburn and that nasty hits were simply the hazards of playing football.
Hunter later showed there were no hard feelings by meeting up with Blackburn at a Boulder area bowling alley to raise money for charity.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
