Travis Hunter drilled with extremely late hit vs. Colorado State

Travis Hunter and Colorado are engaged in their bitter rivalry game against Colorado State. While heated action is nothing new in the series, Hunter sustained a late and blatant hit after one play in the first quarter.

On the play, Hunter was running a route down the sideline but Shedeur Sanders was unable to find the receiver. After the ball flew out of bounds, Colorado State defender Henry Blackburn drilled Hunter well after the play was over.

The incident drew a flag with Sanders running to the defense of Hunter and exchanging words with Blackburn. The defensive back for the Rams was not ejected, but tensions are certainly high early in this one.

Though Hunter was banged up and stayed down for a minute on the play, he was able to return to the game on defense, so it looks like he has avoided any major injury on the hit.

A penalty is called after this hit on Travis Hunter pic.twitter.com/9vLIUbfx6X

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 17, 2023

LeBron James, also watching the rivalry contest, expressed a bit of disbelief at the hit from Blackburn and the fact that the defender was not ejected. James compared the blatantly late hit to being worse than other hits flagged for targeting.

Like I don’t understand the difference between targeting and what I just witnessed. I’ve seen others get thrown out for far less. That was blatant and uncalled for IMO!

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 17, 2023

As the first quarter comes to a close, this game has already seen a number of dramatic moments. A pick-6, a scoop-and-score and a number of tense moments set the table for what should be a fiery showdown all game long.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.