Travis Hunter and S. Sanders


Agree. But after the statement released about why Hunter chose an HBCU & abruptly leaving after a season he just strongly reinforced the narratives instead of changing anything. Cultural conditioning has us believing everything "over there" is " better". Hunter could have achieved most every goal in life here in the SWAC except that trophy of validation from old white men.


Slum with us here at HBCU'S only if you have nothing " better".....
I have to give my opinion on this statement............I have a son who played HBCU football and a daughter playing power five soccer. Let me tell you, when you start visiting schools with your kids..........It's not always about thinking everything is better over there. Overall, you want what's best for your kid. I'm VERY proud that my son played for and graduated from an HBCU........but we(HBCU's) have got to do better if we wanna get more of these kids to commit to us. We(parents) had to do a fundraiser just so our boys could get adequate food after practice, etc.........not to mention facilities that were sub par. And this is a school with PLENTY of money. I took my daughter on visits to power 5 schools before she signed and it's night and day. Not because we thought "their ice was colder" but because it's giving her the best chance to compete at the highest level and move to the next level. That's just the reality of it. Do we have the money to compete with PWIs at that level , no but we can at least try to do better. It's at the point man where after all the time and money spent.............people want what's best for their kid.
 
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I have to give my opinion on this statement............I have a son who played HBCU football and a daughter playing power five soccer. Let me tell you, when you start visiting schools with your kids..........It's not always about thinking everything is better over there. Overall, you want what's best for your kid. I'm VERY proud that my son played for and graduated from an HBCU........but we(HBCU's) have got to do better if we wanna get more of these kids to commit to us. We(parents) had to do a fundraiser just so our boys could get adequate food after practice, etc.........not to mention facilities that were sub par. And this is a school with PLENTY of money. I took my daughter on visits to power 5 schools before she signed and it's night and day. Not because we thought "their ice was colder" but because it's giving her the best chance to compete at the highest level and move to the next level. That's just the reality of it. Do we have the money to compete with PWIs at that level , no but we can at least try to do better. It's at the point man where after all the time and money spend.............people want what's best for their kid.
This is basically all it boils down to. Expecting kids to turn down better opportunities solely because you're an HBCU ain't gonna work. Travis did his thing at JSU, but he wouldn't have won the heisman and been a first round draft pick there. That's just a reality.
 
You would have a point if that wasn’t already going on since the NIL era began. You got all SWAC players jumping into the portal. Building championship level teams or competitive teams is becoming a lot more difficult when you cannot retain your cornerstone players. It’s sad. This is why depth and recruiting quality high school players is going to be vital for some of our schools. Don’t overlook these D2 and Juco cats who have tape for the shiny P5 former 4 & 5 star with no tape and straight killing cultures coaches trying to build. This is a deeper conversation than just how you interpreted Travis Hunters speech.

Prime example: UAPB (see below), Valley, SU, Grambling and JSU all lost All-SWAC players to the portal. And what's makes it more tricky is if you get someone from HS and they don't play as much as they like, they hitting the portal as well so you gotta get the right players to buy in (we gotta get more serious about NIL)

Gibson transfers to OU
 
Travis did his thing at JSU, but he wouldn't have won the heisman and been a first round draft pick there. That's just a reality.

Alabama State recently had an offensive linemen who was drafted in the 1st round & he was nowhere near the #1 recruit like Travis nor the career or draft grade as Travis. Hunter would have definitely been a 1st rd pick at J State & it's bs that he needed Colorado ( outside of that Trophy). He's absolutely free to go where he pleases ,but I refuse to go along with this myth that athletes like Travis need those schools.
 
We can’t wait for Travis Hunter to get the Award and get the number 1 slot in the draft. He is an amazing player and graced TheeILove as a freshman where the foundation for greatness was laid. I was hurt when Coach Prime left us and took everyone with him, now I see clearly why he made the decision that he did. Travis Rules! Shout out to Shilo!!!!
I am so proud of Travis Hunter! He deserves all the Blessings that life gives him! He trained and prepared himself for this moment. Thanks to Coach Prime for having the audacity to believe! Congratulations on winning Thee Heisman Hunter! Shout out to Shilo!
 
I just want to say the Travis Hunter’s quarterback S. Sanders is one of the most humble superstar athlete that I have met. When he was at JSU he did not treat fans like they were imposing on him. He took the time to take pictures and sign autographs. One time I was at a rally at the JSU downtown Jackson campus and asked for a selfie. He obliged me even though some unknown butthole teammate was edging him to not take a few seconds to do it. Never forget that the fans are what keeps those checks rolling in! I Love S. Sanders! Shout out to Shilo!
 
Alabama State recently had an offensive linemen who was drafted in the 1st round & he was nowhere near the #1 recruit like Travis nor the career or draft grade as Travis. Hunter would have definitely been a 1st rd pick at J State & it's bs that he needed Colorado ( outside of that Trophy). He's absolutely free to go where he pleases ,but I refuse to go along with this myth that athletes like Travis need those schools.
Tytus Howard, Alabama State, 2019 NFL Draft, Rd. 1
 
To make this come full circle, the Titans have the #1 draft pick

The titans National Scout is a JSU grad and former football player, Sam Summerville
 
Travis Hunter is a super talented winner! He tells no lies!Thee I Love helped to shape him and put him on his path to greatness! You can not blame him for leaving with Coach Prime. Shilo was so in love with JSU that he actually graduated from TheeILove! S. Sanders and the gang came and conquered the SWAC! Now they will make their mark in the NFL! Godspeed!
 
I believe Travis only went to JSU because of Prime and thus was going to follow Prime wherever he went. I have to give the young man credit that once that decision was made he went all in. I still say he was going to get drafted in the first round coming from JSU, but the reality is Prime decision to leave was in part to help his QB son draft prospects. Remember Shedeur did not win the FCS version of the Heisman, Walter Payton Award. The players that did win that went into the draft did not even get drafted.

I think HBCUs are going to have to learn to navigate this new era of college football and can't use the same process as Power 5 schools to retain talent or bring in high star recruits. I did not see a single video from any of the schools or conferences highlighting players who entered their named into the draft for starters. I went to the American conference website and youtube channel and they had a video packages for multiple players going into the draft from their conference. There are some schools that can't be bother to keep their rosters pages update on their website with actual correct measurements of their players.

I am going to call out ECSU, as they still have the previous coaches information on their website. At the very least they could of started a 2025 roster page and have the new coaches information there (since they have the coaches listing with the roster).
 



Same thing Maynor said and everyone on this page laughed at him.
This is not new, players have been leaving HBCUs for PWIs for years. With NIL, the PWIs are having a hard time keeping players in house resulting in them coming at our players in greater numbers.
 
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